[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 68 (Thursday, May 17, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5025-S5028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             BETTER EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ACT

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senate will now resume 
consideration of S. 1, which the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1) to extend programs and activities under the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

  Pending:

       Jeffords amendment No. 358, in the nature of a substitute.
       Kennedy (for Dodd) amendment No. 382 (to amendment No. 
     358), to remove the 21st century community learning center 
     program from the list of programs covered by performance 
     agreements.
       Biden amendment No. 386 (to amendment No. 358), to 
     establish school-based partnerships between local law 
     enforcement agencies and local school systems, by providing

[[Page S5026]]

     school resource officers who operate in and around elementary 
     and secondary schools.
       Voinovich amendment No. 389 (to amendment No. 358), to 
     modify provisions relating to State applications and plans 
     and school improvement to provide for the input of the 
     Governor of the State involved.
       Reed amendment No. 425 (to amendment No. 358), to revise 
     provisions regarding the Reading First Program.
       Leahy (for Hatch) amendment No. 424 (to amendment No. 358), 
     to provide for the establishment of additional Boys and Girls 
     Clubs of America.
       Helms amendment No. 574 (to amendment No. 358), to prohibit 
     the use of Federal funds by any State or local educational 
     agency or school that discriminates against the Boy Scouts of 
     America in providing equal access to school premises or 
     facilities.
       Helms amendment No. 648 (to amendment No. 574), in the 
     nature of a substitute.
       Dorgan amendment No. 640 (to amendment No. 358), expressing 
     the sense of the Senate that there should be established a 
     joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives to 
     investigate the rapidly increasing energy prices across the 
     country and to determine what is causing the increases.
       Wellstone/Feingold amendment No. 465 (to amendment No. 
     358), to improve the provisions relating to assessment 
     completion bonuses.
       Voinovich amendment No. 443 (to amendment No. 358), to 
     amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend loan 
     forgiveness for certain loans to Head Start teachers.
       Dayton modified amendment No. 622 (to amendment No. 358), 
     to amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to 
     fully fund 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure 
     for programs under part B of such Act.
       Hutchinson modified amendment No. 555 (to amendment No. 
     358), to express the sense of the Senate regarding the 
     Department of Education program to promote access of Armed 
     Forces recruiters to student directory information.
       Bond modified amendment No. 476 (to amendment No. 358), to 
     strengthen early childhood parent education programs.
       Feinstein modified amendment No. 369 (to amendment No. 
     358), to specify the purposes for which funds provided under 
     subpart 1 of part A of title I may be used.


