[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 36 (Monday, March 8, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S2435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PROGRESS ON THE ED-FLEX BILL

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I want to follow up by saying I think 
it's important that all of my colleagues understand that, hopefully, 
what will happen tomorrow is we will be able to make some progress. I 
hope that my colleagues will read the amendment that we have offered 
and that we will hopefully have action tomorrow, which will give an 
opportunity for the schools themselves to make the choice as to whether 
or not they desire to either spend the money on new teachers or to 
spend it on special education.
  It is a simple amendment, and I hope that the members will give it 
some consideration. We desire to move the process along. It is hard for 
me to understand how anyone could disagree with giving the local 
schools that option. The President had this bill put in and it had no 
hearings. It was put in in the final moments of the last session. I am 
sure that if we had an opportunity, we might have been able to get this 
amendment on. This will move the process along.
  I point again to the chart behind me, which indicates that what we 
are trying to do is to relieve the incredible pressure that is placed 
on our local governments by having to fund special education themselves 
in the States--primarily all of it. We promised to fund 40 percent of 
it back in 1975 and 1976. We are now at around 11 percent. If we were 
to fully fund it, it would do more to allow the local communities and 
the States to be able to meet the educational needs of their people 
than any other act of this Congress. That is what we are pushing for. I 
think it is a reasonable thing to do. It would have no impact, of 
course, on the Elementary and Secondary Education reauthorization, 
except to give a tremendous opportunity for local governments to be 
freed up to work, and we could design programs to go along with those 
options.
  With that, I hope tomorrow we will be able to move matters along with 
this amendment, which I think everybody ought to find desirable.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. FEINGOLD addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin is recognized.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business for up to 20 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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