[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S7013]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Daschle,
Ms. Moseley-Braun, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Levin, Mr. Robb, Mr.
Lieberman, Mr. Reed, Mr. Lautenberg, Ms. Landrieu, Mr.
Torricelli, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Glenn, Mr.
Bingaman and Ms. Mikulski):
S. 2209. A bill to reduce class size in the early grades and to
provide for teacher quality improvement; to the Committee on Labor and
Human Resources.
Class-Size Reduction and Teacher quality Act of 1998
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today I send to the desk legislation to
help school districts hire 100,000 well-prepared teachers to combat
overcrowding in our nation's classrooms. Few issues are more important
to the American family than the quality of our public schools. With
challenges like illiteracy, poor work and study skills, and the threat
of student violence, what we need are strategies that work to produce
results for all students. Increasing the number of well-qualified
teachers to reduce class size is an effort that works.
The research is clear, and the research only backs up what our school
communities have long known, that class size reduction improves student
achievement. Unlike vouchers and tax schemes that don't provide the
benefits for schools or students that they claim--class size reduction
works, and it benefits all students.
Public education is important to the American people, and has been
since the beginning of our nation. The public school is one of the most
effective self-betterment tools in the history of this country.
But this bastion of democracy is threatened when public expectation
changes, and the public school is not allowed to follow the public
will. There was a time not long ago when people with a high school
diploma or people who had not graduated from high school could still
participate meaningfully in our economy. Those times have changed.
Americans expect public schools to educate all students to a higher
standard, and expect a high school diploma to be accurate assurance
that a graduate knows and can do what it takes to succeed in higher
education and in today's economy. Most teachers in most classrooms do a
good job--and some are clearly gifted.
But many teachers, excellent in other ways, lack the training,
preparation, and know-how to teach reading in ways that reflect the
best research. Many otherwise skilled teachers need help to teach
today's skills with today's technology. And any teacher has a difficult
time getting youngsters ready for today's world when there are more
than 30 children in a classroom.
So the class size reduction bill I'm introducing today puts the funds
in the hands of local school districts to train teachers in effective
practices, to get uncertified teachers up to certification standards,
to provide mentor teachers for teachers who need it, and to improve
teacher recruiting.
Improving class size is an investment in our future that we know will
pay dividends. This proposal is still building momentum in Congress.
Twice now, this class size proposal has been voted on this year, and
the last time it was one vote away from passage. The public is aware
that efforts such as the Coverdell IRA proposal do not provide results
even for the few students they are targeted to help. Ask any parent or
student, and they'll tell you class size reduction works for all
students.
The President had originally talked about funding class size
reduction with tobacco revenues, but class size improvement was left
out of the bill that left the Commerce Committee.
With or without a tobacco bill, we can pass the class size
improvement initiative and keep a balanced budget. In the President's
budget request, there are still more than $20 billion in mandatory and
tax offsets we have not yet used. There are several ways to fund a
class size initiative, keep a balanced budget, and provide in one
action real results for all students.
Also, as I've mentioned before, this really is an issue of
priorities. Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee took a meat
cleaver to social programs, such as elimination of the summer jobs for
teenagers, and winter heating assistance for elderly people in harsh
winter climates. This year, thanks to the tough decisions I and others
here made in 1993 and other factors, we are looking at a balanced
budget.
Now more than ever, the American people priorities are what matter,
and they must be reflected in our funding decisions. These are their
federal tax dollars we are investing, and education is a much higher
priority to most Americans than the two percent of spending it
currently holds.
We have been sending out and continue to send funds to communities so
they can hire 100,000 police officers. The communities which have hired
these officers have responded with enthusiasm. Allowing school
districts to hire 100,000 teachers to school districts will do the same
thing--invigorate both the local school district they affect, and the
state governments who can fund class size improvement on a greater
scale.
The American people want their national investments to be common
sense solutions that work. They want to see national initiatives jump-
start real improvements in their local school. They want better
teachers, and smaller class sizes. They want to know that when their
child goes to school next fall, they are going to get good answers to
their perennial questions: ``Who's your teacher, and how many kids are
in your class?''
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By Mr. DURBIN:
S. 2210. A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with
respect to the requirements for the admission of nonimmigrant nurses
who will practice in health professional shortage areas; to the
Committee on the Judiciary.
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