[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 20 (Wednesday, March 4, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1343-S1347]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Moseley-Braun, Mr. 
        Kennedy, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Robb, Mr. Levin, 
        Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Glenn, Mr. Kerry, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Reid, 
        Mr. Reed and Mr. Bryan):
  S. 1708. A bill to improve education; to the Committee on Labor and 
Human Resources.


  the revitalize and empower public school communities to upgrade for 
                         long-term success act

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today I am introducing on behalf of my 
colleagues, Senators Murray, Moseley-Braun, Kennedy, Dodd, Boxer, 
Breaux, Robb, Levin, Lautenberg, Glenn, Kerry, Feinstein, Reid, Reed, 
Bryan and myself, legislation that puts the spotlight directly on our 
efforts to strengthen and modernize our nation's public schools.
  We recognize that a strong public education system is the key to 
America's future. Our economic prosperity, our position as a world 
leader, our system of law, and our very democracy require that all of 
our children have access to the best possible education.
  We have heard a lot over the last 20 years about the things that are 
wrong with education in this country, and there's no question that we 
need to do some things better. We just learned the other day, for 
example, that our 12th graders are behind the rest of the world in math 
and science achievement. That is unacceptable and must be corrected. 
But there are signs that we have been able to make some progress. Our 
fourth-graders are well above the average in mathematics and near the 
top in science. And there are innovative programs springing up around 
the country that are taking advantage of federal funds to make 
remarkable changes in the way public schools are run. The City of 
Chicago, for example, has taken dramatic steps including ending social 
promotions, raising their standards, and providing extra help to make 
sure that children can achieve those standards. Parents and community 
members are more involved , and, while it's too early to see results in 
terms of test scores, there are dramatic improvements in attendance. 
Those who are involved are amazed at their progress.
  Despite many local improvements, our schools still face many 
challenges. Student enrollments are at record high levels and are 
expected to increase over

[[Page S1344]]

the next decade. This growth, combined with aging buildings and the 
demand of technology, is straining many school facilities. Growing 
enrollments and teacher retirements also mean that more than 2 million 
new teachers will be needed over the next decade. The quality of those 
teachers will have a significant impact on student achievement levels. 
Recent advancements require better integration of technology in our 
public schools and better training for instructors in using technology 
effectively in the classroom. While many schools have implemented 
reforms and student performance is improving in some communities, too 
many children, particularly those from low-income families, are still 
not learning up to their potential.
  The legislation we are introducing today--the RESULTS Act--will 
addresses these issues in 5 ways:
  (1) We create a new tax credit to help communities offset the cost of 
school construction and modernization;
  (2) We provide funds to help communities reduce class sizes in grades 
1 through 3 by hiring and training 100,000 new teachers;
  (3) We help communities establish additional after-school programs 
for school-aged children;
  (4) We advance the federal commitment to integrate technology into 
the classroom and provide resources to train teachers to use that 
technology effectively; and
  (5) We include the President's initiative to provide grants to high-
poverty urban and rural school districts that are serious about 
carrying out standards-based reforms, such as those occurring in 
Chicago, to improve student achievement.
  Mr. President, Democrats recognize that the federal government has an 
important role to play in encouraging all Americans--including parents, 
teachers, business and community leaders, and elected officials at all 
levels of government--to work in partnership to strengthen and 
revitalize our public schools. Our nation's commitment to a strong 
system of public education has made our country great. We renew that 
commitment today with this plan to prepare our students to lead this 
country into the 21st Century. I thank my colleagues who have worked 
with me to demonstrate our resolve to modernize and strengthen our 
public schools and invite our colleagues across the aisle to make the 
same commitment and join us to enact the important legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that a title-by-title explanation of the 
bill, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the summary was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                            S. 1708--Summary

