[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 21, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11076-S11078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EDUCATION FUNDING

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, on January 6 of this year, the majority 
leader stood on the Senate floor and told us that education would be a 
high priority for the Senate. This is exactly what he said:

       Education is going to be a central issue this year. 
     Democrats say it is important and it will be a high priority. 
     Republicans say it will be a high priority.

  I am sorry to say Republicans cannot make that claim today. I want to 
take a few moments this afternoon, along with some of my colleagues, to 
assess where education is on the leadership's priority list.
  We have less than 7 legislative days, and that is counting Mondays 
and Fridays--we do not do much on Mondays and Fridays--before the end 
of the fiscal year. There is one Education bill that must be enacted, 
and that is the Education appropriations bill.
  Despite proclamations that education will be a top priority, the 
Senate has been working on all but 1 of the 13 appropriations bills. We 
have done at least some work on 12 appropriations bills. We have 1 
left. Dead last: education. This is a list of all of the appropriations 
bills:
  Military construction, No. 1 on the list--the President has already 
signed that--leg branch; Treasury; District of Columbia; 
Transportation; Defense; energy and water; Commerce-Justice-State; 
Interior; Agriculture; and VA-HUD, the full committee approved VA-HUD 
last week, and it will be on the floor this week. Education, no action 
taken. It is dead last on that list, and education is supposed to be a 
high priority with the leadership in the Senate? Those are wrong 
priorities. Education should be at the top of this list, not at the 
bottom of the list.
  Despite a valiant effort by the chairman of our subcommittee, Senator 
Specter, the Education appropriations bill has not even been written. 
Senator Specter has fought every day to move this bill forward. He 
tried in June, July, August, and September. He tried again last week, 
and we cannot even meet to mark up the bill.
  If that is not bad enough, the leadership has robbed the Education 
bill to pay for other bills. As a result, we are looking at deep cuts 
in all of the programs funded by the Labor, Health and Human Services, 
and Education appropriations bill.
  Not only is education dead last on the calendar, it is dead last for 
resources. Our subcommittee started with an allocation, an allocation 
we received earlier this year, substantially below a freeze from last 
year. If that is not bad enough, it is even worse now.
  Last week, the leadership staged another raid on education and took 
$7.276 billion in budget authority, $4.969 billion in outlays, from 
education and other essential priorities in the bill so they can get 
the VA-HUD bill to committee.
  Our subcommittee allocation is $15.5 billion below a freeze. That 
means we are facing a whopping 17-percent cut in education.
  This chart illustrates that. In fiscal year 1999, the year we are in 
right now, we had slightly more than $89 billion. This year, where we 
stand right now, we have $73.6 billion. That is a 17.3-percent cut that 
will be across the board.
  What does that impact? A lot of things. Here is one: That cut will 
impact reducing class size and improving teacher quality. This cut will 
force communities to lay off 5,246 newly hired teachers. These are the 
the teachers hired this year, for whom we put money in, for reducing 
class size. They will have to be let go after just 1 year.

  Funding will be cut for the Teacher Quality Enhancement Program for 
24 States and 52 partnerships to improve recruitment and training of 
teachers. That is where we are right now.
  We came to the Chamber last Thursday and talked about this issue. 
Later on in the day, the assistant majority leader, Senator Nickles, 
came to the Chamber and said:

       I would like to correct the record, because I know I heard 
     a number of my colleagues say the Republican budget is 
     slashing education, it's at the lowest end, it's the last 
     appropriation bill we are taking up. Let me correct the 
     record.

  He says:

       One, the budget the Republicans passed earlier this year 
     had an increase for education. . . .

  The budget. We are not talking about the budget. We are talking about 
actual money. I do not care what the budget said. I want to know where 
the real money is. When that budget got to our appropriations bill, we 
were cut below a freeze for last year, and certainly the leadership 
ought to know that.
  Then he said:

       The Appropriations Committee has yet to mark up the Labor-
     HHS bill.

  Our Education bill. Not that we have not tried. Senator Specter tried 
in June, July, August, and September to bring it up, and we are not 
allowed to bring it up. We are not allowed to mark it up.
  Mr. Nickles said:

       I understand from Senator Specter and others they plan on 
     appropriating $90 billion. The amount of money we have in the 
     current fiscal year is $83.8 billion.

