[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 20 (Thursday, February 4, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S1286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE PUBLIC SCHOOL MODERNIZATION ACT

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to update my 
colleagues on the status of the Public School Modernization Act, which 
I introduced on January 19 as S. 223. The bill already has 15 
cosponsors and I expect the list to continue to grow.
  Mr. President, I was very pleased to see that the President's Budget 
for Fiscal Year 2000 will call for $25 billion in nationwide bond 
authority through the Public School Modernization Act. This is a higher 
total than first contemplated in my bill, S. 223, but I want to make it 
clear to my colleagues that my cosponsors and I will gladly update the 
numbers when my bill reaches the Senate floor as an amendment or a 
stand alone measure.
  The President's FY 2000 Budget illustrates why the Public School 
Modernization Act is a great return on our Federal investment. The five 
year cost of this program will be $3.7 billion, but it will create 
nearly $25 billion in new bond authority for school districts all over 
the country. Of this authority, $22.4 billion will be through the 
School Modernization Bond Program and $2.4 billion will come through 
the Qualified Zone Academy Bond Program. In addition, $400 million of 
bond authority will go to Native American tribes or tribal 
organizations for BIA funded schools.
  Mr. President, I urge the Senate to support this effort to invest in 
our children's future. I ask all of my collegues to join me in 
cosponsoring S. 223, the Public School Modernization Act of 
1999.

                          ____________________