[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10879-H10880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MAKING EDUCATION DECISIONS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I think it is appropriate at this point to 
rewind the tape a little bit to earlier this year in this very chamber 
where the President came before the Congress and the American people 
and requested billions of dollars in additional spending and billions 
of dollars in additional taxes.
  Now, I believe fundamentally that trust and credibility are something 
that we try to contract with the people who send us here, the ability 
for us to go back home and tell the people back at Staten Island or 
Brooklyn that we are fighting to do the right thing here in this 
country and this Congress. And I believe, and I think a lot of the 
colleagues on this side of the aisle believe, that the American people 
are taxed too much; that too many people go to work each and every day 
and do not see enough come back in the form of their paycheck.
  Now, indeed too much money goes to the Federal Government and not 
enough comes back to the people in Staten Island, the ones that I 
represent. Obviously what has happened is the Republican majority in 
the last several months has fought for much needed tax relief and 
fought for the elimination of the ridiculous marriage penalty tax, 
whereby millions of American couples are penalized through the Tax Code 
for being married. That means they pay an additional fee over and above 
what they should pay just because they are married.
  In addition, there are a lot of small business owners around this 
country who want good health insurance, but they can only deduct 
approximately 45 percent of that health insurance. What that means 
essentially is the Federal Government takes that money in place of good 
health insurance, affecting many of the small business owners' 
decisions when it comes to the uninsured and providing health insurance 
for their families. This Congress offered 100 percent deductible to be 
imposed next year. Not to mention the fact we are trying to stimulate 
our economy by allowing our economy to grow, and that means getting the 
money out of Washington and allow people, whether it is in Staten 
Island, San Francisco, anywhere across the country, to reinvest the 
money, to save money.
  Basically, folks, it is the freedom to spend your money as you see 
fit and not here in Washington. And we fought month after month, and 
what happened? The President threatened to veto it and killed the tax 
relief that was so desperately needed from so many people across this 
country.
  Now we see an attempt to divert attention away from the issue at 
hand, and, yes, it becomes under the guise of education. Who could not 
stand in this well and say we do not want to improve education? We have 
been fighting for years to try to improve education, at least I know 
back on Staten Island. But there is a philosophical and fundamental 
difference as to who is best able to make those decisions.
  Now, I stand firm and I stand strong to say the people on Staten 
Island, the

[[Page H10880]]

parents and the teachers and the principals and the administrators back 
home are in a better position to make those decisions than bureaucrats 
here in Washington. All they want to do is send billions more to fund 
those bureaucrats, to fund the big government, instead of sending the 
money back home.
  We have tried to make progress over the years, but the defenders of 
the status quo who love more government and bigger government and more 
bureaucrats at the expense of the children and the families, all they 
can do is say ``no'' and divert attention.
  Education savings accounts, empowering parents with the flexibility 
to make the decisions best for their children passed this House. Vetoed 
by the President. Opportunity scholarships for the students of the 
Washington, DC school system. To the chagrin of the people on the other 
side who say it is taking money away, no, in fact, it was not. That is 
not true. It was money over and above what we were sending to the 
Washington, DC school system to go to the poorest students who were 
trapped in the horror of the Washington, DC school system. An 
opportunity for 2,000 students. The President vetoed it.
  More money to the classroom. Ninety-five percent of the Federal money 
that now finds its way too often in Washington, we were sending it back 
home to Staten Island and Brooklyn, to the classroom where it is needed 
most. What happened? A threatened veto. Killed by the President in the 
White House.
  Who can argue with empowering parents, sending more money to the 
classroom, providing flexibility for local teachers and administrators 
and local school districts? I will tell you who can argue with that; 
the people who wanted to divert attention away from doing the people's 
business, divert attention away from the fact that all they want to do 
is make the government in Washington bigger and bigger, and take the 
freedom and liberty away from the people back home in Staten Island and 
across this country.
  I believe strongly that the American people are tired of that record 
and want to see tax relief and better education options.

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