[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 10 (Tuesday, February 8, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S505-S507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE PRESIDENT'S EDUCATION BUDGET

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I have come to the floor today to talk 
about the budget the President has presented to Congress this year. 
Every budget is a statement of priorities, and I wanted to share with 
my colleagues how this budget matches up with the priorities of the 
people I represent. I will spend a moment talking about how we should 
consider budgets in this remarkable period of economic strength.
  The President's FY 2001 budget comes at a time of great prosperity 
and also great challenges. I take the budget decisions we will make 
this year very seriously. We have an historic opportunity to meet our 
long-term commitments and make vital investments. In looking at the 
budget, I am focused on two priorities.
  First, we cannot squander the surplus. It has been too hard to reach 
this point of progress. When I came to the Senate in 1993, our fiscal 
house was a mess. But we made the tough, fiscally responsible decisions 
that have brought us to this point. The surplus is not here by 
accident. We made very difficult choices, and now is not the time to 
abandon our steady, responsible approach.
  We have a responsibility to use the surplus in ways that will meet 
our long-term commitments and continue our economic growth. We know 
that Social Security and Medicare are running out of money. These are 
promises from one generation to the next. And it would be wrong--
fiscally and morally--not to save those programs while we have the 
chance.
  We should also remember that these surplus projections are just 
that--protections. I worry that some of the projections my Republican 
colleagues have used are too rosy--in part because they are based on 
faulty assumptions, and they do not account for any slowing down of our 
economy. I think we should use the most realistic estimates available.
  Second, we have to continue to make the responsible investments that 
will help our economy grow. We must maintain our investments in areas 
like education, R&D, infrastructure, criminal justice, agriculture, and 
defense. We must strengthen Social Security and Medicare. And we must 
provide targeted tax relief. I am pleased that the President has 
presented a responsible plan for meeting those objectives.
  One important investment is paying down the debt. We are responsible 
for paying down a major portion of the public debt. A commitment of 
$2.5 trillion over ten years--as called for by the President--would 
make us debt free within 13 years. Mr. President, now is the time to 
pay down the debt--while the economy is strong.
  I know there will be a lot of debate over tax cuts this year. There 
is room for tax cuts--but they need to be responsible. We should 
remember that just last year Republicans were pushing an irresponsible, 
$790 billion tax cut. I am glad the American people rejected it. And 
this year, some presidential candidates appear willing to roll the dice 
on even riskier schemes.

