[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 112 (Wednesday, September 20, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H7874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          EDUCATION IS NUMBER ONE PRIORITY OF AMERICAN PEOPLE

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the American people have made it clear that 
education is their number one priority this election season.
  Too many of our children are stuck in schools that do not prepare 
them to compete in the world, and I am sorry to say that the Clinton-
Gore administration simply has not measured up in this area. Their 
rhetoric is great, it is even flowery; but they have not even met the 
goals they set for themselves.
  In 1994, Clinton and Gore announced with great fanfare their goals 
for the year 2000, but they have fallen far short of the mark. They 
said the U.S. would be first in math and science by the year 2000. 
Instead, we have fallen to 17th in math and 21st in science. They said 
all our schools would be safe and drug free by the year 2000. Instead, 
school violence is worse than it has ever been. Drug use is still 
common. Their goal for 2000 was that all adults would be literate by 
now. Instead, 44 million adults still do not have basic reading skills.
  Promises versus results. People care a lot more about results than 
promises.

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