[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H10992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CHALLENGES THAT AWAIT THE CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening not to attempt to 
drive a wedge among Americans of different backgrounds. Indeed, I 
believe what President Theodore Roosevelt said is true, that though we 
come from many different backgrounds, we celebrate 100 percent 
Americanism, even when people have different views about a variety of 
issues.
  Mr. Speaker, I come to the well tonight further to discuss the 
challenge that still awaits this Congress, the challenging decisions we 
confront.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report to the citizens of the sixth 
congressional district of Arizona, who I am pleased to represent, 
indeed all Americans from coast to coast, Mr. Speaker, that this 
Congress is making progress on a variety of fronts, but most especially 
on that topic that seemed to be on the tips of just about everyone's 
tongue, especially on the other side of the aisle earlier this week, 
and that of course is education.
  Mr. Speaker, I think common sense dictates that education is too 
important to be left up to Washington bureaucrats. That is why in the 
midst of this historic attempt to reach a budget agreement, I am 
personally pleased to see that after a time of discussion and 
negotiation, those who represented the administration found that also 
this should be true.
  For while there will be increased spending on education, it will be 
done at the local level. Indeed, perhaps even exceeding the hard work 
done by our colleague the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) in 
his Dollars to the Classroom Act, which said that for every education 
dollar at the Federal level, 95 cents of that dollar should end up in 
local classrooms, helping teachers teach and helping children learn. 
And indeed, in the wake of these negotiations, now 100 percent of the 
money will end up at the local level for States and, more importantly, 
for local school districts to determine how best to utilize for teacher 
training and for challenges they confront. Because after all, the key 
to solving many difficulties and challenges in education are confronted 
by school board members who are elected in their respective 
communities, by the teachers who know the names of the children in 
their classrooms, by the parents who have a concern because they have 
been entrusted with our most precious resource, a resource for which no 
price tag can be attached.
  We have been dealing with many challenges when it comes to these 
budget talks and, Mr. Speaker, I can remember on a few occasions even 
the President of the United States has come into this Chamber with his 
State of the Union messages and he has offered some interesting 
comments. Indeed, in the last State of the Union message, Mr. Speaker, 
when you totaled up everything the President had proposed in his budget 
plan, you were looking at more than $150 billion of new spending.
  The common sense conservative majority has put the brakes on that. 
And more importantly, to pay for those programs, not with a great deal 
of illumination or elucidation, but the President of the United States 
had a price tag attached, over $130 billion of tax and fee increases. 
Mr. Speaker, we can report this evening that there will be no tax 
increases in our agreement.
  And more importantly, Mr. Speaker, because we do face pressing needs, 
not only the Y2K crisis that confronts us in the field of high 
technology, but more basically, as we take a look at the preamble to 
the Constitution and our charge to provide for the common defense, 
every dollar of new social spending will be matched with a dollar for 
our defense spending, for, Mr. Speaker, reports have come to us that 
are indeed disturbing, reports of a hollow force that we have not seen 
since the late 1970s, reports of a spare parts and personnel crisis.
  I know that other colleagues will join us to discuss these pressing 
issues, but we are making the choices right for America.

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