  That is off a little bit.
  He says:

       So that is an increase of about $6.2 billion. . . . That is 
     an increase of about 9 percent. That is well over inflation.

  I am quoting Senator Nickles. Our assistant majority leader says:

       I think it is too much. I think we should be freezing 
     spending.

  He is talking about education. He says it is too much. He says we 
have $90 billion. That is not so. Right now we have a total of $73.6 
billion for our committee. That is it. If Mr. Nickles has $90 billion, 
I wish he would show me the money. We would love to mark it up. We 
would love to give education an increase.
  With all due respect to my friend from Oklahoma, the assistant 
majority leader, I wholeheartedly disagree with him that we freeze at 
last year's level of funding for education. I will go into that a 
little bit later, but we need an increase in education because of what 
is happening around the country.
  Mr. Nickles said:

       I think we should be freezing spending.

  That says it all. The leadership is not committed to increased 
investments in education. If they had their way, according to the 
assistant majority leader, they would freeze funding for education.
  We need additional investments in education. Why? Let's look at it 
this way: The average school building in the United States is 42 years 
old; 14 million children attend classes in buildings that are unsafe or 
inadequate. Enrollment is booming. There are more children in U.S. 
schools than at any time in our history. Class sizes are expanding. It 
is not unusual for elementary schools to have 30 to 35 kids in a class.
  Our schools are literally bursting at the seams to accommodate the 
53.2 million students enrolled in public schools. These students need 
teachers; they need the latest technology; they need computers in the 
classrooms if we are going to compete in the next century, in the next 
millennium.
  So when the assistant majority leader says he wants to freeze 
education funding at last year's level, that says it all. They are not 
going to make education a priority. They do not care what is happening 
with the burgeoning classroom sizes.
  There are priorities and there are priorities. The leadership found 
$16 billion more for the Pentagon. It is interesting that this is $4 
billion even more than what the Pentagon asked for. Having spent a 
number of years myself in the military and having been on the 
Appropriations Committee for a number of years, I can say, without any 
fear of contradiction, I have never seen, nor do I think I will live 
long enough to ever see, the Pentagon ask for less money than they 
actually need. They always ask for more money than they need. Yet the 
leadership said that is not even enough; we are going to give you $4 
billion more.
  I have heard one plan after another for how we are going to fund 
education. The assistant majority leader said we have $90 billion, but 
we only have $73

[[Page S11077]]

billion. I do not know where he found this money. I challenge the 
assistant majority leader to come on the floor and tell us where we get 
the $90 billion. I would like to see it.
  They are talking about delaying the earned-income tax credit for poor 
working Americans. How about that for funding education. Talk about 
robbing Peter to pay Paul.
  Then there is talk about cutting Medicaid, or a large across-the-
board cut in the bill.
  Then we have heard talk about extending the fiscal year; we are going 
to have another month. We are not going to have 12 months in a year. We 
are now going to have 13 months in a year. I have even heard grade 
school kids laughing about that one. That does not pass the laugh test 
around here.
  All I can say is President Clinton sent us a budget that increased 
funding for education programs which had the offsets necessary so we 
did not have to raid Social Security and Medicare. It was not as much 
of an increase as I would like to have seen, but at least it is an 
increase and not a 17-percent cut. He had the offsets there, too.
  In fact, whenever the leadership so deigns that our education 
subcommittee can meet and mark up our bill, I will propose an offset 
that will deal with raising $5.9 billion next year for cutting teen 
smoking, which has been fully calculated by the CBO to raise that much 
money. So we get two things: We will cut teen smoking and raise some 
money for education.

