[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 9, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3665-S3676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ACT--Continued

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, this is an amendment that I have 
introduced with 27 cosponsors, and we invite other Members to join us. 
It is an amendment to deal with early learning opportunities of our 
children.
  Research shows that children's brains are wired--literally wired--
between the ages of birth and 6 years of age. The number of synopses 
that the brain forms, that is, the connections in the brain, depends 
upon the level of brain stimulation. The capacity to learn and interact 
successfully in society is determined even before children begin 
school. Long-term studies looking at data over 30 years show that 
children who participate in early learning programs are less likely to 
require special education, less likely to suffer from mental illness 
and behavior disorders, less likely to become pregnant before they are 
married, more likely to graduate from high school and college, less 
likely to be arrested and incarcerated, have lower recidivism rates if 
they are incarcerated, less likely to be violent and engaged in child 
or spousal abuse, and they earn higher salaries when they become 
adults. Both the General Accounting Office and the Rand Corporation 
made studies which showed that for each dollar invested in early 
learning programs, taxpayers saved between $4 and $7 in later years.
  This amendment provides for block grants to States. States will work 
with local governments, nonprofit corporations, and even faith-based 
institutions to determine what is needed most at their own local level. 
Local entities can use the funds to expand Even Start, the program for 
children from birth to 3 years of age; expand Head Start to more 
children, expand it to full day or year-round coverage; offer nursery 
and preschool programs; train parents and child care professionals in 
child development, and provide parent training and support programs for 
stay-at-home moms and dads.
  The amendment provides set-asides for Indian tribes and Native groups 
and provides for a small State minimum of 0.4 percent. This amendment 
has been endorsed now by the Christian Schools International, by 
Parents United, United Way, some 1,400 local organizations, Fight 
Crime-Invest In Kids, 700 police chiefs, and the National Association 
for the Education of Young Children, Children's Defense Fund, Child 
Care Resource Center, National Black Child Development Institute, and 
the National Education Association.
  As a father of six children, I come to this amendment late in my 
life. I only wish I had had the opportunity to have had this type of 
information available to me and my wife when we, as a very young, newly 
married couple, decided to have our family very quickly. We had five 
children in less than 5 years, and there is a lot we had to learn along 
the way.
  This is a bill to try to make America think about what we want to be. 
We have invested heavily in science, and through the decade of the 
brain that was stimulated by our late departed friend, David Mahoney, 
and the group of scientists he put together with Dr. Jim Watson, who 
worked with him, we now know a lot more about the brain than we did a 
decade ago. Basically, we learned of the fantastic capability of young 
people to absorb knowledge and to be stimulated to develop the 
abilities to absorb even more knowledge as they grow older. I think 
this is one of the most important things I have been involved in during 
my life.
  I believe it is a time for change, a time for us to recognize that 
young children--little babies--can be stimulated in a way that will 
assure their capability will be improved to learn and to be good 
citizens and, in particular, to be able to lead the kind of lives their 
parents dreamed they would lead. I thank every Member who has 
cosponsored this amendment, and I hope for its early adoption.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts is recognized.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, first of all, I express my appreciation 
for the excellent statement that the Senator from Alaska has just given 
and thank him for his leadership on this issue. I also thank the 
chairman, Senator Jeffords, for his hard work on this issue as well. 
Both of them have helped us understand how parents and other caregivers 
can have a very positive impact on children and infants at very early 
ages. I thank colleagues on our side, including my colleague from 
Massachusetts, Senator John Kerry, who has been particularly interested 
in this issue and has spent a great deal of time on it, and also the 
Senator from Connecticut, Senator Chris Dodd, who has

[[Page S3666]]

led our efforts on issues involving children for many, many years. 
Finally, I want to thank Stephanie Robinson of my staff, who is sitting 
here on my left, for her insight and diligence as we have worked 
through the details of this early learning proposal.
  I think the Senator from Alaska has really outlined a compelling case 
for this issue. If we go back a little while and think of the first 
studies--the Perry Preschool Program, which Senator Stevens mentioned--
almost 30 years ago, where the results have been followed over a period 
of years and have documented how early interventions for children 
resulted in more positive academic and lifestyle outcomes for many 
children.
  I think that the Perry Preschool study caught the attention of a lot 
of educators. Then we had the meeting in 1990 when the Governors were 
together--the Charlottesville meeting. Many of the issues we have been 
talking about these past few days recall the discussion surrounding 
early learning that the Governors initiated back in 1990. And there the 
Republican and Democratic Governors together announced that our first 
priority should be to have children ready to learn when they enter 
school. They understood what was happening in the States, and that 
early learning was a matter of enormous positive consequence for all 
educational and social service efforts. Even before brain research 
provided a clear medical basis, Governors sensed that ``the earlier the 
better'' in terms of early interventions.
  Then we had the studies done by the Carnegie Commission in 1993, 
which focused on impacts of these early interventions. Later, when we 
had the Year of the Brain in 1996, I believe, we found further 
information as described by the Senator from Alaska, about the 
importance of proper stimulation to the formation of brain synapses in 
young children. Important work continued throughout the 1990's by Dr. 
Brazelton and Dr. Zigler, who are really the godparents of this concept 
of early intervention.
  The bottom line is that quality early learning experiences help 
children develop self-confidence, curiosity, social skills, and motor 
skills. These are the building blocks that children use to expand their 
interest in learning when they get to school. They may also develop a 
sense of humor. They certainly learn consideration of others. These are 
basic benefits of early learning, and they last a lifetime. They are 
absolutely essential in terms of learning and academic achievement, but 
also essential in terms of interpersonal skills, their own personal 
happiness, and their own productivity and contributions as members of a 
society.

  As we debate education policy, we must continue to find common ground 
that enables us to act effectively. One of the most important 
opportunities is in early learning. Last month's Senate Budget 
Resolution included a bipartisan amendment that reserved $8.5 billion 
to improve early learning services throughout the Nation. The Senate is 
clearly moving toward a commitment to ensure that each of the 23 
million American children under age six is able to enter school ready 
to learn.
  Senator Stevens and I worked together to build a strong bipartisan 
coalition for this reserve fund in the Senate resolution, and now is 
the time to continue these efforts. As we consider the investments that 
are needed in education, we cannot ignore early childhood learning.
  Education occurs over a continuum that begins at birth and extends 
throughout life. The need to do more to make greater educational 
opportunities available in a child's very early years is clear. Study 
after study proves that positive learning experiences very early in 
life significantly enhance a child's later ability to learn, to 
interact successfully with teachers and peers, and to master needed 
skills. It is long past time to put this research into practice.
  Just last week Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a 700-member bipartisan 
coalition of police chiefs, sheriffs, and crime victims, released yet 
another convincing report. It finds that children who receive quality 
early learning are half as likely to commit crimes and be arrested 
later in life.
  Early learning programs are good for children, good for parents and 
good for society as a whole. Unfortunately, far too many parents lack 
access to quality early learning activities for their children while 
they work. Although two thirds of mothers work outside the home, only 
58% of 3- and 4-year-olds living above the poverty level, and 41% of 
those living below the poverty level, are enrolled in center-based 
early learning programs.
  A dramatic recent survey found that more parents are satisfied with 
Head Start than any other federal program. But only two in five 
eligible children are enrolled in Head Start - and only one in 100 
eligible infants and toddlers are enrolled in Early Head Start. As a 
result, literally millions of young children never have the chance to 
reach their full potential. What a waste! We must do better. We can do 
better.
  The Committee for Economic Development reports that we can save over 
five dollars in the future for every dollar we invest in early learning 
today, the investment significantly reduces the number of families on 
welfare, the number of children in special education, and the number of 
children in our juvenile justice system. Investment in early learning 
is not only morally right - it is economically right.
  We must steadily expand access to Head Start and Early Head Start. We 
must make parenting assistance available to all who want it. We must 
support model state efforts that have already proved successful, such 
as Community Partnerships for Children in Massachusetts and Smart Start 
in North Carolina, which rely on local councils to identify the early 
learning needs in each community and allocate new resources to meet 
them. We must give higher priority to early childhood literacy. In ways 
such as these, we must take bolder action to strengthen early learning 
opportunities in communities across the Nation.

