[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10807-H10808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1915
          SUPPORT PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL ON SCHOOL MODERNIZATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I simply would like to say to 
my colleague who recently spoke to this House that I really do not want 
political advantage. That is not why I came to this body.
  Frankly, I came here to be able to answer the call that I think so 
many have called on us to answer, and that is to assist the American 
children get the best equalizer they could get; and that is a quality 
education. I think for anyone to suggest that we are in this battle for 
political advantage, with all due respect to my esteemed colleague, 
misses the boat.
  I would like to be able to stand up here today and to recount for my 
colleague a long litany of legislation passed that deals with education 
in this 105th Congress. Frankly, I can honestly say that this Congress 
has passed a mere three bills that have actually been signed into law.
  I would not want to take away from the excellence of this Congress if 
I had something more to say. That is why I am here this evening. 
Frankly, that is why we are here past the time we thought we could be 
out with our constituents.
  There is not a one of us, I hope, that has not spent valuable time 
with our students in our school districts. Frankly, I would like to be 
able to tell my colleagues what is going on in the 18th Congressional 
District in Texas.
  I would like not to say that Jefferson Davis High School has no 
library. I would rather not say that. For the longest time, we have 
been struggling to get the money so that these young people can go to a 
library and sit down with books and computers and learn. But we have no 
library.
  But I also want to add that my constituents, people who live in that 
community, are struggling to do what is right. So we have several bond 
elections on line, if you will. This legislation that I am fighting for 
today and that I hope we will stay until we get it included will give 
tax relief to those constituents across America who are struggling to 
provide for their schools. They are not providing because they do not 
want to.
  I would like to stand up here and tell my colleagues that I did not 
have a school roof collapse on an elementary school about a year ago. I 
would like to not have to say that.
  Frankly, I would like to tell my colleagues that all of my schools 
have auditoriums and cafeterias, but simply they do not. They have one 
room where they do everything from their programs to their eating to 
moving people out to starting kids to eat at 10 a.m. in the morning for 
lunch because they do not have the space and the separate areas where 
they can eat and then have auditorium, where they can teach large 
classes of science and then have auditorium, where they have a library 
and then have a cafeteria.
  We are facing this throughout the Nation. I think it disturbs me that 
we are looking now at legislation that wants to take $17 million from 
the State of Texas, unlike what we were funded last year.
  Modernization is key. I will be going home to support my school bond 
election. But I will tell my colleagues I want to ensure that we get 
those taxpayers the kind of relief. If we pass the President's program, 
let me share with my colleagues how it will work.
  School district A needs funds to construct additional schools to 
educate its rapidly growing enrollment. Notice I did not say urban 
school centers, I did not say suburban, I did not say rural because 
there is need in every one of those. That is one of the reasons why I 
am supporting the President's proposal, because it goes on the basis of

[[Page H10808]]

need. It does not distinguish or discriminate. It says simply said what 
school district actually needs.
  If our proposal goes into effect in this omnibus bill, the State 
would allocate bond authority to school district A. When this community 
passes a bond initiative, which mine is doing right now, it would then 
enter into an agreement with the financial company to sell the bonds to 
bond holders in order to raise funds to build schools in the community. 
We voted on this.
  The school district would use these funds to plan, design, and build 
additional schools, whatever district we are in. The community would 
repay the principal on the bonds to the bond holders, but it would not 
have to pay the interest on the school modernization bonds, an enormous 
savings for the taxpayers, taxpayer relief.
  The bond holders would receive a tax credit equivalent to the amount 
of interest it would ordinarily have received on the loan. I do not 
know about my colleagues, but everyone that I speak to this about in my 
district views this as a positive collaboration, not a takeover of the 
school districts.
  We are not here to suggest that whether it is the Department of 
Education or whether it is this Congress that we take over the local 
initiative, but we collaborate.
  Mr. Speaker, I think that we know full well what we need to do. We 
need to vote for a proposal that supports the hundred thousand teachers 
in the classroom to bring down class size. Mr. Speaker, we frankly need 
to support the program by the President on school modernization.

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