                           amendment no. 622

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. As I understand it, we have 3 minutes; is that correct?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I would like to reserve 30 seconds of the time and have 
2 and a half minutes for the Senator from Minnesota.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Each side has 1 and a half minutes.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I would like to then give 1 minute of my time to the 
Senator from Minnesota.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there 
will now be 3 minutes of explanation prior to the vote on or in 
relation to the Dayton amendment No. 622.
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. DAYTON. I thank the Chair.
  I thank the Senator from Massachusetts who long before I came to this 
body was championing the cause of American schoolchildren, and also his 
colleague, the chairman of the committee, the Senator from Vermont, and 
the Senators from Iowa and Nebraska, who coauthored the earlier IDEA 
amendment. I just want to take their excellent idea and make it even 
better.
  My amendment would accelerate their timetable and mandate 40-percent 
Federal funding for the cost of special education in 2 years instead of 
waiting for 6 years. Why? Because this promise was made 25 years ago 
when the Federal mandates under IDEA were enacted.
  Congress then promised the State and local school districts that the 
Federal Government would pay for 40 percent of their costs. A quarter 
century later, Federal funding for special education costs average 12 
percent nationwide, only 9 percent in my home state of Minnesota. That 
broken promise affects every schoolchild and every school in Minnesota 
and, I expect, our entire country. Since every school must provide 
special education services to every child who needs them, those missing 
dollars must, in Minnesota, be taken away from other funding for 
regular education programs. Every student in Minnesota gets 
shortchanged because the Federal Government has not kept its promise.
  Now, I'm told that I may be asked: Where will this money come from? 
Well, Mr. President, I'm a brand new Senator, and this is my very first 
amendment to come up for a vote on the Senate floor. So, I'll admit my 
ignorance. But, I cannot for the life of me, figure out how, in a 
budget which projects a $5.6 trillion surplus during the next ten 
years--$2.1 trillion for so-called discretionary spending--there isn't 
enough money for special education.
  Later today, I'm told, we'll be voting on a $1.35 trillion tax cut. 
Where will that money come from? From the American taxpayers, 
obviously. So, I'm willing to ask the American Taxpayer, are you 
willing to share this surplus with American's neediest children? I'm 
confident that, in Minnesota, the answer would be an overwhelming 
``Yes.'' Yes, there is enough money available to us for tax reduction 
and funding for special education.
  To the Members of the Senate today, and to the House and Senate 
conferees: Can't you find room in your hearts and in your budget to 
fulfill a twenty-five year broken promise to the children of America 
with disabilities and with special needs. And to the dedicated teachers 
who devote their lives to reaching and teaching them.
  We have the money to fund this commitment. This is not a budget 
decision. This is a values decision. This is a priorities decision.
  If we aren't willing to finally fulfill a twenty-five year broken 
promise to America's school children with a small part of a $5.6 
trillion surplus, then we have no one to blame, but ourselves.
  Mr. President, I urge adoption of my amendment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The time of the Senator has 
expired.
  Mr. DAYTON. I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Massachusetts is 
recognized.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I regret that I will have to oppose the 
amendment by Senator Dayton. I agree with the intent--to fully fund 
IDEA as quickly as possible--but it does it too quickly and undermines 
the Hagel-Harkin amendment that was already passed on this bill. The 
Hagel-Harkin amendment provides the full funding in 6 years. That is a 
reasonable yet ambitious timeframe, and it has bipartisan support.
  I commend Senator Dayton for his dedication to provide full funding, 
but I don't think it can be done in 2 years, so I will oppose the 
amendment in order to preserve the bipartisan commitment to fully fund 
IDEA in 6 years as passed in the Hagel-Harkin amendment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, the Senator from Minnesota returns us to 
a very important issue that we discussed at some length at the outset 
of the bill before us. Like the Hagel-Harkin amendment which was 
adopted and incorporated as part of the pending substitute, the 
amendment would convert the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
to a mandatory spending program.
  Unlike the amendment we adopted 2 weeks ago, the Dayton amendment 
would provide for full funding of IDEA in 2 years. While I fully 
support that goal, I believe it is too ambitious a timetable.
  As we have seen in vote after vote over the past 2 weeks, the Senate 
believes there are several important funding priorities in education 
ahead. Neither the budget we adopted nor any budget we are likely to 
adopt in the future can accommodate the increase the Senator seeks. Yet 
at the same time we need to fulfill our commitment to fully fund IDEA, 
we also need to meet our obligation under title I for teacher training, 
recruitment, and retention, for afterschool care, early education, and 
a host of other priorities.
  So while I support the goal, I think the path taken by the Hagel-
Harkin amendment is more reasonable and still very ambitious. I believe 
we can keep it, and I urge my colleagues to vote against the Dayton 
amendment.
  I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the 
amendment. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Cleland) is 
necessarily absent.

[[Page S5027]]

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 34, nays 65, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 110 Leg.]

                                YEAS--34

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Cantwell
     Clinton
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Daschle
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Feinstein
     Hollings
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Torricelli
     Wellstone

                                NAYS--65

     Allard
     Allen
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Carnahan
     Carper
     Chafee
     Cochran
     Collins
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeWine
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Jeffords
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Cleland
       
  The amendment (No. 622) was rejected.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Could we have order, Mr. President? We have another 
amendment now that we intend to vote on. There is a brief moment or two 
of explanation, and I think the Members should have the opportunity to 
listen to the proponents of it. Could we have order?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senate will be in order. 
Senators please take their conversations off the floor.