  The Rand Corporation reports: ``After critically reviewing the 
literature and discounting claims that are not rigorously demonstrated, 
we conclude that these [early learning] programs can provide 
significant benefits.'' Governors, state legislatures, local 
governments, and educators have all called for increased federal 
investments in early learning as the most effective way to promote 
healthy and constructive behavior by future adults. As we strengthen 
education policy, we cannot lose sight of the evidence that education 
begins at birth--and is not a process that occurs only in a school 
building during a school day.
  We must examine children's experience during the five or six years 
before they walk through their first schoolhouse door. Our goal is to 
enable all children to enter school ready to learn, and maximize the 
impact of our investments in education.
  It is especially important that low-income parents who accept the 
responsibility of work under welfare reform to have access to quality 
early learning opportunities for their children. The central idea of 
welfare reform is that families caught in a cycle of dependence can be 
shown that work pays. Today I am proud to stand with so many Senators 
who agree that children's development must not be sacrificed as we help 
families move from welfare to work.
  A decade ago the Nation's Governors agreed that helping children 
enter school ready to learn should be America's number one priority. We 
have made some progress since then, but we are still falling far short 
of our goal.
  In Massachusetts, the Community Partnerships for Children Program 
currently provides quality full-day early learning for 15,300 young 
children from low-income families. Yet today in Massachusetts over 
14,000 additional eligible children are waiting for the early learning 
services they need--and some have been on the waiting list for 18 
months. A 1999 report by the Congressional General Accounting Office on 
early learning services for low-income families was unequivocal--
``infant toddler care [is] still difficult to obtain.''
  Even as the need to provide these opportunities increases, it is 
clear that many current facilities are unsafe. The average early 
learning provider is paid under seven dollars an hour--less than the 
average parking attendant or pet sitter. These low wages result in high 
turnover, poorer quality of care, and little trust and bonding with the 
children.
  Here in the Senate, we have worked together for several months on a 
proposal to enable local communities to

[[Page S3667]]

fill the gaps that impair current early learning efforts. Our amendment 
provides $3.25 billion for early learning programs over the next three 
years. Local councils will direct the funds to the most urgent needs in 
each community. The needs may include parenting support and education--
improving quality through professional development and retention 
initiatives--expanding the times and the days children can obtain these 
services--enhancing childhood literacy--and greater early learning 
opportunities for children with special needs. These funding priorities 
are well-designed to strengthen early learning programs in all 
communities across the country, and give each community the opportunity 
to invest the funds in ways that will best address its most urgent 
needs.

  I urge the Senate to approve it as a long overdue recognition of this 
important aspect of education reform.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that several letters of 
support for this amendment be printed in the Record immediately after 
my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, so ordered. (See Exhibit 
1.)
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, when the Senator brings this to the 
attention of the Senate, it is a matter of enormous importance and 
significance. I pay tribute to him and to our chairman, Senator 
Jeffords, who has been a strong supporter. I know there are others on 
that side, but they have been real giants in this area of concern and 
have been enormously constructive and helpful in moving us towards a 
legislative initiative in this area.
  I am very grateful to my colleagues, Senator Kerry and Senator Dodd, 
for the extraordinary work they have done.
  I am very hopeful that at an early time we can have favorable 
consideration.

                               Exhibit 1

                                    Commonwealth of Massachusetts,


                                      Department of Education,

                                          Malden, MA, May 5, 2000.
     Hon. Edward M. Kennedy,
     Russell Senate Building, U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Kennedy: I want to express my strong support 
     for the Early Learning Opportunities Act as an amendment to 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. High quality 
     early care and education programs are vital to children's 
     development as well as to the national goal for all children 
     to enter school ready to learn. It is also essential that the 
     methods used to increase support for families and young 
     children be flexible and responsive to the diverse needs and 
     resources of communities and families across the country.
       The program outlined in this proposal is quite consistent 
     with our state preschool program, Community Partnerships for 
     Children. For example, Massachusetts has many local councils 
     working collaboratively to design comprehensive early care 
     and education programs that ensure that funds are used in 
     ways that are consistent with local needs. Our programs also 
     conduct many family support and family literacy activities 
     such as those described in your plan. Through our experience 
     with Community Partnerships, we know that these elements as 
     well as transportation and professional development are 
     essential to helping early childhood programs achieve their 
     potential to support young children and families.
       With the in mind, I would like to express one concern. As 
     is, the program is created within Health and Human Services 
     and is ``entirely independent of ESEA.'' Historically, child 
     care has been administered through human services agencies 
     and it is likely that the program would be passed on through 
     the states' social services infrastructure. At the same time, 
     many of the program's purposes are based on the potential of 
     early childhood programs as educational for children and 
     parents. Based on many years of watching how our local 
     collaborations evolve, it is clear that state and local 
     linkages among Head Start, private child care and public 
     preschools and elementary schools are becoming increasingly 
     important, but are not easy. I believe the separation from 
     ESEA at the national and state levels would not encourage 
     these linkages. Although the program should support the 
     growth and improvement of private child care and Head Start 
     programs, a close connection with ESEA at the national and 
     state levels would model the educational intention of the 
     program and would build on existing Title I preschool 
     programs programs at the local level.
       To reiterate--the plan that has been proposed is very 
     promising and I strongly support this amendment.
           Secerely,
                                                David H. Driscoll,
     Commissioner of Education.
                                  ____

                                                      May 4, 2000.
       Dear Senator: I am writing to urge you to support the Early 
     Learning Opportunities Act, sponsored by Senators Kennedy, 
     Stevens, Jeffords and Dodd, as an amendment to the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act. This Early Learning Amendment 
     would help states to create and enhance the programs and 
     services that infants and toddlers, and their parents, 
     urgently need to ensure that young children will enter school 
     ready to learn.
       As you know, research clearly shows that the first few 
     years of a child's life set the stage for a lifetime of 
     learning. Time and again we see that healthy children who 
     have formed secured and loving attachments to adults grow up 
     to be hard working, productive members of society. But 
     children cannot develop in a healthy manner without access to 
     early learning programs, quality child care and health care, 
     and special services for children and families at risk. 
     Furthermore, a recent report issued by Fight Crime: Invest in 
     Kids concludes that federal, state, and local governments 
     could greatly reduce crime and violence by assuring families 
     access to quality, educational child care program.
       Equally important is parent education. All parents, but 
     especially those in at-risk populations, need to know not 
     only how to effectively bond with their young children, but 
     how to access programs and services that help them to raise a 
     healthy child.
       The Early Learning Amendment is an important step toward 
     improving the lives of America's youngest citizens. Not only 
     does it provide and vital funding for early childhood 
     programs and services, it gives states and localities the 
     flexibility to creatively meet the needs of their 
     populations.
       Again, I urge you to support America's youngest children 
     and their families by voting for the Early Learning 
     Amendment.
           Sincerely,
     Rob Reiner.
                                  ____



                                Parents United for Child Care,

                                          Boston, MA, May 8, 2000.
       Dear Senator: On behalf of the membership of Parents United 
     for Child Care (PUCC), I am writing to urge you to support 
     the Early Learning Opportunities Act sponsored by Senators 
     Stevens, Kennedy, Jeffords and Dodd. This amendment would 
     take important steps to ensuring the availability of high 
     quality early care and education experiences for millions of 
     American families.
       PUCC is a grassroots membership organization of low- and 
     moderate-income parents committed to increasing the supply of 
     quality, affordable child care in Massachusetts. A small 
     group of Boston parents founded PUCC in 1987 with the mission 
     of creating and mobilizing a vocal constituency of parents to 
     impact child care policy in their communities and on the 
     state level. Since its founding PUCC has been working in 
     neighborhoods through Massachusetts to provide a parent voice 
     on public policy issues related to children families. A local 
     and national model of successful parent empowerment and 
     leadership, PUCC employs cutting edge organizing and 
     leadership development strategies to provide parents with the 
     necessary tools to take the lead in advocating for their own 
     child care needs.
       As you know, recent research about the impact of the first 
     three years of life on children's brain development testifies 
     to the importance of a high-quality early care and education 
     experience, especially for children who are growing up in 
     poverty. In addition, policy makers--at the state and 
     national level--are increasingly acknowledging the importance 
     of child care an essential tool for building the economic 
     stability of working families. Finally, the implementation of 
     Education Reform across the country has focused a spotlight 
     on the importance of quality early learning opportunities in 
     preparing children for school. Unfortunately, too many 
     parents do not have access to the type of high quality early 
     care services that will allow them to go to work and help 
     their children to learn, play and thrive.
       By supporting the Early Learning Amendment, you can make 
     children and families a priority and help parents, providers 
     and educators promote healthy physical and emotional 
     development for our children. Please do not hesitate contact 
     me for further information about Parents United for Child 
     Care. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this 
     request.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                     Elaine Fersh,
     Director.
                                  ____



                                  National Women's Law Center,

                                      Washington, DC, May 8, 2000.
     Hon. Edward Kennedy,
     U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Kennedy: We are writing to express our support 
     for your Early Learning Amendment to be offered to the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
       Research on early brain development and school readiness 
     demonstrates that the experiences children have and the 
     attachments they form in the earliest years of life have a 
     decisive, long-lasting impact on their later development and 
     learning. Yet, despite the importance of early childhood 
     learning, scarce resources limit the early childhood learning 
     opportunities of many children. Your Early Learning 
     Opportunities Amendment would provide grants to states and 
     communities to help ensure that significantly more children 
     across the country have positive early learning experiences. 
     The added resources that your amendment offers will allow 
     communities to improve and expand quality early childhood 
     programs, and

[[Page S3668]]

     assist parents and early childhood providers meet the diverse 
     developmental needs of young children.
       We appreciate your efforts to increase the availability and 
     quality of early childhood learning for children, and look 
     forward to working with you on this critical issue.
           Sincerely yours,
     Nancy Duff Campbell,
                                                     Co-President.
     Judith C. Appelbaum,
                                    Vice President and Director of
     Employment Opportunities.
                                  ____

