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




                   EDUCATION POLICY THAT MAKES SENSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, as we near the final days of the legislative 
session, I rise to express my real disappointment with the lack of 
attention that this Republican Congress has given to public education. 
Democrats have, month after month, put forth education initiatives to 
improve our public schools and to provide opportunities for all of our 
students. We offered an amendment to reduce class size in primary 
schools to 18 children per class. It was opposed by Republicans. On two 
occasions we put forth legislation to allow local school authorities to 
build new schools and to modernize classrooms. We were not talking 
about Federal authorities, but we were talking about local school 
authorities to be able to build and modernize these classrooms. These 
initiatives were rejected by the Republicans.
  These are only two examples of the long list of important education 
initiatives that Republicans have defeated this year. Even worse, they 
continue to propose counterproductive policies, such as school vouchers 
and tax incentives for private and religious schools. These efforts 
undermine public education.
  Now, we know that a strong educational system provides students with 
the necessary background, skills and training to survive and to be 
productive members of this society and the world community.
  We have also learned that education is the best form of crime 
prevention. A California-based think tank recently released a study 
showing that crime prevention efforts are more cost effective than 
building prisons. Of all crime prevention methods, education is the 
most cost effective method of crime prevention. Yet, rather than invest 
in education, Republicans would have us funnel more money into prisons.
  We see money flowing into sources such as constructing new prisons, 
as if we need to prepare for the inevitable incarceration of our 
children. There are now plans on the drawing board to construct prisons 
within the next 10 to 12 years counting on children who are now 10 
years old to fill them.
  This is wrong. In fact, the lack of investment in education actually 
contributes to the enormous incarceration rate. Nineteen percent of 
adult inmates are completely illiterate and 40 percent are functionally 
illiterate. Nationwide, over 70 percent of all people entering state 
correctional facilities have not completed high school. In our juvenile 
justice system, youth at a median age of 15 read on average at the same 
level as most nine-year-olds.
  So it is imperative that we begin to refocus on education and 
building schools, instead of building prisons. With children attending 
classes in trailers, being subjected to unheated and sometimes unsafe 
buildings, or packed together 35 in a classroom, it is no wonder that 
too many students are not learning and receiving the healthy start they 
need to succeed in the competitive fast-paced working world.
  Education is the key to our investment in the future. We should be 
constructing new classrooms, building after school facilities and 
strengthening important programs like preschool and after school 
programs, not concentrating on more centers for incarceration. By 
attending to students' academic, physical and emotional needs, we can 
prevent the experiences of neglect and abandonment that can lead to 
misbehavior and even criminal activity.
  Investing in education makes sense. It makes sense for our national 
budget, it makes sense for the safety of our communities and it makes 
sense for the well-being of our children. It is my hope that in the 
final hours of negotiation and debate, that this Congress can pull 
together and give the remaining public education initiatives the 
priority they deserve. We owe at least this much to our students.

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