        TITLE I--HELPING COMMUNITIES RENOVATE AMERICA'S SCHOOLS

       The General Accounting Office has found severe school 
     disrepair in all areas of the United States. More than 14 
     million children attend schools in need of extensive repair 
     or replacement. The repair backlog totals at least $112 
     billion, and this does not include expansions needed to 
     accommodate enrollment increases, class size reductions, and 
     integration of technology in the classroom. The problem 
     transcends demographic and geographic boundaries. For 38 
     percent of urban schools, 30 percent of rural schools, and 29 
     percent of suburban schools, at least 1 building is in need 
     of extensive repair or should be completely replaced.
       The condition of school facilities has a direct effect on 
     the safety of students and teachers, and on the ability of 
     students to learn. Researchers at Georgetown University found 
     the performance of students assigned to schools in poor 
     condition falls 10.9 percentage points below those attending 
     classes in buildings in excellent condition. Other studies 
     have demonstrated up to a 20 percent improvement in test 
     scores when students were moved from a dilapidated facility 
     to a new facility.
       This Title includes 2 initiatives to expand tax incentives 
     to help states and school districts address the school 
     construction backlog.


                  Qualified School Modernization Bonds

       State and local governments will issue qualified school 
     modernization bonds to fund the construction, modernization, 
     and rehabilitation of public schools. Bondholders will 
     receive annual Federal income tax credits in lieu of 
     interest. The maximum term of the bonds will be 15 years.
       A total of $9.7 billion of authority to issue qualified 
     school modernization bonds is allocated in 1999 and 2000--50 
     percent to states and 50 percent to the 100 largest school 
     districts. The authority allocated to the 100 largest 
     districts will be based on the amounts of Federal assistance 
     received under Title I, Basic Grants. In addition, the 
     Secretary of Education will have the authority to designate 
     25 additional districts to receive bond authority directly 
     from the Federal government. The authority allocated to 
     States will also be based on the State's share of Title I, 
     Basic Grants, excluding the 100 large districts and any 
     others designated by the Secretary to receive bond authority 
     directly from the Federal government.
       I should note that I would prefer to provide more funds to 
     the states to make sure that rural areas, many of which are 
     severely limited financially, have access to the funds they 
     need to modernize their schools as well. However, this bill 
     reflects a joint House and Senate Democrats and White House 
     initiative, so I have not made that change in this bill.
       To be treated as a qualified school modernization bond 
     program, 3 requirements must be met. First, the Department of 
     Education must approve a school construction plan of the 
     state, territory, or school district that: (1) demonstrates a 
     survey of the construction and renovation needs in the 
     jurisdiction has been undertaken; (2) describes how the 
     jurisdiction will assure that bond proceeds are used for the 
     purposes of this proposal; and (3) explains how it will use 
     its allocation to assist localities that lack the fiscal 
     capacity to issue bonds on their own. Second, the issuing 
     government must receive an allocation for the bond from the 
     State, territory, or eligible district. Third, 95 percent 
     or more of the bond proceeds must be used to construct or 
     rehabilitate public school facilities.


                      qualified zone academy bonds

       The bill makes 3 changes to the existing qualified zone 
     academy bonds (created in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997). 
     First, the bill increases the 1999 bond cap from $400 million 
     to $1.4 billion and adds an additional $1.4 billion of bond 
     cap in 2000. Second, the bill expands the list of permissible 
     uses of proceeds to include new school construction. Third, 
     the bill sets the maximum term of qualified zone academy 
     bonds at 15 years. The subsidy mechanism is the same as with 
     the new school modernization bonds--Federal tax credits to 
     bondholders in lieu of interest--but there are several 
     requirements associated with zone academy bonds. First, 
     schools must secure 10 percent of the funding for the school 
     improvement project from the private sector before issuing 
     the zone academy bonds. Second, the school must work with the 
     private sector to enhance the curriculum and increase 
     graduation and employment rates. Finally, in order to be 
     eligible, the school must either have 35 percent of students 
     eligible for the free- and reduced-price lunch program, or be 
     located in an Empowerment zone or enterprise community.

