[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 10 (Wednesday, February 11, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H412-H413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate African American 
History Month and those of us

[[Page H413]]

who are not African Americans recognize the importance of education, we 
further recognize the importance of facilities that are conducive to 
learning for those young people who are in the inner city. So, Mr. 
Speaker, today I rise to address the need for school construction and 
repair throughout the country, but, most importantly, in the inner 
cities, and especially in the 37th Congressional District, which I 
represent.
  Mr. Speaker, today's youth cannot learn in an environment that is 
surrounded with decrepit walls, that are crumbling from neglect, roofs 
that are leaking into classrooms, broken windows that have not been 
repaired for months on end, buildings that are painted with toxic 
levels of lead paint, and the list goes on.
  These young students face the hazards of asbestos, poor indoor air 
quality, nonexistent air conditioning systems and heating units which 
barely warm the buildings throughout the winter months. These schools 
are literally in decay.
  Mr. Speaker, these are the schools that represent the inner city that 
our children are asked to be educated in.
  Mr. Speaker, we all know the critical importance of placing our 
children and the Nation's children in an environment that is conducive 
to learning. The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second 
largest public school district in the country and where I served as an 
educator for several, is one of the many public schools in need of 
school repair.
  In the entire State of California, 87 percent of schools report a 
need to upgrade or repair on-site buildings to just good condition, and 
the majority of these schools are in the inner city. Seventy-one 
percent of all California schools have at least one inadequate building 
feature, ranging from lead paint to lack of heating units.
  So today I ask my colleagues to think about the larger issue when it 
comes to educating our children. I ask my colleagues to consider the 
more than 60 percent of the Nation's 110,000 public, elementary and 
secondary school facilities that need major repair in order to function 
as an effective education institution.
  This Nation's youth not only deserve it, but they cry out for schools 
that represent a conducive learning environment. Mr. Speaker, this must 
be at the top of our priority as we begin the second session of the 
105th Congress.

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