[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 157 (Tuesday, November 9, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H11713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS--AMERICA'S UNSUNG HEROES

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, public school teachers are 
America's unsung heroes. Day in and day out, they dedicate themselves 
to helping prepare our children for the future.
  It is important to make sure our children's teachers have access to 
the training and tools they need to meet their commitment to students 
and parents.
  But the Clinton-Gore administration disagrees. It wants the Federal 
Government to hire 100,000 teachers; but it puts hardly any emphasis on 
quality. That just does not cut it.
  America's children do not just need teachers. They need good 
teachers. Many of the teachers out there are good, but many could be 
better and they deserve the chance to make themselves better.
  Where new teachers are needed, new teachers should be hired. Where 
teacher quality is a greater concern, State and local initiatives like 
merit pay, teacher testing, tenure reform, and new opportunities for 
teacher development might be better uses of that money.
  So let us give teachers the opportunity to be the best teachers they 
can be, and let us give America's children the best hope for a bright 
future.

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