                                              National Black Child


                                  Development Institute, Inc.,

                                      Washington, DC, May 4, 2000.
       Dear Senator: I am writing to urge your support for the 
     Stevens-Kennedy-Jeffords-Dodd Early Learning Amendment to 
     ESEA.
       Early care and education have been a leading tenet of the 
     National Black Child Development Institute since its 
     inception thirty years ago. Then, as now, we hold that there 
     is no more effective way to prepare children to succeed in 
     school and break the cycle of poverty than quality, 
     accessible early care and education. Recent studies have 
     shown that quality early education also reduces the 
     likelihood that a child will later be involved in the 
     juvenile justice system.
       Despite its proven track record, Head Start is unable to 
     serve all the eligible children. Less than 1 in 10 children 
     eligible for the Child Development Block Grant are currently 
     served. While Head Start has a comprehensive program with 
     education and parental involvement, the programs funded under 
     CCDBG could be greatly enhanced with community-based 
     collaborations around parent training and developmentally 
     appropriate learning programs.
       The Early Learning Amendment provides support for 
     communities to improve the quality of child care programs; to 
     provide parent education and training independent of a child 
     care setting; to provide training and professional 
     development for providers of early care and education.
       These are important goals that will improve the quality of 
     life for our children and their communities for generations. 
     When we strength a child, we shape the future of our nation.
       I urge your support for the Early Learning Amendment to 
     ESEA.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Andrea Young,
     Director of Public Policy.
                                  ____



                             Child Care Resource Center, Inc.,

                                       Cambridge, MA, May 4, 2000.
       Dear Senators: The Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) in 
     Cambridge, MA, is one of 13 child care resource and referral 
     agencies across the state of Massachusetts. Agencies like 
     CCRC strive to strengthen the field of child care in four 
     ways: 1) we work with child care providers to increase the 
     quality of child care, 2) we work with parents to provide 
     consumer education, information and referrals to local child 
     care programs, 3) we work with low-income families to ensure 
     that they have access to quality affordable care and 4) work 
     with communities to utilize child care demand and supply data 
     for community planning purposes.
       Working for a child care resource and referral agency 
     provides a unique perspective on the child care system as a 
     whole because we have the opportunity to work and interact 
     with all aspects of this system, including the 
     administration, the child care industry and families of all 
     incomes who are struggling to make ends meet and find a safe 
     nurturing environment for their child. From this 
     vantagepoint, we see first hand what is and is not working 
     with our system and where there are gaps in the services that 
     are offered.
       Based on this knowledge and experience, I am writing today 
     in support of the Stevens-Kennedy-Jeffords-Dodd ``Early 
     Learning Opportunities'' amendment to ESEA. Recent research 
     has highlighted the importance of providing adequate 
     stimulation to children between the ages of 0 and 5 in order 
     to ensure the optimal physical and emotional development of a 
     young child's brain. This development can not be recaptured 
     during later years. Brain synopses that are not developed are 
     lost forever.
       The Early Learning amendment is an important step towards 
     ensuring the availability of high-quality educational child 
     development programs to both child care providers and to 
     parents, two equally important components of the lives of our 
     children. As a country, we need to make a stronger investment 
     into supporting the healthy development of our youngest 
     resources. Children do not begin the learning process at the 
     age of five when they enter kindergarten. We must lay the 
     groundwork earlier to ensure that children not only develop 
     appropriately, but more importantly, thrive.
       If you need any information or other materials to help you 
     in this important debate, please do not hesitate to contact 
     me at (617) 547-1063 ext 217 or CCRC's Public Policy Manager 
     Jennifer Murphy at (617) 547-1063 ext 234.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Marta T. Rosa,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____



                                  Fight Crime: Invest in Kids,

                                      Washington, DC, May 3, 2000.
       Dear Senator: As an organization led by over 700 police 
     chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, leaders of police 
     organizations, and crime survivors, we write in strong 
     support of the Stevens-Kennedy-Jeffords-Dodd ``Early Learning 
     Opportunities'' amendment to ESEA.
       The evidence is clear that well-designed early learning 
     programs for kids can dramatically reduce crime and violence, 
     and keep kids from becoming criminals. But these programs 
     remain so under-funded they reach only a fraction of the 
     youngsters who need them. For example:
       A High/Scope Foundation study at the Perry Preschool in 
     Michigan randomly chose half of a group of at-risk toddlers 
     to receive a quality Head Start-style preschool program, 
     supplemented by weekly in-home coaching for parents. Twenty-
     two years later, the toddlers left out of the program were 
     five times more likely to have grown up to be chronic 
     lawbreakers, with five or more arrests.
       A new study of 1,000 at-risk children who attended the 
     Chicago Child Parent Centers found that the children of a 
     similar background who were left out of the program were 
     almost twice as likely to have two or more juvenile arrests.
       Yet inadequate funding for these high quality child 
     development programs like these leaves millions of at-risk 
     children without critical early childhood services. Making 
     sure all children have access to educational childcare is one 
     of the four points of our School and Youth Violence 
     Prevention Plan, the key components of which have been 
     endorsed not only by each of Fight Crime's 700 law 
     enforcement leaders and victims of violence but also by the 
     National Sheriffs Association; the Major Cities [Police] 
     Chiefs Organizations; the Police Executive Research Forum; 
     the National District Attorneys Association--and dozens of 
     state law enforcement associations.
       The Early Learning amendment is an important step towards 
     ensuring the availability of high-quality educational child 
     development programs. Those on the front lines of the battle 
     against crime know these investments are among our most 
     powerful weapons against crime.
       For more information on the studies mentioned above, please 
     see our new report America's Child Care Crisis: A Crime 
     Prevention Tradegy co-authored by Dr. Berry Brazelton, Edward 
     Zigler, Lawrence Sherman, William Bratton, Jerry Sanders and 
     other child development and crime prevention experts. The 
     report is available on our website, http://
www.fightcrime.org.
 Sincerely,
                                                   Sanford Newman,
     President.
                                  ____



                                        United Way of America,

                                      Alexandria, VA, May 3, 2000.
     Hon. Edward M. Kennedy,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Kennedy: On behalf of 1,400 United Ways across 
     the country, United Way of America (UWA) urges you to support 
     the Early Learning Amendment to the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act (ESEA) sponsored by Senators Stevens, Kennedy, 
     Jeffords, and Dodd. The amendment allots $6.25 billion over 
     five years to create a new program within the Department of 
     Health and Human Services (HHS) that will improve 
     opportunities for early learning and school readiness among 
     young children from birth through age six.
       For the past ten years, United Ways have been committed to 
     early care and education through Success By 6', an 
     initiative that convenes local leadership (corporate, 
     government and nonprofit) to leverage resources, raise 
     awareness and impact policy on behalf of our youngest 
     citizens. In over 300 communities, Success By 6' 
     helps ensure a safe and nurturing environment for our 
     children. Early childhood development is critical to an 
     effective future workforce. Recent brain research has 
     confirmed that investing early has lifetime benefits and 
     positive implications for a child's success. The early 
     learning amendment will allow local communities to take to 
     scale existing early childhood initiatives and stimulate the 
     creation of new ones.
       An investment in early learning and development is a 
     critical investment in our future. United Way of America 
     hopes that the Senate will make a renewed commitment to 
     America's children by supporting this amendment. If you need 
     more information, please contract Ilsa Flanagan, Senior 
     Director of Public Policy, at (703) 683-7817.
           With appreciation,
     Betty Beene.
                                  ____

                                                      May 2, 2000.
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator: We urge you to support the following 
     amendments to S. 2, the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act reauthorization that is currently being debated by the 
     full Senate, to help ensure that young children have the 
     strong start they need and older children the positive and 
     safe after-school experiences and the comprehensive supports 
     they need to succeed in school.
       Stevens/Jeffords/Kennedy/Dodd Early Learning Opportunities 
     Amendment. This amendment would provide grants to states and 
     communities to improve and expand high-quality early learning 
     programs serving children ages zero to five years old. This 
     amendment would offer local communities much needed funds to 
     help both parents and early childhood providers meet the 
     varying needs of young children. Research is clear that 
     children, particularly disadvantaged

[[Page S3669]]

     children, who have the opportunity to participate in high 
     quality early childhood programs are more likely to succeed 
     in school and in life.
       Dodd Early Childhood Education Professional Development 
     Amendment. This amendment would provide resources to local 
     partnerships to provide professional development for early 
     childhood educators with a focus on early literacy and 
     violence prevention. Given the low salaries of child care 
     providers across the country, providers must have access to 
     resources from their communities in order to grow 
     professionally and provide high quality care in their 
     programs. It is exceedingly important to offer new 
     opportunities to strengthen their ability to work with 
     children. Gaining early literacy skills is essential to 
     children's ability to start school ready to read. High 
     quality early childhood programs have also demonstrated that 
     they can be effective in reducing the violent behavior that 
     can lead to delinquency.
       Reed Child Opportunity Zone Family Centers Amendment. This 
     amendment would provide resources to help schools coordinate 
     with other local health and human services at or near the 
     school site to support children's ability to come to school 
     each day ready to learn. This will ensure that children have 
     the health and other supports they need to be able to thrive 
     and take full advantage of their education.
       Dodd 21st Century Community Learning Centers Amendment. 
     This amendment would strengthen the collaboration among 
     schools and community-based organizations and bolster their 
     ability to provide enriching and educational after-school and 
     other community education programs.
       These amendment would help provide critical support to both 
     younger and older children and their families, helping to 
     ensure that their school experience is a success. We urge you 
     to support them.
           Sincerely yours,
     ------ ------.
                                  ____