                     TITLE II--REDUCING CLASS-SIZE

       Qualified teachers in small classes can provide students 
     with more individualized attention, spend more time on 
     instruction and less on other administrative tasks, cover 
     more material more effectively, and work more closely with 
     parents. Research has shown that students attending small 
     classes in the early grades make better progress than 
     students in larger classes, and that those achievement gains 
     persist through at least the eighth grade. The benefits are 
     greatest for low-achieving, minority, poor, and inner-city 
     children. Smaller classes also allow teachers to identify and 
     work earlier with students who have learning disabilities, 
     potentially reducing those students' need for special 
     education in later grades.
       Efforts to reduce class sizes are likely to be successful 
     only if well-qualified teachers are hired to fill additional 
     classroom positions, and if teachers receive intensive, 
     ongoing training in teaching effectively in smaller classroom 
     settings. Currently, 1 in 4 high school teachers do not have 
     a major or minor in the main subject they teach. This is true 
     for more than 30 percent of math teachers. In schools with 
     the highest minority enrollments, students have less than a 
     50 percent chance of getting a science or math teacher who 
     holds a degree in that field.
       Over the next decade, we will need to hire over 2 million 
     teachers to meet increasing student enrollments and teacher 
     retirements. Comprehensive improvements in teacher 
     preparation and development are needed to ensure students' 
     academic success. Too many teachers graduating today have 
     insufficient experience in the classroom or are unprepared to 
     integrate technology into their lessons. The federal 
     government can assist in this effort by providing resources 
     to help communities reduce class sizes and improve the 
     quality of teacher training.
       This program is designed to help states and local 
     educational agencies recruit, train, and hire 100,000 
     additional qualified teachers in order to reduce class sizes 
     nationally, in grades 1 to 3 to an average of 18 students per 
     classroom. In addition, the program provides resources to 
     improve small classroom teaching in the early grades so that 
     all students can learn to read well and independently by the 
     end of the third grade. Funding of $1.1 billion will be 
     appropriated in the first year and $7.3 billion over 5 years.
       I want to emphasize that our proposal is aimed at improving 
     the quality of teaching, not just the quantity of teachers. 
     This is critical if we expect to see improvements in student 
     achievement.

[[Page S1345]]

                 TITLE III--EXPANDING AFTER-SCHOOL CARE

       Many children spend more of their waking hours without 
     supervision and constructive activity than they do in school. 
     As many as 5 million children are home alone after school 
     each week. Too many of these children are tempted during this 
     time to try cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and engage in 
     other dangerous activities. The law enforcement community, 
     which has been very active in their efforts to focus our 
     attention on this problem, reports that most juvenile 
     involvement in crime--either committing them or becoming 
     victims themselves--occurs between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Children 
     who attend quality after-school programs, on the other hand, 
     tend to do better in school, get along better with their 
     peers, and are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors. 
     Unfortunately, only one-third of the schools in low-income 
     neighborhoods and half of the schools in affluent areas 
     currently offer after-school programs. Expansion of both 
     school-based and community-based after-school programs is key 
     to providing safe, constructive environments for children and 
     helping communities reduce the incidence of juvenile 
     delinquency and crime.
       This bill expands the 21st Century Learning Centers Act and 
     provides $200 million each fiscal year to help communities 
     develop after-school care programs. Grantees will be required 
     to offer expanded learning opportunities for children and 
     youth in the community. Funds could be used to provide:
       (1) literacy programs;
       (2) integrated education, health, social service, 
     recreational or cultural programs;
       (3) summer and weekend school programs;
       (4) nutrition and health programs;
       (5) expanded library services;
       (6) telecommunications and technology education programs;
       (7) services for individuals with disabilities;
       (8) job skills assistance;
       (9) mentoring;
       (10) academic assistance; and
       (11) drug, alcohol, and gang prevention activities.
       While expanding after-school programs in public schools 
     will help hundreds of thousands of children. It is important 
     to note that many other community-based organizations, 
     including YMCAs, and Campfire Boys and Girls, provide high 
     quality programs for children as well. These programs also 
     need and deserve federal assistance, since it is unlikely 
     that schools will be able to meet the needs of all children. 
     While school-based care is the focus of this legislation, 
     many Democratic senators and I also strongly support 
     providing additional resources for after-school care through 
     other programs, and we would also like to see greater 
     coordination among all federal, state, and local programs in 
     order to maximize the effective use of public resources and 
     encourage more collaborative efforts at the local level.