  Over the past 5 years, we have had many legislative fights over the 
education budget. In 1995, the Republican leadership was so insistent 
on cutting education they shut down the Federal Government to make 
their point. The American people made their views well known at the 
time. They said: Do not cut education. As a result, the cuts were 
restored and additional investments were made. I must say that since 
1996, education investments have increased, although the leadership has 
been dragged, kicking and screaming, to the table every single year. 
And this year is no exception.
  The American people understand this. They are telling us loudly and 
clearly to make education a top priority. A recent ABC News poll found 
that three out of four Americans say improving education will be very 
important in the next election. Another poll, done by the University of 
Chicago, found that 73 percent of Americans favor increasing Federal 
investment in education. Yet our assistant majority leader says we need 
to freeze it. Someone is out of step with the American people.
  Lastly, there is one other chart I want to show about what is 
happening. I continually hear from my constituents in Iowa and from 
Iowa legislators, and others, that property taxes keep going up all the 
time. Property taxes are going up. State legislators are feeling the 
pinch about putting more and more money into education. They are 
wondering what is happening. This chart shows what is happening.
  In fiscal year 1980, of all the money spent in this country on 
elementary and secondary education, the Federal Government provided 
11.9 percent. In 1998, last year, the Federal Government provided only 
7.6 percent of the total funding for elementary and secondary 
education.
  The Federal Government, through the 1980s--the Reagan and Bush years 
and on into this decade--had been cutting the amount of Federal support 
for elementary and secondary education. This gap from about 11.9 
percent to 7.6 percent is made up in property taxes. It is made up in 
local taxes and State taxes--where they have been asked and see the 
need to fill in that gap. So we have failed in our responsibility to 
adequately help our States and local communities fund education.
  I see my friend from Hawaii is here. I just want to make one other 
short comment and I will yield the floor to him.
  Last Thursday, the assistant majority leader said something about 
teachers. He said:

       I heard both of my colleagues say--

  Being me since I was the one speaking--

       ``Boy, we need more Federal teachers or more school 
     buildings.''

  Then Senator Nickles said:

       Is that really the business of the Federal Government?

  I never said we need more Federal teachers. But I did say we need 
more local teachers. We need more teachers to help reduce the size of 
classes. I believe that is a legitimate Federal responsibility, going 
out and helping our local communities. Not a one of those teachers we 
hired this year to reduce class size works for the Federal Government. 
They work for local school districts. But we are doing our part in 
helping.

  To say that we need more school buildings is right. There are more 
children in U.S. schools than at any time in our history--53.2 million 
students. The average age of our buildings is 42 years old.
  Yes, Mr. Nickles, we need some newer schools, more schools, and we 
need some more computers in classrooms; we need more qualified teachers 
and more teachers to reduce class size. But, again, education is last 
on the list.
  Last, we are facing the end of the year. We have a 17-percent cut 
where we stand right now in education--dead last. So much for 
Republican priorities on education.
  I yield the floor.
  Do I control the time, Mr. President?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time was allocated to the Senator from 
Illinois, Mr. Durbin, or his designee.
  Mr. HARKIN. I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to yield 
whatever time he may consume to the Senator from Hawaii.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Hawaii is recognized.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise to add my voice to others who are 
calling for increases in education funding. Our investment in the 
education of future generations that will someday run this country 
cannot be undervalued. We must ensure the best education for our young 
people. However, this will not happen if we undermine education as a 
priority by cutting funding for schools, classrooms, and students. This 
funding would be deeply reduced for years to come without a veto of the 
tax bill, as President Clinton has promised. In addition, we may see 
reductions in fiscal year 2000 funding if we do not give greater 
emphasis to education as a priority in the current appropriations 
process.
  This is the challenge before us today. Education's share of the 
Federal budget has declined, and it did not start out at a significant 
percentage to begin with. Education makes up 2 percent of the fiscal 
year 1999 budget. Compare this 2 percent with about 15 percent for 
defense, 22 percent for Social Security, 11 percent for Medicare, and 
13 percent for interest on the debt. These numbers are reported by the 
Committee for Education Funding.
  In addition, the Federal share of education funding has declined, 
falling from 14 percent for elementary and secondary programs in fiscal 
1980 to 6 percent in fiscal year 1998. For higher education, the 
Federal share fell from 18 percent to 12 percent from 1980 to 1998. 
Because Federal dollars leverage more support for education from other 
sectors of the economy, we cannot allow the Federal share to dwindle.
  We can scarce afford to continue this way and shrink the education 
dollar if we look at what lies ahead. According to the recent Baby Boom 
Echo Report from the U.S. Department of Education, total public and 
private school enrollment in this country has risen to a record 53 
million students. Furthermore, between 1989 and 2009, elementary school 
enrollment will have increased by 5 million children, secondary 
enrollment by almost 4 million students, and college by 3 million 
students.
  The report lists Hawaii among the top 15 states in enrollment growth. 
For public elementary and secondary enrollment, in a decade, Hawaii 
will have 26,000 more students in its schools, reaching 227,000 
students. This means 13 percent more students will be in Hawaii's 
classrooms in 2009 than are there today. Many States are facing similar 
projections, and there seems to be no end in sight to this growth.
  There will be tremendous repercussions from this Baby Boom Echo. One 
example is in the need for school construction and modernization. Mr. 
President, in Hawaii, about three in every four schools need to upgrade 
or repair buildings to good overall condition. More than half of 
schools report

