[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 83 (Monday, June 14, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SUPPORT DOLLARS TO THE CLASSROOM ACT

  (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, it has been called the Mozart effect, the 
scientific study showing that early music training shapes children's 
growing brains and boosts their learning power.
  Not only does early music training and exposure aid in development of 
logic and abstract thinking, it also helps children with memory 
retention and creativity. That is why, Mr. Speaker, although local 
educators have recognized this fact for years, they often find their 
local budget so burdened with strings and regulations, that music and 
art education loses out.
  This is unfortunate and shortsighted. It is why more local control is 
necessary so that parents, teachers, and local schools have the freedom 
to invest their elementary dollars into the classes that teach students 
tiny bits of music theory and expose them to the basics of music and 
art education.
  With the Dollars to the Classroom Act, local educators would have the 
freedom to make decisions for their school if they identified such a 
need. More flexibility, more local control, more dollars to the 
classroom.
  I urge my colleague to cosponsor and support the Dollars to the 
Classroom Act.

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