    TITLE IV--PROMOTING EFFECTIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

       Americans agree that integrating technology effectively in 
     the classroom must be a central component of preparing 
     students for the 21st Century. Fully 74 percent of Americans 
     believe that computers improve the quality of education and 
     half believe their public schools offer too little access to 
     adequate computers.
       The importance of strengthening students' technology skills 
     cannot be underestimated. Nearly one quarter of the jobs 
     added to our economy in the past year were in technology-
     based occupations. By the year 2000, 60 percent of all jobs 
     in the nation will require skills in computer and network 
     use. Just 22 percent of all workers have those skills today.
       Incorporating technology effectively in the classroom has 
     been proven to improve students' mastery of basic skills, 
     test scores, writing, and engagement in school. With these 
     gains comes a decrease in dropout rates, as well as fewer 
     attendance and discipline problems.
       We are making progress. While only 35 percent of schools 
     had access to the internet in 1996, now 78 percent are on-
     line. The Schools and Libraries Universal Service Fund, or 
     ``E-rate,'' will provide up to $2.25 billion annually in 
     discounts to assure every American school and library access 
     to telecommunications services, internal connection, and 
     Internet access. More than 20,000 schools and libraries have 
     already applied to participate in this program. The National 
     Governors' Association has urged Congress to maintain the 
     integrity of the E-rate, and provide adequate funding for 
     this important program now.
       Many states and localities are taking good advantage of 
     other Federal programs such as the Technology Literacy 
     Challenge Fund, Technology Innovation Challenge Grants, Star 
     Schools and other programs to obtain equipment and wire 
     schools. Additional resources are needed to continue this 
     effort as well as help train teachers in the effective use of 
     technology in the classroom.
       This legislation states that it is in the Nation's interest 
     to invest at least $4 billion in funding for Department of 
     Education technology programs between fiscal years 1999 and 
     2003.
       We also require schools and libraries participating in the 
     E-rate to establish policies to limit access to inappropriate 
     material. Our bill also includes several measures to increase 
     Federal resources to improve professional development and 
     help teachers integrate technology into the classroom. Under 
     our proposal, 30 percent of National Challenge Grant for 
     Technology grants will be directed to partnerships that are 
     focused on developing effective teaching strategies. To 
     improve training and preparation of teaching candidates and 
     new teachers, the Secretary will be authorized to award 
     grants to partnerships that train candidates and education 
     school faculty in the effective use and integration of 
     technology in teaching academic subjects.
       The bill establishes $75 million in grants to be managed 
     jointly by the Office of Education Research and Innovation 
     and the National Science Foundation to support innovative 
     research in education technology, development of research 
     results in partnerships with the private sector, and 
     evaluation that identifies the most effective approaches to 
     implementing education technology.

                  TITLE V--EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY ZONES

       Students in schools where a high proportion of children 
     come from lower-income families begin school behind their 
     peers academically and, too often, never catch up with their 
     peers. Later on, they are less likely to go to college and 
     more likely to experience unemployment. High levels of 
     poverty and the lack of resources has resulted in watered 
     down curricula, lowered expectations for their students, and 
     fewer qualified teachers. These challenges are compounded in 
     high-poverty rural schools because of their isolation and 
     small size.
       Some high-poverty schools have shown, however, that 
     students can achieve more if the schools adopt high standards 
     for students, teachers and administrators, provide extra help 
     to students, adopt proven systemic reforms, and hold schools, 
     staff, and students accountable for the results.
       This program will provide $200 million in FY1999 and $1.5 
     billion over 5 years to high-poverty urban and rural school 
     districts that are serious about carrying out standards-based 
     reform plans to improve the academic achievement. Grants will 
     be awarded to approximately 50 districts that:
       (1) agree to adopt high standards, test student 
     achievement, and provide help to students, teachers and 
     schools who need it;
       (2) ensure quality teaching, challenging curricula, and 
     extended learning time; and
       (3) end social promotion and take steps to turn around 
     failing schools.
       Lessons learned from these districts will be shared with 
     schools across the country. Schools will be encouraged to 
     provide students and parents with school report cards and 
     expanded choices with public education.
       Awards will be made according to a competitive, peer review 
     process. Consortia of large and small urban areas, and rural 
     school districts will be selected to participate.
       Schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are also 
     eligible.
       Successful applicants will have broad-based partnerships to 
     support their reforms, including parents, teachers, local 
     government, business, civic groups, institutions of higher 
     education and other members of the community.

