[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 21 (Thursday, March 5, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H884-H885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FEDERAL COMMITMENT FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, today all over America our schools are 
inadequate, overcrowded and literally falling down. In Miami students 
learn to read and write in temporary trailers. Here in our Nation's 
capital, schools have been closed for violating the fire code. In New 
York City, students dodge falling plaster and attend class in hallways 
and cafeterias. It is really extraordinary to me after having visited 
so many of the schools in the metropolitan region of New York that in 
the United States of America youngsters go to school with plastic 
actually holding up the ceiling. This, in the most prosperous and 
advanced Nation in the world. It just does not make any sense.
  A 1996 GAO report confirmed the worst. Record numbers of school 
buildings across America are in disrepair. One-third of all schools 
serving 14 million students need extensive repairs. About 60 percent of 
schools need to have roofs, walls or floors fixed. With school 
enrollment skyrocketing, this problem will only get worse. It is time 
for the Federal Government to act. This is a local problem that demands 
a national response. Our school modernization bond proposal will 
allocate $19.4 billion for zero interest bonds to fix old schools and 
build new ones all across the Nation. This is absolutely an essential 
idea that is creating a partnership between the Federal, State and 
local governments. The Federal Government should not assume the total 
responsibility, but we have an obligation to build that partnership. If 
the Federal Government can help States build prisons and roads, then 
certainly they should be able to help build schools.
  Just look at some of the numbers. Due to the baby boom echo, the 
children of baby boomers filling the schools, particularly the high 
schools across the country are once again bulging with students. The 
demand for school facilities will continue to be high. School 
enrollment is projected to continue to climb over the next several 
years, growing from 52.2 million in the 1997-98 school year to 54.3 
million by the year 2006-07. With school enrollments rising at the same 
time that the budgets for building new classrooms have been 
constrained, overcrowding has become a common problem.
  I say to my partners on the other side of the aisle, if we really 
want to keep down property taxes, then in addition to building roads 
and highways and bridges and prisons, we have a responsibility to help 
with our schools. Because of this partnership, it will keep down the 
local property taxes. This is everywhere.
  In California, a 35 percent increase in high school enrollment is 
projected. In North Carolina, 27 percent increase. In Arizona, 25 
percent. In Nevada, 24 percent. In Massachusetts, 23 percent. In Rhode 
Island, 21 percent. In Georgia, 20 percent. In Virginia, 20 percent. In 
Texas, 19 percent. And on and on. The bottom line is we have to build 
schools. The Education Department estimates that 6,000 new schools will 
have to be built over the next 10 years in response to this rapid 
growth in school enrollment.
  What do poor building conditions have to do with our students' 
achievement? According to all the studies that have been done, there is 
a direct connection. For example, a 1991 study of

[[Page H885]]

the District of Columbia public schools found a 10.9 percent gap in 
scores between students in buildings rated poor and ones rated as 
excellent, after accounting for other factors. The problem is not just 
an urban one. Studies in rural Virginia and North Dakota have found 
similar results.
  Recently there was a study published in May 1996 by the Virginia 
Polytechnic Institute and State University which concluded sufficient 
data exists to state that the condition of a building does result in a 
difference in students' scores and action.
  Mr. Speaker, this is urgent. Education is the key to the strength of 
the United States of America. I would hope that we can work together to 
pass this bill this year, because we are doing it for our youngsters, 
for our families and our futures.

                          ____________________