[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 2, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E101-E103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION OF THE EXPAND & REBUILD AMERICA'S SCHOOLS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 2, 1999

  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce school 
construction legislation that I spearheaded in the 105th Congress. The 
Expand & Rebuild America's Schools Act is a progressive step forward to 
resolve America's ever-expanding school overcrowding crisis. I was 
disappointed to see the 105th Congress end without the passage of 
meaningful school construction legislation. The President, myself, and 
other members of Congress offered beneficial and positive measures to 
renovate and improve America's schools, but we were blocked every step 
of the way by a Republican leadership unwilling to commit needed 
resources to our education agenda. I hope our new Speaker will use the 
opportunity of a new Congress to do more, and to prove to the American 
people that we care about our schools and our children.
  School overcrowding remains a tremendous obstacle in my congressional 
district and, I am positive, all across America. The Secretary of 
Education annually releases a Baby Boom Echo report which highlights 
trends in school populations across the country. The dismal scenario we 
saw in the 1997 report became even more bleak in 1998. This year total 
public and private school enrollment will rise to a record 52.7 
million, and over the next decade public high school enrollment is 
expected to increase by 11 percent! Twenty states will have at least a 
15 percent increase in the number of public high school graduates, with 
a 78 percent increase projected for Nevada, 39 percent for Hawaii, and 
38 percent for Florida. Largely because of the high school enrollment 
increase, the total number of new teaching positions for public and 
private high school teachers is expected to rise by 115,000--a 9 
percent increase. The Secretary of Education also anticipates that 
6,000 schools need to be built in the next ten years to accommodate 
school population increases. We can no longer ignore these facts. 
School overcrowding is a national dilemma that needs a nation wide 
solution.
  The Expand & Rebuild America's Schools Act, H.R. 415, is that 
solution. This bill is focused, effective, and tax-payer friendly. H.R. 
415 develops a pilot bond program to help our local schools save money 
on bond initiatives. Through the creation of a new class of bonds, the 
Federal Government will provide a tax credit to lenders equal to the 
amount of

[[Page E102]]

the interest that would otherwise be paid by schools. Schools will save 
millions of dollars in interest costs by having to repay only the 
principle amount of the bond.
  To be eligible for the bond program, local school districts must have 
rapid growth rates and high student-teacher ratios, a problem facing 
the majority of suburban schools in this nation. Schools must also seek 
out partnerships with local businesses and the private sector for 
donations of equipment or funding, volunteer work, vocational training, 
or however a school and business sees fit. Encouraging our schools to 
develop these public/private partnerships will only enhance the impact 
of the bond initiative. The Expand and Rebuild America's Schools Act 
aims to reward schools that have high standards and are working hard to 
solve their overcrowding problems.
  This bill is also simple and easy to administer. Schools can apply 
directly to the Secretary of Education for these bonds, bypassing state 
bureaucracy and cutting red tape. And, my bill does not create any new 
government program or agency. This legislation gives local school 
districts the incentive they need to float and pass local school 
construction bonds. It provides the stimulus for the private sector to 
step up and help their local communities.
  This is a bill that both Republicans and Democrats can support. 
Within a week of the bill's introduction, we have gained 27 bipartisan 
co-sponsors, and the numbers keep growing. My bill is supported by the 
Administration, and even the President has included $25 billion in 
school construction bonds in his FY 2000 budget. Organizations such as 
Cal Fed and the Coalition for Adequate School Housing have endorsed the 
bill, and I have also held numerous community wide forums and hearings 
in my Congressional district to highlight the benefits of H.R. 415.
  Our schools are waiting for the Federal Government to act. And, we 
must act in a bipartisan and cooperative manner if we are to truly make 
a difference. The passage of school construction legislation is 
possible, but we must work together to achieve this goal. We cannot let 
the American people down. Help relieve America's bulging classrooms! 
This public/private partnership is the answer. I encourage my 
colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 415. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I would 
like to include the following materials into the Record.

                                      Committee on Ways and Means,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, October 16, 1997.
     Hon. Loretta Sanchez,
     House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Loretta: I am writing to tell you how pleased I am 
     that you are interested in introducing legislation to expand 
     the education zone bond program that was enacted as part of 
     the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Like you, I believe that 
     program was a needed first step and that we should look for 
     opportunities to expand it.
       I hope to have the opportunity to offer an amendment on the 
     Floor to expand that program in connection with the 
     consideration of H.R. 2646. That legislation would permit 
     taxpayers to contribute $2,500 per year per child to an 
     education savings account. Earnings from that account would 
     be tax-exempt if used to pay expenses of primary and 
     secondary education.
       I oppose that legislation because I feel that it is a 
     diversion of scarce resources for the benefit of a small 
     group of wealthy families with children in private schools. I 
     believe that those resources should be devoted to the 
     improvement of our public school system. Therefore, I intend 
     to offer a substitute that would expand the education zone 
     bond program. My substitute would increase the size of the 
     program from $400 million per year for the next two years to 
     $4 billion per year for those years. In addition, my 
     substitute would permit the use of those bonds for school 
     construction. My substitute is very similar to your proposed 
     legislation and I hope that you will support my substitute.
       Again, I welcome your interest in the education zone bond 
     program and look forward to working with you on this issue in 
     the future.
           Sincerely,
                                                Charles B. Rangel,
                                                 Ranking Democrat.


