[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H10996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PAYING FOR IMPROVEMENTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us tonight is vastly 
different than just even 2 days ago. The dollar fights willed the 
liberal Democrats to spend $150 billion more above the balanced budget 
and increase fees and taxes by $130 billion, is what this whole fight 
has been about. The hundred thousand teachers that the Democrats 
debated in support of last week is a totally different bill today. Why? 
Why are Republicans now supporting it? Because it is political thing to 
do? No. Because the President demanded it? No. But because it is paid 
for, it is paid for. It is paid for out of the other priorities that 
the President wanted, not out of increased taxes, not out of the 
surplus, but it is paid for, and that is all the Republicans ever asked 
for so we can come to the table and agree on that today.
  I would ask that the public take a look at what we have funded. 
Special education has gone from 6 to 12 percent just in the last 2 
years. Impact aid for Native Americans and Federal employees, the 
President totally zeroed that out, and we put in $250 billion in impact 
aid. Head Start we increased, student loans we increased by 50 percent, 
and not a cost to the Federal Government, but because they were done 
with private firms. Pell grants for poor children we increased. But the 
President wanted to increase his priorities $1.1 billion above the 
balanced budget, and Republicans said no, we want you to pay for it. In 
the negotiations he had choices. He could pay for it out of the 
surplus, but he already said he was going to support Social Security 
with that. He could increase taxes, which he asked to do, $130 billion 
to pay for it, and Republicans said absolutely not, no taxes or fees.
  School construction. They could have saved 35 percent by waiving 
Davis-Bacon just for school construction, billions of dollars. And 
would they do that and support children? No, they choose to support 
their union bosses. They could pay for it out of the balanced budget 
and pay for it, which they refused to do. But tonight the President has 
agreed to pay for it, and now Republicans support it.
  Why else? Because there is local control, not federal control that 
the Democrats wanted. There are local regulations, not Federal 
regulations, in the bill. There is no Federal paperwork. It is based on 
the local level. The elementary schools can hire special education 
credential teachers, not just regularly credentialed teachers, and that 
is a big difference. But that is based on the local decisions and their 
needs, not some bureaucrat here in Washington, D.C. So we support that.
  And there is no national testing. It is arrived by both State and 
local. So this is a win-win. A hundred thousand teachers; who is going 
to be against improving education? My Democrat liberal colleagues say, 
well, the Republicans do not want to improve education. That is a joke. 
They had 40 years of control of this House, we are fifteenth of 
industrialized nations in math and science, fifteenth, and almost last 
in literacy, and we are trying to make a change. We are trying to send 
the dollars down to the local classroom.
  I had a hearing when I was chairman of K through 12 education. I had 
eight different witnesses, some half Democrat, half Republican; did not 
limit it as a chairman. In those districts everyone thought they had 
the greatest program, and I asked them at the end, I said how many of 
you, any of you, have the other 7? And they said none. And I said that 
is our entire Republican issue by giving you a block grant and not 
mandating that you have all 8 programs in your district, but you take 
the money and make the thing work, the program that works in your 
district because Wisconsin may be a lot different than New York or San 
Diego. And I want to tell you Atlanta is a lot different after the 
Padres beat them this week.
  But I want to tell you the whole Republican agenda is local control 
where parents and teachers, administrators and the community can make 
those decisions, and to have the bills paid for not out of increasing 
the balanced budget, but by paying for it, the President has agreed to 
do that. Totally different than my colleagues debated just a couple of 
days ago, and now they say Republicans now support our agenda. We 
always supported 100,000 teachers. It was how you paid for it. The 
President has agreed to do that with no federal control, local control, 
and we support it a hundred percent.

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