[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 127 (Monday, September 27, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11494-S11495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COCHRAN (for himself and Mr. Dodd):
  S. 1642. A bill to amend part F of title X of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve and refocus civic education, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.


                    the education for democracy act

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Education for 
Democracy Act. I am pleased that the distinguished Senator from 
Connecticut (Mr. Dodd) has joined me as a cosponsor to reauthorize and 
improve existing federally supported civic education programs.
  ``We the People . . . The Citizen and the Constitution,'' has proven 
to be an excellent curriculum and a successful program for teaching the 
principles of the Constitution.
  Since 1985, the Center for Civic Education has administered the 
program. It is a rigorous course designed for high school civics 
classes that provides teacher training using a national network of law 
professionals as well as other community and business leaders.
  The most visible component of We the People, is the simulated 
Congressional hearings which are competitions at local, state and 
national levels. The final round of this annual competition is held in 
an actual United States Senate or House of Representatives hearing 
room, here in the Nation's Capital.
  The Popularity of We the People is demonstrated by the 82,000 
teachers and the 26.5 million students who have participated since its 
beginning. Studies by the Education Testing Service

[[Page S11495]]

have repeatedly indicated that We the People participants outperform 
other students in every area tested. In one, We the People high school 
students outscored university sophomore and junior political science 
students in every topic.
  A Stanford University study showed that these students develop a 
stronger attachment to political beliefs, attitudes and values 
essential to a functioning democracy than most adults and other 
students. Other studies reveal that We the People students are more 
likely to register to vote and more likely to assume roles of 
leadership, responsibility and demonstrate civic virtue.
  Mr. President, in addition to We the People, this bill reauthorizes 
the Civitas International Civic Education Exchange Program, which in 
cooperation of the United States Information Agency, links American 
civic educators with their counterparts in Eastern Europe and the 
states of the former Soviet Union. This program is highly effective in 
building a community with a common understanding of teaching and 
improving the state of democracy education, worldwide.
  Mississippi recently became the latest state to participate in this 
important international exchange program. Jones County Junior College 
in Ellisville, Mississippi will partner with universities in Texas and 
Florida in an exchange with Hungary and other countries.
  Ms. Susie Burroughs, Mississippi's new Civic Education program 
director, is committed to a deeper understanding of democracy and 
assisting others who desire to teach the ways of a free society in the 
world's newest democracies. I am pleased that Mississippi teachers will 
join the more than 8,000 other teachers who have participated in the 
Civitas training and exchange opportunities.
  Mr. President, We the People and Civitas are preparing America's 
students and teachers to live and lead in the world by the standards 
and ideals set by our Founding Fathers.
  I invite other Senators to cosponsor and support the Education for 
Democracy Act.
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