     
                                  ____
                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                 Washington, DC, February 6, 1998.
     Hon. Robert E. Rubin,
     Secretary of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Rubin: I share your commitment to schools and 
     education and appluad the administration's school 
     construction bond initiative. The tax proposal will provide 
     assistance to schools in California, particularly schools in 
     low income areas. These schools have significant 
     rehabilitation and construction needs, but may be forced to 
     pay the highest bond interest rates to obtain financing, if 
     the bonds can be issued at all.
       In preparing the legislation for introduction in Congress, 
     I encourage the Treasury Department to use the proposed tax 
     legislation to address the important issue of alleviating 
     school overcrowding, which will contribute dramatically to 
     improving education. Specifically, I urge the administration 
     to incorporate provisions of H.R. 2695, introduced by 
     Representative Loretta Sanchez, which confers eligibility for 
     the bonds to schools facing significant school overcrowding, 
     projecting significant future growth and has adopted a 
     strategic plan to address overcrowding concerns. California's 
     schools face a major crisis in education:
       California faces compelling school infrastructure needs and 
     a school overcrowding challenge that will only grow over 
     time. Today, California's 32 million people are relying on 
     school infrastructure built when the population was 16 
     million. The problems will only increase as our population 
     increases to close to 50 million over the next 25 years.
       School overcrowding directly affects education quality. 
     Educators tell us that elementary schools should be limited 
     to 450 students, yet some California elementary schools serve 
     more than 5,000 students. Average enrollment in K-12 schools 
     is expected to increase by more than 400,000 students by the 
     end of this decade. At this pace, California would have to 
     build nearly a school each day just to keep up with increased 
     enrollment.
       To be sure, the nation's education system cannot be fixed 
     with just bricks, mortar and electrical wiring. However, 
     California's schools face major needs, with both the nation's 
     highest student-to-teacher ratio and the lowest share of 18-
     24-year-olds receiving a high school diploma. Poor education 
     facilities are simply not compatible with meeting the 
     requirements of today's global economy.
       Every student deserves access to a quality education. Every 
     parent deserves to know the federal government is committed 
     to supporting the best education for their students. The 
     administration deserves great credit for its school 
     construction tax incentives. However, the tax incentives 
     should acknowledge the critical challenge of school 
     overcrowding and assist states and school districts to meet 
     their building needs. Should you have questions, please do 
     not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to the 
     administration's views.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Dianne Feinstein,
                                                     U.S. Senator.


     
                                  ____
  [From the Orange County Register, Orange County, CA, Jan. 21, 1999]

                           Jam-Packed Schools


EDUCATION: A public forum today addresses the impact of overcrowding in 
                              central O.C.

                  (By Dennis Love and Dina Elboghdady)

       Lunch time at Edison Elementary School in central Santa 
     Ana. Fourth-grader Azucena Aburca stood at the rear of a 90-
     kid-deep lunch line that, to her, seemed to stretch to 
     Arizona.
       ``It takes so long--10 or 15 minutes,'' she said, straining 
     on tiptoes for a glimpse of the promised land. ``And when we 
     get up there, we have to eat fast.''
       Other symptoms of overcrowding abound at Edison, where 950 
     children and a staff of 65 jostle about a 3.7-acre campus 
     designed for half that many.
       Portable classrooms sit where children once played 
     basketball. Music students practice in a small classroom amid 
     skyscrapers of stacked chairs. In a hallway, seven first-
     graders squeeze together like paper dolls on an old sofa to 
     be tutored in reading.
       Conditions such as these will be the subject of a public 
     forum today at 10 a.m. at Loara Elementary School in Anaheim, 
     where Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, and House 
     Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., will be among those 
     listening to testimony from students, parents, teachers, 
     principals, superintendents and others about overcrowding and 
     its impact in central Orange County.
       Sanchez arranged the hearing in support of legislation she 
     has proposed that encourages new school and classroom 
     construction through new tax-exempt bonds.
       Enrollment in California is growing faster than anywhere 
     else in the nation, and school districts are feeling the 
     pressure. In the Anaheim City School District, for example, 
     the newest school opened 10 years ago.
       ``The bottom line is always funding,'' said Mike Vail, 
     senior director of facilities planning and governmental 
     relations for the Santa Ana Unified School District, who will 
     testify at the hearing. ``Schools suffer because we just 
     don't have a reliable stream of money to build more 
     classrooms.''
       The state school-construction program requires school 
     districts to put up matching money, which few districts have. 
     Compounding the dilemma is that any local school-bond measure 
     must be approved by a two-thirds majority of voters rather 
     than a simple majority.
       Even if only a simple majority were required, school 
     officials consider that avenue unpromising. In response to a 
     survey conducted by Sanchez, Michael Perez, director of 
     facilities planning for the Anaheim City School District, 
     said, ``Orange County is still recovering from the recession, 
     and the likelihood of the community passing a general 
     obligation bond seems very unlikely.''
       All the while, enrollments are soaring and many school 
     districts are running out of stop-gap measures. The recent 
     move in California to 20-to-1 student-teacher ratios in 
     grades K-3 only intensified the crunch.
       For example, Perez estimates that the Anaheim City School 
     District needs a minimum of $80 million over the next five 
     years to build eight new schools. In addition, Perez noted, 
     ``Almost all buildings do not meet today's safety and 
     structural requirements for school facilities.'' Vail said 
     Santa Ana needs

