[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 9, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H2737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING AMERICA'S TEACHERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Metcalf) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. METCALF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor our Nation's 
teachers. I would like to thank our teachers for their dedication and 
inspiration. Through their hard work and caring attitude, our teachers 
play a vital role in ensuring that our students have the opportunity to 
become life-long learners and real contributors to society.
  I was a teacher for 30 years, and I understand the importance of a 
good education and the foundation it builds for our youth.
  Our schools, both public and private, must establish curricula 
designed to challenge students and reward classroom successes. American 
students, parents, and teachers must strive to maintain the highest 
level of quality in the field of education.
  Currently, it takes about 18,000 Federal and State employees to 
manage 780 Federal education programs in 39 Federal agencies, boards, 
and commissions. It is, therefore, not surprising that only 70 cents 
per Federal dollar makes it directly to the classroom and that teachers 
complain of excessive paperwork burdens.
  We can do better. Congress needs to pass the Dollars to the Classroom 
legislation and consolidate the Federal K-12 programs and regulations. 
Congress needs to require that 95 percent of the Federal funds are 
directed to the Nation's classrooms.
  According to the Digest of Education Statistics, 74 percent of 
teachers claim they spend too much time on administrative tasks. That 
is why I voted for the Education Flexibility Partnership Act, which, 
hopefully, allows schools and school districts more flexibility to 
spend education dollars as determined by the local school board.
  Instead of meeting burdensome Federal and State regulations, school 
districts should be able to focus more effort on teaching students. 
This regulatory relief will help schools reduce paperwork, decrease 
administrative costs, and, most importantly, improve student 
achievement. Teachers should be teaching our children, not filling out 
unnecessary paperwork.
  In addition, I would encourage everyone to take a moment out of their 
busy lives and say thank you to our Nation's teachers.

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