[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 9, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        DOLLARS TO THE CLASSROOM

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, when we think of our children's schooling, we 
think of books, classrooms, computers and things like flash cards, 
spelling tests and calculators. We do not think of bureaucrats, 
bureaucratic programs and stacks of paperwork.
  As we stand here today, children are sitting in their kindergarten 
through 12th grade classrooms, learning everything from spelling the 
word ``house'' to a method of reaching a calculus derivative. They are 
learning with a teacher, and with the use of classroom tools.
  The very small part that the Federal Government does play in adding 
value to the elementary and secondary education experience should be to 
fund classroom activity directly.
  Dollars to the Classroom: A simple, but profound, concept. Instead of 
keeping education dollars here in Washington, let us send our Federal 
dollars directly to the parents, teachers and principals of our local 
public schools, local people, who are truly helping our children to 
learn.

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