[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TEACHER INVESTMENT AND ENHANCEMENT ACT

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                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 9, 1999

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, providing a high quality education to our 
children is my highest priority. The key to achieving this goal is 
having high quality teachers. It is for this reason I am reintroducing 
my measure today from last Congress, the Teacher Investment and 
Enhancement (TIE) Act, along with my colleagues, Representatives Horn, 
Pomeroy and Paul.
  While it is important to know how to teach, it is equally if not more 
important to know what you are teaching. However, many teachers are 
teaching ``out-of-field'' and, therefore, are not sufficiently 
knowledgeable in their subject area. The TIE Act addresses this problem 
by providing secondary teachers the incentives to return to college to 
take courses in the classes they teach. This will be accomplished by 
doubling the current Lifetime Learning Tax Credit for tuition expenses 
for the continuing education of secondary teachers in their fields of 
teaching. This increase would allow such teachers to receive up to a 
$4,000 tax break for college tuition costs.
  It is pivotal to ensure teachers are well-educated. Offering more 
education opportunities for our teachers is an investment in our 
children and one we cannot afford not to take. I strongly encourage my 
colleagues to cosponsor this important piece of legislation and work 
for its passage.

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