[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 72 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H4193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H4193]]
            SCHOOL GOVERNANCE CHARTER AMENDMENT ACT OF 2000

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4387) to provide that the School Governance Charter 
Amendment Act of 2000 shall take effect upon the date such Act is 
ratified by voters of the District of Columbia.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4387

       by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
     States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. WAIVER OF CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW PERIOD FOR SCHOOL 
                   GOVERNANCE CHARTER AMENDMENT ACT OF 2000.

       Notwithstanding section 303 of the District of Columbia 
     Home Rule Act or any provision of the School Governance 
     Charter Amendment Act of 2000, the School Governance Charter 
     Amendment Act of 2000 shall take effect upon the date such 
     Act is ratified by a majority of the registered qualified 
     electors of the District of Columbia voting in a referendum 
     held to ratify such Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Davis) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis).


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on H.R. 4387, the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4387, introduced by my colleague, the gentlewoman 
from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), waives the 35-day 
congressional review period on the upcoming June 27 referendum. It will 
allow the results of that referendum to be enacted immediately. If the 
referendum is successful, the District of Columbia may move forward 
with the creation of a hybrid school board. This waiver will allow 
candidates for the new school board to be on the ballot for the 
November 7 election. H.R. 4387 will allow the choice that District 
residents make on June 27 to go forward without the delay it would 
otherwise face due to our own shortened legislative calendar.
  The mayor and the D. C. Council have come together to craft this 
compromise referendum that will return accountability to the D.C. 
school board and to the District of Columbia schools. The new school 
board will be comprised of five elected and four mayoral-appointed 
members. I believe this reasonable compromise will remove much of the 
politics that has characterized the D.C. school boards in the past.
  Most of all, this was not crafted from Congress, this was crafted 
from the city itself and the city leaders working together. I think if 
we want to continue to have democracy to be successful in the city, we 
have to allow them this flexibility. So I am eager that once this 
referendum is passed, or whatever happens to it, that we can move ahead 
and enact it immediately in time for the November 7 election.
  I hope that the new school board will return to its primary mission 
of oversight and management of the schools. It is my goal to assist the 
city in returning accountability to the schools. For too long the 
education system has not worked for the children of the Nation's 
capital. The mayor and the council have worked together to ensure that 
this situation does not continue. I commend them for their dedicated 
efforts to achieve reform.
  I also want to thank the chairman of the Committee on Government 
Reform, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) for his expeditious 
consideration of this waiver. I urge passage of this legislation so 
that the District may move forward on June 27.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1530

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the action of the 
chairman of the full committee in moving this bill forward. Had it not 
moved, there would have been a cascading effect on a referendum that is 
required in order to settle the matter of the school board in the 
District of Columbia, the central issue facing the City at this time.
  The School Governance Charter Amendment Act of 2000 waives the 
congressionally mandated 35-day layover period for a D.C. referendum 
that will be considered by the voters in the special election of June 
27. The referendum restructures the D.C. School Board to have five 
elected and four appointed members.
  This local legislation is a result of an agreement between D.C. Mayor 
Tony Williams and the City Council. If the referendum passes, H.R. 4387 
would waive the layover period so that candidates can seek signatures 
and run for the new board without legal challenge. This waiver is 
necessary because petitions for signature will be available on July 7 
and the expiration of the 35-legislative-day congressional layover 
period may not come until early October. The waiver of the layover 
period will allow elections of the new school board to proceed without 
legal challenge on November 7.
  H.R. 4387 is also noncontroversial and was unanimously passed in 
subcommittee and full committee. It has the full support of the mayor 
and the City Council of the District of Columbia. I strongly urge 
passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just summarize. Again, I thank the gentlewoman 
for taking the lead on an issue that was very controversial at one 
point in terms of how we structure the school system in the District. 
There is no question that it has failed.
  I think we need to understand that before there was an elected D.C. 
Council, before there was an elected mayor, there was an elected school 
board. This has been a long Democratic tradition in the city.
  We also, though, recognize there is a need for accountability in the 
decisions being made at the school system. I think when we got all the 
entities together, this was the compromise that they have worked out. 
They are going to submit it to the voters. I do not think anything 
could be clearer or fairer than that. We just need to give it a chance 
to succeed.
  So, again, I thank my colleague for stepping up to the plate on this. 
I know this has been an issue of some controversy in the city, but it 
is that kind of leadership that is going to turn this city around.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks. I want only to 
note that at a time when it was not clear that the mayor and the City 
Council would come together, the chairman stepped back and let them see 
if they could reach an accommodation. They did reach an accommodation 
that is now before the people of the District of Columbia and they will 
decide.
  I thank the gentleman very much for his work on this bill and on so 
many other bills for the District of Columbia.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4387.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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