                                          Geresh and Sarah Lemberg


                                      Children's Center, Inc.,

                                                      Waltham, MA.
     From: Howard Baker, Executive Director.
     To: Stephanie Robinson and Rachel Price, Staff of Senator 
         Kennedy.
     Subject: Amendments to Early Learning Part of ESEA.
       Comments: Thank you for sending me a copy of your proposed 
     amendments ESEA. I support your addressing special 
     educational needs (Part V,B,5), increased hours of care (Part 
     V,B,6), and increases in compensation and recruitment 
     incentives (Part V,B,7). I am glad to see the wording 
     ``grants supplemental not supplant existing early learning 
     resources'' (Part VII, G). As for the Funding total of $6.25 
     billion over 5 years, more is better.
       Also, I spoke with Kimberly Barnes O'Connor, she said: 
     ``Bringing up rates and wages in the ESEA is the wrong place. 
     These are issues for the Child Care and Development Block 
     Grant.'' Is this your position as well?
       Thanks.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Massachusetts 
for his kind comments. I want to echo what he has said. Senator 
Jeffords has been a great leader in this area. As a matter of fact, he 
sort of encouraged me to get involved. I am happy to have been able to 
get involved. I told him it should have been the Jeffords-Stevens 
amendment. In his typical Vermont reticence--he is a Yankee as far as I 
am concerned--he said, no, that I should put in the amendment and be 
the sponsor. I am proud to do that. But the real voice of reason in 
this amendment has been Senator Jeffords.
  I am pleased to yield to him, and I thank him for his cooperation.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. I thank the Senator.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I have an engagement pending, so I will 
proceed now. I would love to be able to stay and listen to my friends.
  I certainly thank the Senator from Alaska for his very fine words. He 
has been an inspiration to all of us in bringing this forward. Without 
his help and support, I am not so sure that we would be here today. I 
appreciate his efforts in making sure that our amendment be heard in a 
timely manner.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, the lady who 
is responsible for the cooperation is sitting to my right, our deputy 
chief of staff. She started on the mommy track about a year ago and 
taught me all I know. So thank you very much.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. I thank the Senator very much. Mr. President, I am very 
happy to join a strong bi-partisan group of my colleagues in 
introducing the ``Early Learning Opportunities Act'' amendment. The 
twenty-eight co-sponsors of the amendment are: Senators Stevens, 
Kennedy, Jeffords, Dodd, Domenici, Bond, Kerry, Voinovich, Lautenberg, 
Murray, Cochran, Bingaman, Smith of Oregon, Durbin, Chafee, Baucus, 
Murkowski, Robb, Rockefeller, Roberts, Wellstone, Feinstein, Mikulski, 
Snowe, Boxer, Kerrey, Specter, and Warner.
  In 1989, President Bush met with Governors from across the nation and 
identified a set of educational goals for our nation's children. The 
first national educational goal was that ``By the year 2000, all 
children in America will start school ready to learn,'' We have 
unfortunately failed to meet that critical goal.
  Early childhood learning plays a key role in a child's future 
achievement and is the cornerstone of education reform. I am absolutely 
convinced that we must invest in early childhood learning programs if 
we are to have every child enter school ready to learn and succeed.
  We know that from birth, the human brain is making the connections 
that are vital to future learning. We know that what we do as parents, 
care providers, educators, and as a society can either help or hurt a 
child's ability to gain the skills necessary for success in school--- 
and in life.
  Many of America's children enter school without the necessary 
abilities and maturity. Without successful remediation efforts, these 
children continue to lag behind for their entire academic career. We 
spend billions of dollars on efforts to help these children catch up. 
As we demand that students and schools meet higher academic standards, 
these efforts become much harder. An investment in early learning today 
will save money tomorrow. Research has demonstrated that for each 
dollar invested in quality early learning programs, the Federal 
Government can save over five dollars--spend one, save five.
  These savings result from future reductions in the number of children 
and families who participate in Federal Government programs like Title 
I special education and welfare.
  This amendment is designed to help parents and care givers integrate 
early childhood learning into the daily lives of their children.
  Parents are the most important teachers of their children. If parents 
are actively engaged in their child's early learning, their children 
will see greater cognitive and non-cognitive benefits.
  Parents want their children to grow up happy and healthy. But few are 
fully prepared for the demands of parenthood. Many parents have 
difficulty finding the information and support they need to help their 
children grow to their full potential. Making that information and 
support available and accessible to parents is a key component of this 
amendment.
  For many families, it is not possible for a parent to remain home to 
care for their children. Their employment is not a choice, but an 
essential part of their family's economic survival.
  And for most of these families, child care is not an option, but a 
requirement, as parents struggle to meet the competing demands of work 
and family.
  Just as it is essential that we provide parents with the tools they 
need to help their children grow and develop, we also must help the 
people who care for our nation's children while parents are at work.
  Today, more than 13 million young children--including half of all 
infants--spend at least part of their day being cared for by someone 
other than their parents.
  In Vermont alone, there are about 22,000 children, under the age of 
six, in state-regulated child care.
  This amendment will provide communities with the resources necessary 
to improve the quality of child care. Funds can be used for 
professional development, staff retention and recruitment incentives, 
and improved compensation. By improving local collaboration and 
coordination, child care providers--- as well as parents--- will be 
able to access more services, activities and programs for children in 
their care.
  Our ``Early Learning Opportunities'' amendment will serve as a 
catalyst to engage all sectors of the community in increasing programs, 
services, and activities that promote the healthy development of our 
youngest citizens. The amendment ensures that funds will be locally 
controlled.

[[Page S3670]]

  Funds are channeled through the states to local councils. The 
councils are charged with assessing the early learning needs of the 
community, and distributing the funds to a broad variety of local 
resources to meet those needs.
  Local councils must work with schools in the community to identify 
the abilities which need to be mastered before children enter school. 
Funds must be used for programs, activities and services which 
represent developmentally appropriate steps towards acquiring those 
abilities.
  This amendment will expand community resources, improve program 
collaboration, and engage our citizens in creating solutions. It will 
will help parents and care givers who are looking for better ways to 
include positive learning experiences into the daily lives of our 
youngest children.
  When children enter school ready to learn, all of the advantages of 
their school experiences are opened to them---their opportunities are 
unlimited.
  I urge all my colleagues to vote for the ``Early Learning 
Opportunities Act'' amendment.
  I urge you to give our nation's children every opportunity to succeed 
in school and in life.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I thank the Chair.
  Mr. President, I rise today to lend my support to a critical 
component of our efforts to reform the public education system and 
ensure that all children can learn to high standards: a collaborative 
approach to increasing the availability of high-quality early learning 
initiatives for young children. The amendment before us today 
recognizes the importance that the early years of a child's life play 
in his or her future learning and development. This amendment 
acknowledges what we know to be to true: children who begin school 
lacking the ability to recognize letters, numbers, and shapes quickly 
fall behind their peers. Students who reach the first grade without 
having had the opportunity to develop cognitive or language 
comprehension skills begin school at a disadvantage. Children who have 
not had the chance to develop social and emotional skills do not begin 
school ready to learn. Mr. President, we have the opportunity here 
today in this bipartisan amendment to see to it that all of our young 
children have access to high-quality early learning initiatives and 
that all of our children begin school ready to learn.
  The beauty of the approach that I am advocating for here today, is 
that it builds upon existing early learning and child care programs in 
each and every community in this country. Mr. President, this early 
learning amendment would provide support to families by minimizing 
government bureaucracy and maximizing local initiatives. This amendment 
would support the creation of local councils that will provide funding 
to communities to expand the thousands of successful early care and 
education efforts that already exist. It will establish an early 
learning infrastructure at the local level. This infrastructure will 
establish the necessary linkages between private, public, and non-
profit organizations that seek to provide a healthy, safe, and 
supportive start in learning and in life for children of pre-school 
age. Mr. President, this amendment provides the Senate with a 
critically important bipartisan opportunity to support early learning 
collaboratives at the state level, in towns, in cities, and in 
communities throughout this country.
  I can attest to the success and importance of this collaborative 
approach, because I have seen it work. I was so convinced by what I saw 
in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Mr. President, that I introduced 
legislation in the 105th and the 106th Congresses that is very similar 
to the amendment before us today. Let me tell you about the Early 
Childhood Initiative (ECI) in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania--an 
innovative program which helps low-income children from birth to age 
five become successful, productive adults by enrolling them in high 
quality, neighborhood-based early care and education programs, ranging 
from Head Start, center-based child care, home-based child care, and 
school readiness programs. ECI draws on everything that's right about 
Allegheny County--the strength of its communities--neighborhood 
decision-making, parent involvement, and quality measurement. Parents 
and community groups decide if they want to participate and they come 
together and develop a proposal tailored for the community. Regular 
review programs ensure quality programming and cost-effectiveness. 
We're talking about local control getting results locally: 19,000 pre-
school aged children from low-income families, 10,000 of which were not 
enrolled in any childcare or education program. Evaluations have shown 
that enrolled children are achieving at rates equivalent to their 
middle income peers. And as we know, without this leveling of the 
playing field, low-income children are at a greater risk of 
encountering the juvenile justice system.
  In the United States, child care, early learning, and school-age care 
result from partnerships among the public sector--federal state, and 
local governments; the private sector--businesses and charitable 
organizations; and parents. Both the public and the private sectors 
help children get a strong start in life by supporting and providing 
child care, by enhancing early learning opportunities, and by supplying 
school-age care. Attention to early childhood development by so many 
organizations and levels of government is important and appropriate. 
But oftentimes, early care and education is a hodgepodge of public and 
private programs, child-care centers, family day-care homes, and 
preschools and ironically the widespread concern for the provision and 
quality of such programs has led to what some experts in this field 
have called a non-system.