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, President Clinton and Democrats in 
Congress have made it a top priority to see that America has the best 
public schools in the world--and we intend to do all we can to see that 
we reach that goal.
  The nation's students deserve modern schools with world-class 
teachers. But too many students in too many schools in too many 
communities across the country fail to achieve that standard. The 
latest international survey of math and science achievement confirms 
the urgent need to raise standards of performance for schools, 
teachers, and students alike. It is shameful that America's twelfth 
graders ranked among the lowest of the 22 nations participating in this 
international survey of math and science.
  The challenge is clear. We must do all we can to improve teaching and 
learning for all students across the nation. That means:
  We must continue to support efforts to raise academic standards.
  We must test students early, so that we know where they need help in 
time to make that help effective.
  We must provide better training for current and new teachers, so that 
they are well-prepared to teach to high standards.
  We must reduce class size, to help students obtain the individual 
attention they need.
  We must provide after-school programs to make constructive 
alternatives available to students and keep them off the streets, away 
from drugs, and out of trouble.
  We must provide greater resources to modernize and expand the 
nation's school buildings to meet the urgent needs of schools for up-
to-date facilities.
  I will do all I can to see that the ``RESULTS! Act''--``An Act to 
Revitalize and Empower Schools to Upgrade

[[Page S1346]]

for Long-Term Success''--is approved by Congress. The bill will help 
modernize and expand the nation's schools, reduce class size, expand 
after-school care, improve education technology in schools, and create 
education opportunity zones in communities across the country.
  A necessary foundation for a successful school is a qualified teacher 
in every classroom to make sure young children receive the individual 
attention they need. That's why a pillar of the Democratic agenda is to 
help bring 100,000 new teachers to schools and reduce class size in the 
elementary grades.
  Research has shown that students attending small classes in the early 
grades make more rapid progress than students in larger classes. The 
benefits are greatest for low-achieving, minority, and low-income 
children. Smaller classes also enable teachers to identify and work 
effectively with students who have learning disabilities, and reduce 
the need for special education in later grades.
  Many states are also considering proposals to reduce class size--but 
you can't reduce class size without the ability to hire additional 
qualified teachers to fill the additional classrooms.
  Too many schools are already understaffed. During the next decade, 
rising student enrollments and massive teacher retirements mean that 
the nation will need to hire 2 million new teachers. Between 1995 and 
1997, student enrollment in Massachusetts rose by 28,000 students, 
causing a shortage of 1,600 teachers--without including teacher 
retirements.
  The teacher shortage has forced many school districts to hire 
uncertified teachers, and ask certified teachers to teach outside their 
area of expertise. Each year, more than 50,000 under-prepared teachers 
enter the classroom. One in four new teachers does not fully meet state 
certification requirements. Twelve percent of new teachers have had no 
teacher training at all. Students in inner-city schools have only a 50% 
chance of being taught by a qualified science or math teacher. In 
Massachusetts, 30% of teachers in high-poverty schools do not even have 
a minor degree in their field.
  Our proposal will reduce class size in grades K-3 to a nationwide 
average of 18 by hiring more teachers. Under our proposal, states and 
school districts will be able to recruit, train and hire 100,000 
additional qualified teachers in order to reduce class size and improve 
teaching and learning in these early grades. In the first year, 
Massachusetts will receive $22 million to support these efforts. We 
will also be working through the Higher Education Act to improve 
teacher training at colleges and universities.
  Our proposal will also help schools meet their urgent needs for 
construction, modernization, and renovation. Schools across the nation 
face serious problems. Many are overcrowded. Many others have 
antiquated facilities suffering from physical decay, with no ability to 
handle the needs of modern education. Across the country, 14 million 
children in a third of the nation's schools are learning in substandard 
buildings. Half the schools have at least one unsatisfactory 
environmental condition.
  Massachusetts is no exception. 41% of our schools across the state 
report that at least one building needs extensive repair or should be 
replaced. Three-quarters report serious problems in buildings, such as 
plumbing or heating defects. Eighty percent have at least one 
unsatisfactory environmental factor.

