[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 25 (Thursday, February 11, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S1453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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               TROOPS TO TEACHERS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1999

 Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, the Congress has an important 
opportunity to provide the youth of America with knowledge and 
experience that will benefit their future and therefore the future of 
this country. The Troops-to-Teachers program in the Department of 
Defense brings the technical talents and experience of retiring 
military personnel directly to American classrooms to benefit our young 
people. Former military personnel who enroll in Troops-to-Teachers 
bring essential mathematical, scientific, and technological expertise 
that our schools need in order to provide the nation with the technical 
talent we will need to face the future. This is a ``win-win'' program 
that brings together age and experience with youth and energy. This 
program rewards those in uniform who have served the nation by 
providing them with valuable training assistance needed for the 
transition to a classroom, and it rewards our young people with service 
professionals' knowledge and information gained while developing and 
using the latest technologies.
  Congress established Troops-to-Teachers in 1993. Since then, over 
3,000 men and women retiring from the military have received training 
to enable them to enter classrooms as qualified teachers. These men and 
women bring some very important fresh perspectives to American 
classrooms. About three quarters of the ``Troops'' are males, compared 
with about 25 percent male teachers in the nation's public school 
systems. Almost a third of them have science, engineering, and 
technology backgrounds which are sorely needed in our schools at all 
levels. About a third of the ``Troops'' are minorities, compared to 
less than 10 percent minority instructors in our public schools. Many 
minority retirees and half of the ``Troops'' overall elect to teach in 
inner city or rural schools--the schools that are often most in need of 
additional teaching expertise.
  This bipartisan bill introduced by my esteemed colleague, Senator 
McCain, would provide the critical financial support retiring service 
personnel need to gain teacher skills and would assist them in 
obtaining employment as teachers. I am honored to be an original 
cosponsor of S. 389, the Troops to Teachers Program Improvement Act of 
1999. If enacted, this bill will provide a $2,000 stipend to help 
offset the cost of earning teacher certification. It would also provide 
grants to school districts for each new teacher they hire, and would 
set up Troops-to-Teacher Centers to manage the program in various 
states. Major grants up to $825,000 would be awarded to Institutions of 
Higher Education located near military installations to establish 
teacher certification programs tailored to meet the needs of retiring 
military personnel. Placement and referral assistance would also be 
available to personnel who enroll in the program.
  Mr. President, in 1993 Troops-to-Teachers was an important initiative 
to help meet the needs of military personnel leaving the military 
services during the drawdown of our military forces. The drawdown has 
been completed, but that no longer matters. During the past five years, 
I believe we now know how valuable this program is regardless of 
whether our military forces shrink or grow. Retiring military personnel 
who, by definition, are ``public servants'' have a valuable combination 
of skills and commitment to apply their public service in another 
venue--America's classrooms. America's youth and the nation's future 
will be the beneficiaries. I urge my colleagues to vote to enact the 
Troops-to-Teachers Improvement Act of 1999 and to extend the authority 
of this program for five more years. It's a great dividend from 
America's past and an important investment in America's future.

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