[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 10, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H2783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONGRESS MUST PASS BIPARTISAN SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION LEGISLATION

  (Mr. ETHERIDGE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on this Congress to 
pass bipartisan school construction legislation to help improve our 
education for our children.
  This week is the 15th annual Teachers Appreciation Week, and 
yesterday we celebrated National Teacher Day. As the father of a fourth 
grade teacher, I commend the House on passing this bipartisan 
resolution supporting our teachers.
  But Congress must do more than pass nonbinding resolutions. To make 
real progress in education, Congress must pass substantive legislation 
to improve our schools so every child has an opportunity and none are 
left behind. We must take action to help make sure every neighborhood 
school in this country works to provide our children with a decent 
education. We must work in a bipartisan manner to help pass common 
sense solutions to the challenges facing our schools.
  The first bill we should pass is the bipartisan Johnson-Rangel school 
construction bill. This compromise bill contains elements of my own 
construction bill to help local communities build new schools, relieve 
overcrowding, reduce class sizes, and help teachers give students the 
individual attention they need and deserve.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this common sense bill that 
will make a difference in our community schools. I urge the House 
leadership to bring this important bill to the floor immediately so 
Congress can have an opportunity to do more to improve our schools.

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