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  This year we should be on the look out for tax cuts that do not help 
our country. When looking at tax cuts, I will be asking: Do they 
contribute to our future and promote our economic growth by investing 
in workers and education?
  I would like to turn to the investments we have to make in education.
  When I think of the types of investments that have real returns for 
America's families--education tops the list. Investing in education 
pays dividends in boosting our country's productivity and expanding our 
people's potential. We must continue to invest in education so that 
every American will have the tools and skills to succeed in the global 
economy. We know that by reducing class size, investing in teacher 
quality, and making higher education more accessible, we are improving 
the prospects for our nation and our people. And I am proud of the many 
education investments this budget makes.
  We must stay on the path of hiring 100,000 fully-qualified teachers 
to reduce class size. We know that kids learn the basics and have fewer 
discipline problems in smaller classes. The budget boosts funding to 
$1.75 billion, an increase of $450 million over the current level. 
That's enough to hire about 49,000 teachers, nearly half-way to our 
long term goal. So I commend the president's budget for its commitment 
to reducing class size. By working together over the past two years, 
we've already made the classroom a better, more productive place for 
1.7 million students--and with the President's latest commitment, we 
can bring the benefits of smaller classes to many more students.
  We know that when we reduce the number of students in each 
classroom--we need more classrooms, so I am pleased the President's 
budget also follows through on our efforts to boost school 
construction.
  The President's budget also takes greats steps forward to improve 
teacher quality. As I listened to the President's State of the Union 
Address last month, I was excited to see that efforts to boost teacher 
quality are finally getting the national attention they deserve.
  We need to have a plan to recruit, train and reward great teachers; a 
plan to help high-poverty school districts attract great teachers 
through better pay and higher standards; and a plan to reward school 
districts that make progress in reducing the number of uncertified 
teachers and teachers teaching outside their subject area. These would 
all represent great steps forward.
  We need to boost hometown teacher recruitment, to help professionals 
from diverse fields make the transition to the classroom, and to 
promote professional development for school leaders.
  But there is more we should do to boost teacher quality. That's why, 
last year, I introduced the Quality and Accountability are Best for 
Children Act--Quality ABCs (S. 1926). After talking with parents, 
teachers and students, I wrote a bill that will hold educators 
accountable for their students' progress. It will help keep great 
teachers in the classroom by offering them improved professional 
development and career ladders. It will reward and recognize great 
educators. It will offer a meaningful financial bonus for states to 
improve teacher pay and it will ensure teachers have the training they 
need to use technology in the classroom.
  I believe the President's budget--and his State of the Union 
Address--are a great start to boosting teacher quality across America.
  The President's budget also makes important investments in early 
education, in Headstart funding, in preventing youth violence, and in 
expanding college access.
  Mr. President, clearly this is a budget that recognizes the 
importance of education. It matches our funding with our priorities.
  But there are some initiatives that do not require a budget 
allocation. And I would like to spend a moment highlighting some of the 
efforts I will fight for as we reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act.
  First, there is a lot we can do to boost parental involvement. 
Parents are a child's first and best teachers, and studies have shown 
that when families are involved in education their children do better 
in school. Today, it is difficult for parents and family members to 
participate in their children's education--either because they do not 
feel welcomed by schools or because their time is limited by work and 
other constraints.
  That is why I've introduced two bills to make it easier for parents 
to help their children succeed in school.
  First, I introduced the Time for Schools Act, S. 1304, which allows 
parents to take up to 24 hours of unpaid leave from work each year to 
attend academic events at school.
  And second, with input from parents and teachers, I wrote the Parent-
Family School Partnership Act, S. 1772, which will encourage families 
to participate in schools, will train educators in the best ways to 
involve parents, will invest in family involvement efforts, and will 
use technology and community college partnerships to boost parental 
involvement.
  A great classroom and a great teacher only go so far, these bills 
will go a long way to ensuring that students get the most from school 
by having a parent involved.
  We should also do more to expand technology in the classroom. In 
1997, we made sure that new teachers get the technology training they 
need before they enter the classroom. This year, we should work to make 
sure that current teachers receive technology training as part of an 
on-going professional development. That effort is part of my ``Quality 
ABCs'' bill that I just referred to.
  And I support increasing resources for, and access to, education 
technology, improving coordination and effective uses of education 
technology--including distance learning and advanced placement 
services. And finally, protecting students from inappropriate material 
on the Internet.
  We should offer students a voice in education decisions. I have 
always believed that young people should have a role in the decisions 
that affect them. That's why I introduced the ``Youth and Adult School 
Partnership Act,'' S. 1773, which will create more meaningful roles for 
students in their schools and communities, invest in successful 
student-adult partnerships, and continue researching the link between 
student involvement and student achievement.
  Finally, we should promote the types of local partnerships that help 
students succeed. As I have visited schools throughout my State, I have 
been impressed by how well they have formed partnerships with local 
business and non-profit organizations. I visited one community, where 
the local chamber of commerce runs a Teacher Internship Program--where 
teachers spend their summers in the business world--seeing--first-
hand--the skills their students will need. And those efforts can have 
great results for our students. So we must continue to promote these 
local partnerships.
  I have laid out my vision--the Democratic vision--for how we can 
improve public education. I have been working on this for many years, 
and it seems that the response from the other side is always ``Schools 
are failing, and local control is the answer.''
  Education in our country is already under local control. I served on 
a local school board, and I can tell you that as a fact. Do we need to 
reduce paperwork? Yes. Do we need to be more flexible? Yes. But the 
real question is: What are we doing to support education? This budget--
and the ideas I just mentioned--offer a specific blueprint--for how we 
can improve education.
  I fear that instead of giving these tools to our educators, the 
majority would rather criticize our public schools.
  Too often, their rhetoric tears down, when we should be building up. 
The majority's education agenda too often resembles an effort to assign 
blame. I believe a better approach--the Democratic approach--is to 
strengthen the partnerships that improve education.
  We Democrats--in the Senate and the House along with the President--
are offering something positive--and I hope that this agenda of 
excellence is greeted by honest examination and constructive debate 
focused on helping students learn--and not the usual partisan blame 
game.
  We have a chance to lead. We have a chance to really improve public 
education for all Americans. Let's not

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abandon the principles that have made our nation great. Let's not let 
partisan gamesmanship stand in the way of progress. Let's take this 
unprecedented opportunity in our nation's history to make the 
investments we need, and to do right by our nation's parents, our 
nation's educators, and--most importantly--our nation's future--the 
children attending our public schools.
  I yield the floor.

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