  It is difficult enough to teach or learn in dilapidated classrooms. 
But now, because of escalating enrollments, those classrooms are 
increasingly overcrowded. The nation will need 6,000 new schools in the 
next few years, just to maintain current class sizes.
  It will take over $100 billion just to repair existing facilities. 
Obviously, the federal government cannot do the whole job. But states 
and communities across the country are working hard to meet these 
needs, and the federal government should do more to help.
  This year, Revere, Massachusetts passed a $2.2 million bond issue to 
renovate the roofs on three of its seven schools. After these 
renovations were completed, a fourth school's roof started to leak. The 
leak is so serious that the school's new fire system is threatened. 
School Committee members estimate that fixing the roof will cost an 
additional $1 million, and they don't know where to get the money.
  Last year, half of Worcester's schools were not equipped with the 
wiring and infrastructure to handle modern technology.
  Enrollment in Springfield schools has increased by over 1,500 
students, or 6 percent, in the last two years, forcing teachers to hold 
classes in storage rooms, large closets, and in basements.
  Our proposal will authorize states and local governments to issue $22 
billion in bonds for school repairs and construction. Part of the 
amount will go to state governments and part will go to the 100 cities 
across the nation with the largest numbers of low-income children, 
including Boston and Springfield. The bonds will be interest-free for 
the states and cities--Uncle Sam will pay the interest.
  Our legislation also addresses the urgent need to provide effective 
activities for children of all ages during the many hours each week 
when they are not in school.
  Each day, 5 million children, many as young as 8 or 9 years old, are 
left home alone after school. Juvenile delinquent crime peaks in the 
hours between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Children unsupervised are more likely 
to be involved in anti-social activities and destructive patterns of 
behavior.
  Our goal in this legislation is to encourage communities to develop 
activities that will engage children and keep them out of trouble. 
Crime survivors, law enforcement representatives, prosecutors, and 
educators have all joined together in calling for a substantial federal 
investment in after-school programs.
  Clearly, such financial assistance is needed in states across the 
country. Too often, parents cannot afford the thousands of dollars a 
year required to pay for after-school care, if it exists at all. In 
Massachusetts, 4,000 eligible children are on waiting lists for after-
school care, and tens of thousands more have parents who have given up 
on getting help. Nationwide, half a million eligible children are on 
waiting lists for federal child care subsidies. The need for increased 
opportunities is obvious and this legislation attempts to meet it.
  Our bill will provide $1 billion over the next 5 years for after-
school programs, to enable public school districts in partnership with 
community-based organizations to bring millions more children, 
including disabled children, into such programs, and make schools into 
community learning centers as well.
  This proposal will help communities to increase the availability of 
after-school programs. It will support efforts in Boston to make after-
school services available to as many children as possible. Boston's 2-
to-6 Initiative will serve an additional 3,000 young people over the 
next four years, keep school buildings open for city programs and non-
profit programs, and challenge private sector leaders to double the 
number of available after-school jobs to 1,000 over the next two years.
  The proposed expansion of the 21st Century Community Learning Center 
program will enable schools and communities to create programs that 
meet their after-school needs--and obtain the extra resources required 
to make it happen.
  Our bill also proposes to help failing schools implement the reforms 
that they know will turn them around. Too many schools now struggle 
with watered-down curricula, low expectations, fewer qualified 
teachers, and fewer resources than other schools.
  Under the Education Opportunity Zones proposal, these school 
districts will get the extra resources they need in order to increase 
achievement, raise standards, end social promotion, upgrade teacher 
skills, and strengthen ties between the schools, the parents, and the 
community as a whole.
  The bill also calls for continued investment in education technology, 
so that cutting-edge technology will be available to as many students 
as possible. That means we must continue to invest more in computers, 
software, and high-tech training for teachers, so that every child has 
the opportunity to use technology as an effective learning tool.
  Investing in students and teachers and schools is one of the best 
investments America can make. For schools

