[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 143 (Wednesday, October 20, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H10374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EDUCATION IN AMERICA

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, let us talk education. We can all agree 
on the need to spend money on our public schools. And I hope we can 
also agree that America's parents have not been getting their money's 
worth.
  Student achievements continues to lag even as spending rises. A lack 
of discipline plagues thousands of classrooms. School accountability to 
parents is sorely missing. Many teachers are not getting the training 
they need to teach their students what they need to know.
  So why do so many liberal Democrats continue to oppose real education 
reform? How can they say they want strong public schools while they 
vote for the very regulations that weaken public schools?
  These advocates of the status quo are defending the indefensible. 
They are trapping America's most disadvantaged children in a system 
that has failed them. And they are putting the future of millions of 
American children in jeopardy. It is long past time to fix the broken 
system. It is past time to try new ways of doing things, but it is not 
too late.

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