                           Amendment No. 443

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there 
will now be 3 minutes for explanation prior to a vote on or in relation 
to the Voinovich amendment No. 443.
  The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, according to the experts, focusing on 
the earliest years of a child's life can make the greatest difference 
in that child's development and learning. One program we all know that 
makes a difference is Head Start.
  In my State, we think so much of Head Start, that when I left office 
as Governor, Ohio was the only State in the Nation where every eligible 
child whose parents wanted them to be in the program had a slot open to 
them.
  Unfortunately, Head Start programs typically have a hard time 
recruiting teachers with a bachelor's or a master's degree generally 
because of the pay differential between Head Start teachers and 
elementary and secondary school teachers.
  For example, in Ohio today, only 11.3 percent of Head Start teachers 
have a bachelor's degree. Nationally, it is 22 percent. That needs to 
change.
  The amendment Senator Feinstein and I have offered is designed to 
encourage college students working on a bachelor's or a master's degree 
to become a Head Start teacher.
  In exchange for a 5-year teaching commitment in a qualified Head 
Start program, a college graduate with a bachelor's degree or a 
master's degree could have up to $5,000 of their Federal student loan 
waived.
  President Bush has pledged to improve the cognitive components of 
Head Start, and to do that, we have to have better teachers.
  Hopefully, the $5,000 incentive in our amendment will help us reach 
the President's goal of no child left behind.
  I urge my colleagues to support our amendment.
  I yield the remainder of my time to the Senator from California.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from California is 
recognized.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to co-sponsor this 
amendment with Senators Voinovich, Baucus, Cochran, Landrieu, Murray, 
and Corzine.
  This amendment is simple. We are merely trying to expand the current 
Federal loan forgiveness program to include Head Start teachers. 
Elementary and secondary school teachers currently benefit under the 
Federal loan forgiveness program. We think that Head Start teachers 
should be afforded the same opportunity.
  In exchange for 5 years of teaching, Head Start teachers could have 
up to $5,000 of their Federal student loans forgiven. By offering Head 
Start teachers the same loan forgiveness benefit, I believe, we will 
encourage more college graduates to enter the field.
  New educational requirements were included in the 1998 
reauthorization of the Head Start Program. By 2003, 50 percent of Head 
Start teachers will be required to have an associate or 2-year degree, 
a bachelor's, or an advanced degree.
  How can we ask low-paid Head Start teachers to go back to school to 
finish their bachelor's degree or college students to enter the field 
if we cannot even offer them the same loan forgiveness already afforded 
to elementary and secondary school teachers?
  Head Start is one of the most important Federal programs because it 
has the potential to reach children early in their formative years when 
their cognitive skills are just developing.
  I believe we must continue to improve the cognitive learning aspects 
of the Head Start program so that children leave the program able to 
count to ten, to recognize sizes and colors, and to recite the 
alphabet. To ensure cognitive learning, we must continue to raise the 
standards for Head Start teachers.
  Offering Head Start teachers similar compensation for their 
educational achievements and expenses afforded to other teachers is one 
step to encouraging collage graduates to become Head Start teachers.
  I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, I rise today to applaud the Senator from 
Ohio for his recognition of the need to provide incentives to attract 
individuals to the worthy cause of teaching in the critical early years 
of learning. As Senator Kennedy has already noted, we have over 100 
amendments filed to this legislation which are not germane. While I 
support many of these amendments, including the Voinovich amendment on 
loan forgiveness for Head Start teachers, I think that it is important 
that the Senate stay focused on the reauthorization of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act. I look forward to debating and supporting 
the Senator from Ohio during the debate on the reauthorization of the 
Head Start Program. However, today I will lend my support to Senator 
Kennedy's efforts to keep this education bill from languishing under 
the load of nongermane amendments.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired. The 
Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am going to support this amendment as 
an amendment on the reauthorization of the Head Start bill. Currently, 
we are providing loan forgiveness now for elementary and secondary 
teachers when they go into underserved areas. We also had an offset on 
that. This amendment does not have an offset. We ought to have an 
offset. It ought to be on the Head Start bill.
  Also, we are trying to keep only germane amendments in this bill. 
This is not germane. We have 100 amendments which are not germane, many 
of which I will agree with. But on this particular occasion, I hope 
this will not be accepted.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I agree with the statement just made by 
my friend from Massachusetts.
  Senator Voinovich has been a leader--both as Governor and as a 
Senator--in recognizing the critical need to improve the quality of the 
care and education we provide to our youngest children. The amendment 
he offers with Senator Feinstein would address this vital issue.
  My colleagues are absolutely correct that the key to a child's 
achievement in elementary school is found in the years prior to going 
to school, especially at ages 3 and 4.
  But as I mentioned 2 days ago during the debate on another amendment, 
I have agreed to oppose amendments to this bill that are not directly 
relevant, and, therefore, I must reluctantly oppose Senator Voinovich's 
amendment.

[[Page S5028]]

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, have the yeas and nays been ordered on 
the amendment?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The yeas and nays have been 
ordered.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 443.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 76, nays 24, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 111 Leg.]

                                YEAS--76

     Akaka
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Cantwell
     Carnahan
     Carper
     Chafee
     Cleland
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grassley
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Thompson
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wellstone

                                NAYS--24

     Bayh
     Bond
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Collins
     Craig
     Crapo
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Frist
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Helms
     Hutchinson
     Jeffords
     Kennedy
     Kyl
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Nickles
     Thomas
     Thurmond
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 443) was agreed to.

                          ____________________