  I'd like to tell you about one of the most ground-breaking studies in 
the effectiveness of early learning programs, called the Abecedarian 
Project, that is taking place at the University of North Carolina 
Chapel Hill. This highly-regarded study has found that low-income 
children who received comprehensive, quality early educational 
intervention had higher scores on cognitive, reading, math tests than a 
comparison group of children who did not receive the intervention. 
These effects persisted through age 21. The study also found that young 
people who had participated in the early education program were more 
likely to attend a four-year college and to delay parenthood. And the 
positive impact of the early learning program was not just limited to 
the children, Mr. President. Mothers whose children participated in the 
program achieved higher educational and employment status as well, with 
particularly strong results for teen mothers.
  Community collaboration allows a vast array of people to assess what 
support children and families need, what resources are available in 
their own community, and what new resources are necessary. 
Collaboration is a way to meet the needs of parents who work full time. 
For example, children who attend a state-financed half-day preschool 
program in a child-care center are able to remain in the center after 
the formal preschool program has ended until a parent finishes working 
when linkages between disparate programs are made. This sort of 
continuity can eliminate transportation problems that often plague 
working families and stressful transitions for parents and children.
  Child care and early learning are necessities for millions of 
American families. Children of all income levels are cared for by 
someone other than their parents. Each day, an estimated 13 million 
children under age six--including children with mothers who work 
outside the home and those with mothers who do not--spend some or all 
of their day being cared for by someone other than their parents. Many 
of these children enter non-parental care by 11 weeks of age, and often 
stay in some form of child care until they enter school.
  I commend my esteemed colleagues, Senator Stevens, Senator Jeffords, 
Senator Bond, Senator Dodd, and the senior Senator from Massachusetts, 
Senator Kennedy, who, as you all know, is a true leader in this area, 
for working so diligently on this amendment. And I'm pleased to have 
the opportunity to be here on the floor to discuss this bipartisan 
legislation. Indeed, supporting states and local early learning 
collaboratives is not a partisan

[[Page S3671]]

issue. In fact. Mr. President, the legislation that I introduced in the 
105th and 106th Congresses, the Early Childhood Development Act, would 
support a collaborative approach and sustain an early learning 
infrastructure. My legislation has been supported by Senators on both 
sides of the aisle. I commend my colleagues--Senator Bond, Senator 
Gordon Smith, Senator Snowe, Senator Collins, and the late Senator 
Chafee, for supporting this important, non-partisan educational 
priority and approach to improving early learning opportunities for all 
children. And I particularly commend the bipartisan group of leaders on 
this amendment.
  Early childhood programs are cost effective and can result in 
significant savings in both the short- and the long-term. For example, 
the High/Scope Foundation's Perry Preschool Study examined the long-
term impact of a good early childhood program for low-income children. 
Researches found that after 27 years, each $1.00 invested in the 
program saved over $7.00 by increasing the likelihood that children 
would be literate, employed, and enrolled in postsecondary education, 
and making them less likely to be school dropouts, dependent on 
welfare, or arrested for criminal activity or delinquency. A study of 
the short-term impact of a pre-kindergarten program in Colorado found 
that it resulted in cost savings of $4.7 million over just three years 
in reduced special education costs.
  Child care and early learning are particularly important for low-
income children and children with other risk factors. Good early care 
and education programs help children enter school ready to succeed in a 
number of ways, and have a particularly strong impact on low-income 
children who are at greater risk for school failure. Mr. President, 
reading difficulties in young children can be prevented if children 
arrive in the first grade with strong language and cognitive skills and 
the motivation to learn to read, which are needed to benefit from 
classroom instruction.
  Law enforcement has attested to the importance of early learning 
programs. A poll of police chiefs from across the country found that 
nearly none out of ten (86 percent) said that ``expanding after-school 
and child care programs like Head Start will greatly reduce youth crime 
and violence.'' Nine out of ten also agreed that a failure to invest in 
such programs to help children and youth now would result in greater 
expenses later in crime, welfare, and other costs. Police chiefs ranked 
providing ``more after-school programs and educational child care'' as 
the most effective strategy for reducing youth violence four times as 
often as ``prosecuting more juveniles as adults'' and five times as 
often as ``hiring more police officers to investigate juvenile crime.''

  I urge my colleagues to think about what is at stake here. Poverty 
seriously impairs young children's language development, math skills, 
IQ scores, and their later school completion. Poor young children also 
are at heightened risk of infant mortality, anemia, and stunted growth. 
Of the millions children under the age of three in the U.S. today, 25 
percent live in poverty. Three out of five mothers with children under 
three work, but one study found that 40 percent of the facilities at 
child care centers serving infants provided care of such poor quality 
as to actually jeopardize children's health, safety, or development. 
Literally the future of millions of young people is at stake here. 
Literally that's what we're talking about. But is it reflected in the 
investments we make here in the Senate? I would, respectfully, say no--
not nearly enough, Mr. President. But today, during this debate on the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we have a genuine opportunity 
to make a meaningful difference and contribution to the lives of poor 
children in this country.
  I'd also like to discuss the results of a study conducted by the 
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. This study 
has been following a group of children to compare the development of 
children in high quality child care with that of children in lower 
quality child care. Researchers have thus far tracked the children's 
progress from age three through the second grade. At the end of this 
most recent study period, children in high quality child care 
demonstrated greater mathematics ability, greater thinking and 
attention skills, and fewer behavioral problems. These differences held 
true for children from a range of family backgrounds, with particularly 
significant effects for children at risk.
  Let me explain why this legislation is so fundamentally important and 
why it is clear we are not doing enough to ensure that our youngest 
children are exposed to meaningful learning opportunities:
  A study in Massachusetts found that the supply of child care in 
communities with large numbers of welfare recipients was much lower 
than in higher-income communities. The 10 percent of zip code areas 
with the greatest share of welfare recipients had just 8.3 preschools 
operating per 1,000 children ages 3 to 5. This was one-third lower than 
in high-income communities.
  Four out of five children already know what it means to be in the 
full-time care of someone other than one of their parents.
  A study by the U.S. Department of Education found that public schools 
in low income communities were far less likely to offer pre-
kindergarten programs (16 percent) than were schools in more affluent 
areas (33 percent).
  Kindergarten teachers estimate that one in three children enters the 
classroom unprepared to meet the challenges of school.
  Only 42 percent of low-income children between the ages of 3 and 5 
are in pre-kindergarten programs compared with 65 percent of higher 
income children.
  Our country has struggled, and this body has struggled, with ways to 
improve the lives of young, poor children in this country. The debate 
we are engaged in today centers around how to more effectively educate 
disadvantaged children, how to hold schools, administrators, and 
teachers accountable for providing a high-quality education, and 
ensuring that all children are given the opportunities to learn. Mr. 
President, early learning is a critical element of the fundamentally 
important goal of ensuring all children learn to high standards. We 
must go where the children are--in child care centers, in family-based 
care--and guarantee support of meaningful early learning services.
  The intent of a collaborative approach to early education and child 
care is to create a system that supports children's development and is 
also responsive to the needs of working parents. We need to take action 
in order to make a difference in the lives of our children before 
they're put at risk, and this bipartisan approach is certainly a step 
in the right direction, I believe a step the Senate must take. We need 
to accept the truth, Mr. President, that we can do a lot more to help 
our kids grow up healthy with promising futures in an early childhood 
development center, in a classroom, and in a doctor's office than we 
can in a courtroom or in a jail cell.
  I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  I thank my colleague, the senior Senator from Massachusetts, for his 
extraordinary leadership in this arena, as well as in the entire area 
of education.
  I think my colleagues will agree that there is no more forceful, 
eloquent, or committed voice on the subject of children and of 
education in the country. I am grateful for his leadership on their 
particular issue.
  I also join in thanking the Senator from Alaska for his passionate 
and very firsthand commitment to this subject. He comes to this from a 
place of real understanding. And I hope his colleagues on his side of 
the aisle will recognize that this is not partisan. This is something 
that has the capacity to bring both sides together to the advantage of 
the children of America.
  I also thank my colleague, Senator Bond, who joined me several years 
ago in what was then a ground-breaking effort in the Senate to try to 
recognize the capacity of collaboratives in the local communities to be 
able to pick up much of this burden. For a long time, we spent an awful 
lot of energy in the Senate reinventing the wheel. I think what we did 
was try to say how we solve the problem without necessarily creating a 
new Federal bureaucracy and without creating additional administrative 
overhead. How do we play to the strengths of our mayors, of our local 
charitable organizations, which do such an extraordinary job, and

[[Page S3672]]

which in so many cases are simply overburdened by the demand?

