[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10806-H10807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              ON EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Riggs) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I am rising tonight to see if I can perhaps 
shed a little bit more light than heat on the ongoing debate in this 
House about education priorities. I think I have some credibility on 
this subject since for the last 2 years in this Congress I have chaired 
an education subcommittee. I think I can truthfully say no one has 
worked longer and harder on Federal education policies and initiatives 
than me.
  I despair that particularly in the waning days of a Congress we talk 
right by each other. It just becomes another he-said-she-said partisan 
discussion, particularly when we hear Members talk about class warfare 
and the politics of envy and get the priorities of government confused.
  The first thing I want to stipulate is the Federal Government, using 
Federal taxpayer funding is responsible for providing a strong 
collective defense of

[[Page H10807]]

our country and that State and local government is responsible for 
public education, making sure that all of our children have a high 
quality education that prepares them for a productive, successful adult 
life.
  That said, some of the rhetoric that has been used on this floor in 
the last few days simply does not withstand scrutiny. I cite for you a 
case in point. On Saturday, the minority leader of this House, the 
leader of the House Democrat Party, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Gephardt) said, we have not spent one day, one minute, one second on 
our most important challenge, making sure every child is a productive 
citizen in a global economy.
  The very next day the President said, in just the last two days 
Republicans and Democrats have worked together to pass strong charter 
school and vocational education measures.
  Confused yet. I sure am. Which is it? Or do you insist on having it 
both ways and perpetuating these disingenuous tactics in a deliberate 
attempt to mislead the American people, hoping desperately to get some 
sort of political advantage going into the November election?
  It really is bankrupt to kind of use these tactics over and over and 
over again. In fact, Mr. Gephardt made his comments the same day that 
he voted for the charter school bill. And the President made his 
comments the very next day at the conclusion of a meeting of Democrats 
at the White House on budget negotiations, and the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) was seated directly next to the President. It 
is funny. It is laughable that Members of this body, who I think are 
all honorable professional Members, engage in these kind of tactics.

  The fact of the matter is, we have worked long and hard on education, 
beginning last year with the Federal special education bill, reforming 
that law called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is 
the only Federal education mandate imposed on State and local agencies 
by the Congress. And in that bill for the first time since that 
legislation became law we inserted a provision saying that once we 
reach a certain level of Federal funding, State and local governments 
could reduce the money that they spend, called the local share, that 
they spend on special education costs. And the net effect of that is 
that State and local government then has more ability, more flexibility 
to use their own money to meet a variety of educational needs. And that 
is as it should be.
  State and local governments have the taxing authority for public 
education. We at the Federal level do not have the taxing authority for 
public education. There is a clear division between the 
responsibilities and the role of the Federal Government and that of 
State and local government.
  But we have worked long and hard on education, achievement after 
achievement over the last 2 years. Just these two bills, vocational 
education and charter schools, are going to help give our young people 
more technical training, more career skills to prepare them, 
particularly those that are not college bound, to prepare them for the 
job force, the job market, to help prepare them for the job market not 
just of tomorrow but of the 21st century.
  The charter school bill is going to substantially increase Federal 
taxpayer funding for the start-up of more charter schools. These are 
public choice schools that are on the cutting edge of education reform 
and innovation and which I think are the best thing going today in 
terms of infusing competition and choice and therefore more 
accountability into the public education system.
  These bills, which are about to become law, follow on the heels of 
the special education law, the two bills that came out of the 
Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training and Life-Long 
Learning, the Work Force Investment Partnership Act and the Higher 
Education Act amendments, which provide the highest amount of Pell 
grants, the highest level of Pell grant funding and the lowest interest 
rates for student financial aid in the history of our country.
  We have a great record of fighting for our children's future and 
improving education and America's schools. But our solutions are 
different than the Democrats. That is true. Because we emphasize local 
control and accountability, which is in keeping with the longstanding 
American tradition of local decentralized decisionmaking in public 
education, more parental involvement in choice, raising teacher 
competency and teaching accountability.
  Despite the Democrats' delaying tactics, our record beats their 
rhetoric any day of the week.

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