[[Page E103]]

     $120 million to build a high school and three elementary 
     schools.
       Yet these needs often run counter to political realities. 
     Historically, building schools has been a local issue. 
     Congress has resisted paying for school construction for 
     philosophical and economic reasons.
       Some lawmakers say local taxpayers will become more 
     dependent on the federal government and less committed to 
     paying property taxes if Uncle Sam helps build schools.
       Others say it will cost too much. For instance, building a 
     new school in the Anaheim City School District costs about 
     $15 million, according to Perez. And the General Accounting 
     Office estimates that it would take $112 billion to repair 
     schools nationwide.
       ``The Republican majority in Congress has tended not to 
     support federal involvement in education,'' said Sally 
     McConnell, a lobbyist for the National Association of 
     Elementary School Principals. ``That mood is still there 
     among lots of members.''
       To appease deficit hawks and other critics, many lawmakers 
     who want the federal government to pitch in are focusing on 
     tax-oriented rather than spending-based solutions.
       Under Sanchez's proposal, the federal government would give 
     investors in school-construction bonds a tax credit.
       A tax break, Sanchez said, will entice purchasers of bonds 
     and take some financial burden off the schools without 
     costing the federal government extra money or harming local 
     control of schools.
       To get the tax credit, schools must prove that they've 
     tried to alleviate overcrowding by using nontraditional 
     classroom space or holding a year-round schedule. They must 
     work in partnership with a private group or business willing 
     to pay some expenses such as computers.
       And they must meet at least two of the following criteria: 
     a 10 percent growth rate during a five-year period; a 
     student-teacher ratio at least 28-to-1; or at least 35 
     percent of students living below the poverty level.
       Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., wants $1 billion a year 
     in tax credits for companies doing school construction 
     projects so they would charge the local school districts less 
     for the work.
       Under Moseley-Braun's plan, $226.7 million in tax credits 
     would go directly to two school districts and six cities in 
     California, including Santa Ana.
       President Clinton plans to weigh in. In his State of the 
     Union Speech on Jan. 27, Clinton is expected to propose 
     spending $5 billion on school repairs and construction. A 
     similar plan was shelved last year during the balanced-budget 
     talks, angering many education groups.
       If any school-construction bill passes, it will probably 
     borrow from the various pieces of existing legislation, said 
     Michael Briggs, Moseley-Braun's spokesman.
       Advocates of federal school-construction money say they're 
     encouraged that some Republican governors are joining them to 
     ask for federal help, including Gov. Pete Wilson, who has 
     floated his own school-construction bond proposal.
       About 87 percent of the public schools in California say 
     they need to upgrade or repair buildings, according to a 
     recent study by the GAO.
       Enrollment in the state's elementary and secondary schools 
     is expected to reach almost 7 million by 2007 from the 
     current 6 million--a 17 percent increase, making it the state 
     with the highest growth rate in the nation, according to the 
     U.S. Department of Education.
       And with many pushing for smaller classes, the space crunch 
     will only get worse. About 6,000 more schools are needed to 
     accommodate the growing enrollment, the education department 
     study says.
       ``The joke around education circles is that every available 
     trailer was headed to California when that thing passed,'' 
     said Jewell Gould, research director at the American 
     Federation of Teachers.
       To principals like Edison's Ann Leibovitz, it may seem as 
     if all those portables have landed on her campus. ``We need 
     more air space,'' she said, ``We need help so that we're not 
     bumping into each other as much.''

     

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