  I think there is not one Member who is not aware of a Boys Club, 
Girls Club, YMCA, YWCA, Big Brother-Big Sister, or any number of faith-
based entities, whether the Jewish community centers, the Catholic 
charities, the Baptist Outreach--there are dozens upon dozens of 
efforts--that successfully intervene in the lives of at-risk or 
troubled young people and who succeed in turning those lives around.
  This should not be categorized as a government program with all of 
the pejoratives that go with the concept of government program. This 
is, in effect, the leveraging of those efforts at the local level that 
already work. The best guarantee that comes out of this amendment is 
that it appeals to the capacity of the local communities to choose 
which entities work and which entities don't. There is none of the 
rhetoric that somehow attacks so easily the notions that seek to do 
good and changes lives of people for the better, none of that rhetoric 
that suggests that Washington is dictating this or there is a new 
bureaucracy, or this is the long reach of the government at the Federal 
level trying to tell the local level what to do. None of that applies 
here.
  This is a grant to local collaboratives with the Governors' input and 
the input of those local charitable entities. They know best what is 
working; they know best where that money can have the greatest return 
on the investment. They will, therefore, decide what to do.
  Let me address for a quick moment the common sense of this. Senator 
Stevens talked about the science and brain development. Indeed, we have 
learned a great deal about brain development. In fact, we are learning 
even more each day.
  Just this year, new evidence about brain development has been made 
public which suggests that not only is the early childhood period so 
critical for a particular kind of discipline, but we are now capable of 
learning about the brain's functioning at different stages of 
development through to the point of adulthood. A child in their early 
teens, for instance, may be particularly susceptible to language input 
and at a later stage of life to more analytical skills; at the earlier 
stage of life much more subject to the early socialization skills and 
the early recognition, cognitive skills such as recognizing shapes, 
forms, numbers.
  The problem in America is--every single one of us knows this--certain 
communities don't have the tax base, don't have the income, and we will 
find parents have a greater struggle to provide for a safe, nonchaotic 
atmosphere within which their children can be brought up. Find a place 
where children get the proper kind of early input and it makes a 
difference in their capacity to go to school ready to learn. In an 
affluent community, almost by 2 to 1 we find many more children are in 
safe, competent, early childhood environments where they are well 
prepared to go to school.
  The consequences of not preparing a child to go to school at the 
earliest stage ought to be obvious to everybody, but they are not. I 
have heard from countless first grade schoolteachers who tell me in a 
class of 25 to 30 kids, they might have 5 to 10 kids who do not have 
the early cognitive skills their peers have, so the teacher is then 
reduced in their capacity to be able to provide the accelerated effort 
to the rest of the class because they are spending so much time trying 
to help people catch up. Moreover, it takes longer for the children to 
catch up.

  There are a host of other disadvantages that come with the lack of 
that early childhood education that often play out later in life, 
sometimes in very dramatic ways, when they get in trouble with the law, 
when they become violent, and when we spend countless billions of 
dollars, literally billions of dollars, trying to remediate things that 
could have been avoided altogether in the first place.
  That is what this is all about. This is common sense. There are two 
former Governors who will speak on this. I know what the Senator from 
Ohio did because I followed what he did when he was a Governor. We used 
some of what he did, as well as some of what was done by Governor Hunt 
in North Carolina, as models for possibilities. There are Governors all 
across this country who currently support wonderful, homegrown, locally 
initiated, locally based efforts that save lives and change lives on an 
ongoing basis.
  We need to augment the capacity of all of those entities to reach all 
of the children of America. If we did that, we could provide a tax cut 
in the end to the American people. For the dollar invested at the 
earliest stage, there is a back-end savings of anywhere from $6 to $7 
per child, and sometimes much greater percentages in terms of the costs 
of the social structure that we put in place to either mitigate, and 
sometimes simply to isolate, people from society as a consequence of 
those early deprivations.
  This is not ``goo-goo'' social work. This is not do-goodism. It 
doesn't fit into any kind of ideological label. This is something that 
has worked all across the country.
  I close by pointing to one very successful initiative that I visited 
several years ago which became part of the basis of the collaboration 
in which Senator Bond and I engaged.
  In Allegheny County, PA, there is a thing called the Early Childhood 
Initiative. This program helps low-income children from birth to age 5 
to become successful, productive adults by enrolling them in high-
quality, neighborhood-based early care and education programs ranging 
from Head Start to center-based child care, to home-based child care, 
to school readiness programs. It draws on all of the corporate 
community. The corporate community matches funds. The corporations 
become involved with the charitable entities. The public sector becomes 
involved. They join together to guarantee there are regular review 
programs ensuring quality programming and cost effectiveness.
  We are now talking about 19,000 preschool age children from low-
income families, 10,000 of which were not enrolled in any children's 
care or education program prior to the childhood education initiative 
being put in place.
  May I add, this has been done to date with a small amalgamation of 
Federal money, principally with corporate and local match and State 
money.
  This can be done. For a minimal amount of Federal dollars, you can 
leverage an extraordinary outpouring of local match, of corporate 
private sector involvement, all of which builds communities, all of 
which in the end would make this country stronger and significantly 
augment the capacity of our teachers, who are increasingly 
overburdened, to be able to teach our children adequately.
  I really hope this will be one amendment that does not fall victim to 
partisanship or to predisposition. I think we ought to be able to come 
to common agreement and common ground on this. I really commend it to 
my colleagues on that basis.
  I thank my colleagues for their forbearance.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleagues, Senators 
Stevens, Kennedy and Jeffords and others in support of this amendment.
  As we enter the new millenium, we have before us a unique opportunity 
to enact legislation that will give every child the chance for the 
right start in life.
  Recent research on the brain has clearly demonstrated that the years 
from birth to school enrollment are a hotbed of neurological activity--
an unparalleled opportunity for children to acquire the foundation for 
learning.
  While this seems to be common sense--and something that parents have 
always know intuitively--in fact, it is only recently that parents' 
intuition has been backed by evidence.
  Until only 15 years ago, scientists still assumed that at birth a 
baby's potential for learning was pretty firmly in place. We now know 
that to be untrue.
  Now we know that just in the first few months of life, the 
connections between neurons, or synapses, in a child's brain will 
increase 20-fold, to more than 1,000 trillion--more than all the stars 
in the Milky Way.
  In those months and years, the brain's circuitry is wired. With 
attention and stimulation from parents and other caregivers, we begin 
to see the permanent pathways for learning and caring forming in a 
child's brain.
  The downside to the plasticity of the brain is that it can be as 
easily shaped

[[Page S3673]]

by negative experiences as positive experiences. Fear and neglect are 
just as readily wired into the brain as caring and learning.
  Scientists have also found that the brain's flexibility in those 
early years is not absolute. Some skills can only be acquired during 
defined windows of opportunity. Abilities, like sight and speech, that 
are not wired into place within a certain critical period may be 
unattainable--a ``use it or lose it'' phenomenon.
  We see this phenomenon played out in the classroom. Kindergarten 
teachers across the country tell us that as many as one in three 
children begins the first day of school unprepared to learn. Because 
they have never been read to, basic literacy skills have not taken 
hold. Because they were never screened for health problems, they have 
undiagnosed hearing or vision impairments.
  If we accept the science of brain development, it's clear that is 
where our investments should be.
  The data is in and the facts are undisputable:
  The experiences a child has in the years from birth to age 6 set the 
stage for that child's later academic success.
  Investing in early learning saves us money in the long run.
  It is very simple--if children enter kindergarten and first grade 
unprepared, they may never catch up. As a society, we pay dearly for 
that lack of readiness. We pay in the lost potential of that child. We 
pay in terms of higher special education costs. And we pay in terms of 
increased juvenile justice costs.
  There is no more fitting place for this amendment to be considered 
than here as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act--a very 
appropriate place to formally recognize the fact that learning starts 
at birth.
  This amendment has two main objectives: To provide parents and others 
who care for children with the skills and resources to support 
children's development and to engage communities in providing early 
learning opportunities for all children.
  Because parents are children's first and best teachers, this 
legislation would support their efforts to create healthy and 
stimulating environments for their children.
  But, knowing that more than 60 percent of children younger than age 
six--regardless of whether their mothers work--are in some form of non-
parental care, this legislation would also support the efforts of child 
care centers and home-based child care providers to offer positive 
early learning experiences.
  Importantly, the delivery system for all of these investments is the 
community. Under this legislation, local councils of parents, teachers 
and child care providers will assess the community's needs and 
determine how to allocate resources.
  In addition to using funds to support parents and other caregivers, 
funds could be used:

       To increase access to existing programs by expanding the 
     days or times that children are served or by making services 
     available to children in low-income families.
       To enhance early childhood literacy.
       To link early learning providers to one another and to 
     health services.
       To improve quality of existing early learning programs 
     through recruitment, retention, and professional development 
     incentives, and
       To increase early learning opportunities for children with 
     special needs.

