[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOSSELLA. Madam Speaker, I think the previous speaker, I think 
millions of Americans agree that, among the most important priorities 
for any family, particularly young family, is their child's education. 
Along those lines, I believe that the essence of this country is about 
freedom. However, it seems that too often when it comes to education, 
there is no such thing as freedom.

                              {time}  1800

  There are many, many families across America who have no choice when 
it comes to selecting a school for their child. In fact, the controls 
dictate that they send the child to the school that has been zoned for 
them.
  Now, frankly, I think ultimately what we need to do is to ensure that 
every parent across this country, regardless of income, because 
regrettably it is the low- and middle-income families that suffer the 
most, that regardless of income those parents have the ability, the 
opportunity, and the freedom to choose the best school possible for 
their child. I do not think there is a more important decision that a 
parent can make, yet in making that decision too many are deprived.
  Along those lines we can also take steps to get to that point. 
Recently, the Republican Party has introduced legislation that will 
take us down the path to true freedom when it comes to education. The 
notion that we can take billions of dollars out of Washington and send 
it back home, whether Staten Island or Brooklyn, where I am from, or 
anywhere else across America, I think is common sense to the ordinary 
American. Because the average, ordinary American says, I think that my 
community, with the teachers and the principals and the administrators 
and the local PTAs, if given that money, would be in a better position 
to determine what is best for their children. Perhaps it would be 
smaller classrooms, perhaps more money dedicated to math and science. 
It could be a range of issues. It could be more money dedicated to 
arts.
  But, sadly, the model that has been created over the last number of 
years is let us send billions to Washington with strings attached, with 
endless reams of red tape and bureaucracies that make it almost 
unreasonable to deliver quality education to the folks back home.
  So that is why I think when we provide flexibility and reduce the 
amount of red tape and send that money back home to the communities 
that need the money and to the classrooms where that money belongs we 
are doing the right thing for America and for the families and the 
children across America. And at the same time we should demand 
appropriate accountability from school districts that too often are 
unaccountable to anybody.
  So I think we have to move down this path of getting funds away from 
Washington. Because this money does not just fall out of the trees. The 
reality is that people get up every morning and go to work and at the 
end of the week, or every 2 weeks, out of that paycheck goes money to 
Washington. And that money stays here. But we want to send that money 
back home to where Americans really are.
  I hope everyone will listen to the debate in the next few months. It 
could even go on for a year, because there are a lot of defenders of 
the status quo here. There are a lot of defenders of the status quo who 
believe in their heart that taxpayer money is better spent here in 
Washington by people who will never set foot in the communities of 
those taxpayers. They believe they know what is best for all America's 
children and all America's families.
  And I just throw that out there; that if we believe that wherever we 
are in America, that our local school districts and our local 
communities and schools are in the best position and the best able to 
determine what is best for their children, then we should support 
common sense legislation like Straight A's: demands accountability and 
sends the money back home. However, if we do not believe the status quo 
is serving our children correctly, if we believe that there should be 
as many strings attached to the decision-making at the local level, if 
we believe that folks in Washington know best what is going on in 
Staten Island or Kansas or Texas or Alaska, if we believe that, then we 
probably do not support this legislation and we do not support 
initiatives to move to the path of freedom when it comes to education.
  Madam Speaker, the next several months will underscore, I believe, 
this Congress' desire to improve education and raise academic 
standards. I would only hope all Members would support this 
legislation.

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