[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H5504-H5505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       STRONG SUPPORT FOR E-RATE

  (Mr. REYES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I am gladly standing this morning in support 
of the E-rate. I believe this country's most valuable resource to be 
our children, and education is key to their development. In a world 
where computers are defining their very lives, our educational 
institutions must include technology. The genius of American education 
is that whether rich or poor, our children are given the opportunity to 
gain that knowledge.

[[Page H5505]]

  Today, the Internet is a tremendous tool to acquire that knowledge. 
It brings people and ideas thousands of miles apart to a child's 
desktop. We cannot afford to have this technology available only in 
financially strong schools. Through the E-rate, those schools and 
libraries with limited resources are given the necessary discounts to 
link up with everybody else.
  The attacks on the E-rate are an assault on our children's future. 
Our society must not be divided by those who are computer literate and 
those who are not.
  Mr. Speaker, if we do not support E-rate, we doom and handicap our 
children. Americans understand and want access to technology in their 
children's schools, and we must all support the E-rate.

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