  If this model sounds familiar to you, it should. The strategy of 
investing in early learning has been embraced in some form by over 42 
governors.
  In the laboratory of the states, governors, business leaders, 
parents, and kindergarten teachers have decided that they are convinced 
enough by the science and the facts to forge ahead.
  In Connecticut, we are entering our third year of a wildly popular 
school readiness initiative. As a result of this initiative, 41 cities 
and towns are now providing high quality preschool experiences to over 
6,000 children.
  The results of this initiative in terms of improvements in school 
readiness and reductions in special education costs have been so 
significant that the Governor and legislature have almost doubled 
funding in three years to $72 million.
  Interestingly, perhaps the strongest backer of this initiative has 
been the business community. The people who like to crunch numbers, to 
see things in terms of costs and benefits looked at the facts and 
decided that early learning was a wise investment. That says a lot.
  States are doing their part. Many businesses are doing their part. 
The federal government must do its part.
  As we enter the 21st century, let's get our priorities straight.
  We cannot and should not let this opportunity to make a real 
difference in the lives of children and families across America pass us 
by.
  Our children are priceless--we shouldn't ``nickel and dime'' them 
when it comes to providing the best possible start in life.
  I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank Senator Kerry for the work he and I 
have done over the years on early childhood education. This amendment 
by Senators Stevens and Jeffords and others builds on that because we 
know that early in a child's development is the best time to begin the 
process of assuring that child is well educated, well prepared--the 
very earliest stages in life. This amendment recognizes if we do 
everything possible for our Nation's children in their overall 
education, we should begin at the earliest years.
  While most of the debate on this bill will be about elementary and 
secondary education--the years of what we might call formal schooling--
the education and mental development of a child begins long before that 
child enters kindergarten. In fact, the education and development of a 
child begins practically at birth and continues at an extremely rapid 
pace through the first several years of life.
  This amendment recognizes this basic fact--that a child's education 
and mental development begins very early in life. Through this 
amendment, we are seeking to support families with the youngest 
children to find the early childhood education care programs that can 
help those families and parents provide the supportive, stimulating 
environment we all know their children need.
  This amendment recognizes that if we want to do everything possible 
for our nation's children and their overall education, we need to focus 
on the earliest years as well as the years of formal schooling. We can 
do this--and this amendment proposes to do this--by supporting and 
expanding the successful early childhood programs and initiatives that 
are working right now on the local level. These programs help parents 
to stimulate and educate their young children in an effort to make sure 
every child enters kindergarten fully ready to learn.
  I am pleased to say that this amendment is based on the basic ideas 
and principles I set forth in legislation that was first introduced 
several years ago with my good friend from Massachusetts, Senator 
Kerry.
  Research shows that the first years of life are an absolutely crucial 
developmental period for each child with a significant bearing on 
future prospects. During this time, infant brain development occurs 
very rapidly, and the sensations and experiences of this time go a long 
way toward shaping that baby's mind in a way that has long-lasting 
effects on all aspects of the child's life.
  And parents and family are really the key to this development. Early, 
positive interaction with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncle, and 
other adults plays a critical role.
  Really we shouldn't be surprised that parents have known 
instinctively for generations some of these basic truths that science 
is just now figuring out. Most parents just know that babies need to be 
hugged, caressed, and spoken to.
  Of course, the types of interaction that can most enhance a child's 
development change as the baby's body and mind grow. The best types of 
positive interaction--which are so instinctual to us for the youngest 
babies--may not be quite so obvious for two- and three-year-olds. 
Raising a child is perhaps the most important thing any of us will do, 
but it is also one of the most complicated.
  And parents today also face a variety of stresses and problems that 
were unheard of a generation ago. In many families, both parents work. 
Whether

[[Page S3674]]

by choice or by necessity, many parents may not be able to read 
mountains of books and articles about parenting and child development 
to keep perfectly up-to-date on what types of experiences are most 
appropriate for their child at his or her particular stage of 
development. They also must try to find good child care and good 
environments where their children can be stimulated and educated while 
they work. Simply put, most parents can probably use a little help to 
figure out how best to help a child's mind and imagination to grow as 
much as possible.
  Many communities across the country have developed successful early 
childhood development programs to meet these needs. Most of the 
programs work with parents to help them understand their child's 
development and to discuss ways to help further develop the little 
baby's potential. Others simply provide basic child care and an 
exciting learning environment for children of parents who both have to 
work.
  In a report released in 1998, the prestigious RAND Corporation 
reviewed early childhood programs like these and found that they 
provide children, particularly high-risk children, with both short- and 
long-run benefits. These benefits include enhanced development of both 
the mind and the child's ability to interact with others. They include 
improvement in educational outcomes. And they include a long-term 
increase in self-sufficiency through finding jobs and staying off 
government programs and staying out of the criminal justice system.
  Of course, it's no mystery to people from my home state of Missouri 
that this type of program can be successful. Missouri is the ``Show 
Me'' state, an we have been shown first-hand the benefit of a top-
notice early childhood program. In Missouri, we are both proud and 
lucky to be the home of Parents as Teachers. This tremendous 
organization is an early childhood parent education program designed to 
empower the parents to give their young child the best possible start 
in life. It provides education for the parent on a volunteer basis. 
Over 150,000 Missouri families are participating in it, with 200,000 
children benefiting from it. It combines visits by the parent/educator 
in the home to see the progress of the child. It provides ideas and 
information to the parent to stimulate that child's learning curiosity. 
It brings parents and children together in group sessions to discuss 
common problems.

  This program has been shown, by independent tests, to improve 
significantly the learning capacity of children when they reach formal 
schooling years. In addition, it hooks the parents into their child's 
education for the future years. I personally, from my visits to over 
100 of these sites around my State, can tell you it is clear to the 
teachers, to the administrators, to the school board members, children 
who have been in Parents as Teachers have an excellent start and they 
are above and ahead of the other children who have not been so lucky.
  This program is available through every school district in our State. 
I have talked to mothers coming off welfare who say it is the most 
important thing for their children. I have talked to farm families who 
are struggling to make a living off the farm, who say it is the best 
thing that can happen to their children. I have talked to economically 
successful suburban families; mom and dad both have good jobs, not 
enough time, but Parents as Teachers gives them the direction and the 
tools so they can be the best first teachers of their children.
  That is why it is called Parents as Teachers.
  With additional resources, programs such as Parents as Teachers could 
be expanded and enhanced to improve the opportunities for many more 
infants and young children. And we have found that all children can 
benefit from these programs. Economically successful, two-income 
families can benefit from early childhood programs just as much as a 
single-parent family with a mother seeking work opportunities.
  This amendment will support families by building on local initiatives 
like Parents as Teachers that have already been proven successful in 
working with families as they raise their infants and toddlers. The 
bill will help improve and expand these successful programs, of which 
there are numerous other examples, such as programs sponsored by the 
United Way, Boys and Girls Clubs, as well as state initiatives such as 
``Success by Six'' in Massachusetts and Vermont and the ``Early 
Childhood Initiative'' in Pennsylvania.
  The amendment will provide Federal funds to states to begin or expand 
local initiatives to provide early childhood education, parent 
education, and family support. Best of all, we propose to do this with 
no Federal mandates, and few Federal guidelines.
  Many of our society's problems, such as the high school dropout rate, 
drug and tobacco use, and juvenile crime can be traced in part to 
inadequate child care and early childhood development opportunities. 
Increasingly, research is showing us that a child's social and 
intellectual development as well as a child's likelihood to become 
involved in these types of difficulties is deeply rooted in the early 
interaction and nurturing a child receives in his or her early years.
  Ultimately, it is important to remember that the likelihood of a 
child growing up in a healthy, nurturing environment is the primary 
responsibility of his or her parents and family. Government cannot and 
should not become a substitute for parents and families, but we can 
help them become stronger by equipping them with the resources to meet 
the everyday challenges of parenting.
  I believe this amendment can accomplish this and dramatically improve 
the life and education of millions of the youngest Americans.
  I invite any of my colleagues, or anyone else who wants to know more 
about this program, to let me know because we have seen this program 
copied in other States, in other countries. It really can make a 
difference for children. I believe the support this amendment will 
provide for early childhood education is one of the best things we can 
do to assure the highest quality educational achievement for all of our 
children.
  The screening for young children that goes along with it helps avoid 
problems and more than pays for the cost of the education programs. I 
believe this amendment, if we adopt it, can be a tremendous boost for 
children of all walks of life throughout our country.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brownback). The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I have been very impressed with the 
words of my colleagues, the two Senators from Massachusetts, the 
Senator from Alaska, the Senator from Vermont, and now the Senator from 
Missouri.
  One of the things I decided on doing when I came to the Senate was to 
bring my passion for early childhood development to the Senate and to 
encourage my colleagues to give a much higher priority to children age 
prenatal to 3 than we have been giving in this country. Early childhood 
development, especially covering children age prenatal to 3, is 
fundamental if this Nation is to achieve the first of our eight 
national education goals, and that is, ``all children in America will 
start school ready to learn.''
  There are great programs for children, such as Head Start, which 
Congress has supported for 35 years. I am proud that when I was 
Governor of Ohio, we increased spending for Head Start by 1,000 
percent. So in our State today, every eligible child whose parent wants 
them in a Head Start Program has a slot for that child. Even though 
Head Start has made a tremendous impact on our children, we must 
recognize that the program is designed for 3- and 4-year-olds. The 
period in a child's life in which we have not invested enough in this 
country, and the period on which we need to start concentrating, is the 
period in a child's life from prenatal to age 3. It is the time in a 
child's life that has the most impact on their overall development.
  Thanks to decades of research on brain chemistry, and through the 
utilization of sophisticated new technology, neuroscientists are now 
telling us that within the first 3 months in the womb, children start 
to develop the 100 billion neurons they will need as adults. By the 
time they reach the age of 3, children have all the necessary 
connections--what we call synapses--between brain cells that cause the 
brain to function properly.

[[Page S3675]]

  What I am saying is almost frightening. If we do not create an 
appropriate environment for our children prenatal to age 3, they 
physically do not develop these synapses in their brains, and they are 
incapable of using what God has given them in the most efficient way 
possible.
  In terms of priorities, the experiences that fill a child's first 
days, months, and years have a critical and decisive impact on the 
development of the brain and on the nature and extent of their adult 
capacities--in other words, who they are going to become. The window of 
opportunity can be impacted by things that are within our control.
  We found, for example, children who lack proper nutrition, health 
care, and nurturing during their first years tend also to lack adequate 
social, motor, and language skills needed to perform well in school. 
That is why all young children, parents, and care givers of those 
children should have access to information and support services 
appropriate for promoting healthy early childhood development in the 
first years of life, including child care, early intervention services, 
parenting education, health care, and other child development services.
  This new revelation requires that States streamline and coordinate 
healthy early childhood development systems. It also necessitates that 
the Federal Government reorder its education priorities to reflect the 
importance of a child's learning and growing experiences from prenatal 
to age 3.
  This amendment responds to the obvious shortcomings of the Federal 
Government's partnership with State governments and encourages States 
to coordinate and galvanize all public and private assets on the State 
and local level.
  The amendment authorizes the expenditure of some $3.2 billion over 
the next 3 years to make grants available to our States, and 
subsequently to the counties, in order to provide or improve early 
learning services for young children.
  I want to underscore, this is not a new entitlement. I want to 
emphasize, what we are trying to do is prioritize money we are already 
spending for education and put more of it into early development 
programs where it is going to make the biggest difference for our 
children.