[[Page S1347]]

across America, help can't come a minute too soon, and I urge Congress 
to enact this legislation as expeditiously as possible. The message to 
schools across the country today is clear--help is finally on the way.
  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I want to commend the Democratic 
leader, Senator Daschle, for assembling this important legislation, and 
I want to thank President Clinton for articulating a vision for America 
that includes a significant federal commitment toward improving the 
quality and accessibility of education for all Americans. The RESULTS 
Act is designed to help fulfill that commitment, and represents the 
type of action this Congress should take to prepare America for the 
21st century.
  I visited a number of schools in Illinois over the past several 
months, and talked with parents, teachers, children, and school 
officials at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. I 
found that without exception, education is at the top of their minds. 
Illinoisans, like most Americans, support policies designed to help 
ensure that America remains preeminent in the intensely competitive, 
global economy of the 21st century.
  Last year, this Congress took historic measures to improve the 
accessibility of quality higher education, with the enactment of 
President Clinton's HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits. 
We also restored the student loan interest deduction, so that graduates 
now receive a Federal income tax deduction when they make interest 
payments on their student loans. I intend to work this year to broaden 
the deduction we created last year, so that more former students, 
struggling under a burden of debt that has grown enormously in recent 
years, can make ends meet.
  Now, this Congress must act to improve the quality of elementary and 
secondary education available to our children. We must act to ensure 
that as we approach the 21st century, no child is left behind. We must 
act to ensure that no child is forced to try to learn in an overcrowded 
classroom or a crumbling school, and that every child has access to the 
kinds of technologies he or she will need to understand to compete in 
the next millennium.
  The RESULTS Act will help States and school districts improve their 
schools for the 21st century, and includes a number of very important 
provisions, including a plan to create a new partnership between the 
Federal government and State and local governments to rebuild and 
modernize our school buildings. Under this new proposal, States and 
school districts would be able to issue new, zero-interest bonds to 
modernize and build schools. Bondholders would receive Federal income 
tax credits in lieu of interest payments. Using this mechanism, the 
Federal government can leverage almost $22 billion worth of school 
improvements, at a cost of only $3.3 billion over the next five years, 
according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
  According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, it will cost $112 
billion to bring existing school buildings up to code--to patch the 
leaky roofs, replace the broken windows, fix the plumbing, and make 
other needed repairs. That price tag, as enormous as it sounds, does 
not include the cost of building new schools to accommodate the record 
numbers of children who are crowding our schools, nor the cost of 
upgrading classrooms for modern computers.
  This problem has overwhelmed the fiscal capacities of state and local 
authorities. It is a problem affecting all areas of the country, 
because it is a direct result of the antiquated way we pay for public 
education in this country. The local property tax, which made sense as 
a funding mechanism when wealth was accumulated in the form of land, no 
longer works as a means of funding major capital investments. In urban, 
rural, and suburban schools all across the country, the magnitude of 
the crumbling schools problem has dwarfed local financing capabilities. 
It is a problem that directly affects the ability of students to learn, 
teachers to teach, and schools to implement the kinds of educational 
reform efforts that parents are demanding to improve the quality of 
education in this country.
  According to academic data correlating building conditions and 
student achievement, children in these decrepit classrooms have less of 
a chance. Their education is at risk. They will be less able to compete 
in the 21st century job market. Ultimately, we will all come out on the 
losing end. America can't compete if its students can't learn, and our 
students can't learn if their schools are falling down.
  The legislation being introduced today gives Congress a historic 
opportunity to jump start the process of rebuilding, renovating, 
modernizing, and constructing new schools to meet the needs of all our 
children into the 21st century. The RESULTS Act engages the federal 
government in the support of elementary and secondary education in a 
way that preserves local control of education. In the same way the 
federal government helps finance highways, but the state and local 
governments decide where the roads go, the federal government can help 
state and local authorities rebuild our schools. America has a $112 
billion infrastructure problem that makes it increasingly difficult for 
our students to learn the skills they will need to keep America 
competitive in the 21st century. Now is the time for Congress to act.
  I want to congratulate the Democratic leader again for his work on 
this bill, as well as President Clinton and Secretary Riley, who helped 
shape many of its provisions. I hope the 105th Congress will approve 
this legislation quickly, and renew the promise embodied in the words 
of the 19th century American poet James Russell Lowell, who wrote: ``. 
. . [I]t was in making education not only common to all, but in some 
sense compulsory on all, that the destiny of the free republics of 
America was practically settled.''
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