[[Page S11078]]

at least one inadequate building feature, whether the roof is leaking, 
plumbing is not functioning well, or windows are inadequate. In 
addition, four out of five schools report at least one unsatisfactory 
environmental factor, such as air quality, ventilation, or lighting. We 
will need to attend to some or all of these conditions soon as Hawaii 
continues to feel the impact of increasing enrollments.
  Over the next decade, the Hawaii Department of Education estimates 
that it will need $1.5 billion for capital improvements. This will 
include 15 new elementary schools, 2 new intermediate schools, and 2 
new high schools. The figure also accounts for 400 new permanent 
classrooms and $120 million for building replacement.
  In addition, class size will need to be reduced before learning is 
stifled altogether--this will be had to do with more students in 
schools. Hawaii's average class size is already in the mid-20s, while 
the recommended size is 18. These are only a few examples of the need 
in our public schools that will be heightened by rising enrollments.
  It is easy to see shy I cannot condone the education cuts that would 
result if the tax bill became law. I am not opposed to tax cuts, but 
committing $792 billion to tax cuts at this time would lead to serious 
neglect of this country's greater priorities. In an era of budget 
surplus, we would have to hang our heads in shame for using funds for 
tax breaks when problems loom large: Social Security and Medicare need 
to be made solvent for future decades; the amount we are putting toward 
interest on the debt must be reduced; and our domestic priorities, 
including education, most be boosted.
  However, the majority's tax plan calls for about 50-percent cuts in 
nondefense discretionary programs. For education, this means: 6 million 
children denied extra academic support under Title I funds for the 
disadvantaged, including 25,000 students in Hawaii; almost 800,000 
students denied a Pell grant, including 2,000 in Hawaii; and nearly $3 
billion less in IDEA funding to States, including $9 million intended 
for special education in Hawaii. The tax bill would mean a giant step 
backward for education.
  Now, it appears that the majority is going after education funding 
for the next fiscal year. It is bad enough that the Labor-HHS-Education 
appropriations bill is often left for last, which means that it picks 
up ``leftovers'' after other appropriations bills have been taken care 
of. This is how we treat a bill that contains programs for the most 
vulnerable Americans.
  We are currently tangling with an even bigger problem with this bill 
caused by low allocations for the Labor-HHS bill--something which could 
have been avoided in this era of surplus. In their zeal to keep the 
budget surplus sacred for tax cuts, my colleagues in the majority 
capped the Labor-HHS bill at $73.6 billion. This would translate into a 
17-percent cut in overall education funding.
  We know that this 17-percent cut will be felt by State and local 
education agencies, school districts, schools, and classrooms. Its 
impacts will go directly to our children. The Safe and Drug Free 
Schools Program will be cut almost $80 million from current funding, 
which means a cut of more than $375,000 from programs in Hawaii's 
school- and community-based drug education and prevention activities. 
Looking at title I for the disadvantaged once again, Hawaii would lose 
more than $3 million. Hawaii's schools cannot afford this loss in 
funding. There are additional cuts I could list. The bottom line is 
that it would be a travesty to see this Congress ravage education 
funding.
  Mr. President, I stand here not only as a Senator representing the 
people of Hawaii. I stand here as a former teacher, vice principal, 
principal, and administrator in Hawaii's school system. I remember what 
it is like to be at the front of a classroom with young faces and 
bright eyes eager to learn and looking for guidance. I listened to 
parents' concerns at PTA meetings. I talked to individual students 
about a poor academic record, spotty school attendance, or disruptive 
behavior that made it difficult for others in the class to learn. I 
remember what it was like being on the front lines of education.
  I cannot see any good for the future of our country coming out of 
these large education cuts. We bemoan problems facing our schools today 
such as unexpected and shocking incidents of violence. Let us put 
muscle behind our rhetoric and treat education as a priority by 
preventing this 17-percent cut.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in restoring education as a priority 
and calling for increases, not huge decreases, in the investment in our 
country's future. I thank my colleagues for this opportunity to speak 
on an issue that is near and dear to my heart, and I yield back the 
remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed for 
up to 10 minutes as if in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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