  In order to receive this money, it does one other thing I think is 
very important. In too many communities in the United States, local 
social service, public, and private agencies do not cooperate and 
combine their resources. They do not collaborate enough to deliver 
services to children in their community. This amendment will require 
that:

       A State shall designate a lead State agency . . . to 
     administer and monitor the grant and ensure State-level 
     coordination of early learning programs.

  For their part, localities must also follow guidelines to be eligible 
to receive funds. Again, from the bill, ``a locality shall establish or 
designate a local council, which shall be composed of--representatives 
of local agencies directly affected by early learning programs; 
parents; other individuals concerned with early learning issues in the 
locality, such as individuals providing child care resource and 
referral services, early learning opportunities, child care, education 
and health services; and other key community leaders.'' This could also 
include faith-based community organizations.
  We are saying that unless a State gets its act together and gets its 
agencies that deal with families and children into a lead state agency 
in order to coordinate activities, and unless local communities come 
together in collaboratives, the money will not flow to those 
collaboratives.
  In a way, it is an inducement for local private-public agencies to 
get together to talk about how they can look at the early period in a 
child's life and make a difference and galvanize all the resources in 
the community.
  It will help eliminate some of the turf problems throughout this 
country where agencies do their own thing without working with other 
agencies.
  It will encourage agencies to understand they have a symbiotic 
relationship with each other, and by working together, they can make a 
difference on behalf of the children in their respective communities.
  In Ohio, we established the Ohio Family and Children First Initiative 
which was driven by locally based providers and not bureaucrats. The 
initiative developed a plan to meet the health, education, and social 
service needs of disadvantaged children and families and develop an 
action plan to meet those needs by eliminating barriers, coordinating 
programs, and targeting dollars.
  We started out in Ohio with only 9 programs in 13 of our 88 counties. 
We put out an RFP and said those counties that get their act together 
can participate in the program. It was such a success that today all 88 
counties that have these collaboratives that are making a difference in 
the lives of our children.
  In my own county, we have a wonderful example of what can happen when 
agencies work together. The Cuyahoga County Early Childhood Initiative 
has undertaken a 3-year $40 million pilot program to promote and 
improve effective parenting, healthy children, and quality child care 
in order to assure the well-being of all children in the county from 
birth through age 5.
  Under this collaborative partnership, which began last July, $30 
million comes from a combination of local, State, and Federal sources, 
and $8.5 million has thus far been committed by 18 local foundations. 
In other words, this is a program where we are combining local, State, 
and Federal resources and private resources to make an impact on these 
youngsters.
  One of the more innovative aspects of this initiative is that it 
guarantees a visit by a registered nurse, if requested, to every first-
time and teen mother in the county. These nurses help identify health 
and social service needs of both moms and babies, and link families 
with services that underscore and highlight the importance of a child's 
first 3 years.
  I will never forget when I was Governor, for my 1998 State of the 
State Address, I invited people who were benefiting from some of the 
programs we instituted. One of the individuals I invited was a woman 
from one of our rural counties.
  I asked her before the State of the State Address: What did this 
program do for you? This may sound elementary, but she said: I had my 
baby, I came home, I put the baby in the crib, and I watched 
television. When the nurse came out, she said that I should hold my 
baby, I should sing to my baby, I should read to my baby. She taught me 
how to use Ziploc bags to make picture books so that I could look at 
those pictures with my baby. I was told the more I stimulated and spent 
time with that baby, the more that baby would develop the brain power 
that God had given her.
  Another program we put in place was Help Me Grow, which gives new 
mothers in Ohio a wellness guide, an informational video, and access to 
a telephone helpline so that, right from the beginning, new mothers can 
get the information they need and know where they can turn for help.
  Again, it is a private sector initiative that came about as a result 
of the Family and Children First Initiative. In other words, a woman 
has a baby at the hospital. She gets a 30-minute video which tells her 
how to be a better mother. A nurse spends time with her. It is a ``how 
to do it'' initiative.

  This may be hard to believe, but women all over this country are 
having babies and need help in what to do when that child is born. This 
program is going to help make that possible.
  The amendment from the Senator from Alaska and the Senator from 
Vermont will expand the collaborative effort nationwide. This amendment 
conditions the Federal dollars that localities receive through the lead 
State agency on the ability of communities to come together and 
establish collaborative efforts. That means, as I said, putting aside 
the ``turf battles'' and galvanizing the resources.
  I want to emphasize how important this is. These Federal dollars will 
be what I refer to as ``the yeast that raises the dough.'' In other 
words, these funds will act as seed money generating additional local 
and State resources, and better use of Federal resources, as well as 
private sector and foundation funds, all to help our children. I know 
this program is going to work because of the way it has worked in the 
State of Ohio. Early childhood has been a passion of mine since my

[[Page S3676]]

four children were enrolled in a storefront Montessori school when they 
were just out of diapers.
  On the Federal level, the Governors understand how important this 
program is. In 1998, some 42 Governors chose to highlight early 
childhood development as a major portion of their State agendas. With 
this amendment, we will make the Federal Government become a more 
effective partner with State governments. It will kick start the local 
and State agencies to better coordinate and collaborate so we can 
maximize all the resources that are available in the community.
  More important, this will give us the opportunity to take the God-
given qualities of our most important resource in this country--our 
children--and provide them the environment they need to fully develop 
during their most crucial period in life.
  Finally--and again I underscore for my colleagues--this is not a new 
entitlement. It is my hope that my colleagues on the Labor-HHS 
Appropriations Subcommittee will reprioritize some of the funds we 
currently spend on education and other health and social services 
toward early childhood development.
  To track what happens with these Federal funds, the amendment 
requires that States report back on what they have been able to 
accomplish, ensuring there is accountability for these resources.
  This amendment is about our children's future. It is about our 
country's future. I hope my colleagues will support this amendment on a 
bipartisan basis. Of all of the things we can do for children in this 
country, the most important thing we can do is impact on them during 
this most important period in their life, and what we do during this 
period in a child's life, in my opinion, is going to be the best 
investment we can make in our children. All the research shows that for 
every dollar we invest during a child's earliest years, we save $4 and 
$5 later on in their lives.
  I thank the Chair.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, yesterday Senator Kennedy asked me about 
the source of one of the statistics I quote during the debate on S. 2. 
I am pleased to provide the Senator from Massachusetts with the source 
for my statistics.
  During the 105th Congress, the House Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigation of the Committee on Education and the Workforce prepared 
an excellent report, entitled, ``Education at a Crossroads: What Works 
and What's Wasted in Education Today.'' I am pleased to share an 
excerpt from it with my colleagues. This report concludes that:

       One of the main problems with delivering federal education 
     aid to states and communities through such a vast array of 
     programs is the added cost of paperwork and personnel 
     necessary to apply for an keep track of the operations of 
     each of these programs. Many of the costs are hidden in the 
     burdens placed on teachers and administrators in time and 
     money to complete federal forms for this multitude of 
     overlapping federal programs.
       In 1996, Governor Voinovich of Ohio noted that local 
     schools in his state had to submit as many as 170 federal 
     reports totaling more than 700 pages during a single year. 
     This report also noted that more than 50 percent of the 
     paperwork required by a local school in Ohio is a result of 
     federal programs--this despite the fact that the federal 
     government accounts for only 6 percent of Ohio's educational 
     spending.
       The Subcommittee has attempted to quantify the number of 
     pages required by recipients of federal funds in order to 
     qualify for assistance. Without fully accounting for all the 
     attachments and supplemental submissions required with each 
     application, the Subcommittee counted more than 20,000 pages 
     of applications.
       So how much time is spent completing this paperwork? In the 
     recently released strategic plan of the Department of 
     Education, the administration highlights the success of the 
     Department in reducing paperwork burdens by an estimated 10 
     percent--which according to their own estimates accounts for 
     5.4 million man hours in FY 97. If this statistic is 
     accurate, it would mean that the Department of Education is 
     still requiring nearly 50 million hours worth of paperwork 
     each year--or the equivalent of 25,000 employees working 
     full-time. [page 15]

  Mr. President, this paper chase, as I suggested yesterday, has our 
nation's teachers and administrators spinning their wheels on the 
requirements of a federal education bureaucracy instead of 
concentrating on teaching and meeting the needs of students. Our 
educational system has been taken over by a federally driven emphasis 
on form rather than substance.
  While I commend Secretary Riley's 10 percent reduction effort, we 
need to go much further in order to put our education emphasis where it 
needs to be--in classrooms, not on process requirements. I am committed 
to helping reduce the amount of paperwork teachers and administrators 
must fill out. S. 2 goes a long way to easing this burden.

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