[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 17, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7735-S7736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

  Mr. DODD. The second subject matter is the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act. This morning the New York Times as well as others 
reported that there were serious reservations

[[Page S7736]]

being expressed by superintendents of schools and educators across the 
country about this mandating of testing in the third, fourth, fifth, 
sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. I certainly want to see young people 
tested. I think it is worthwhile to know how children are doing under 
the elementary and secondary educational system of the country, but I 
am getting concerned that we are merely taking the educational 
temperature of these children without really dealing with the problem 
that has caused the public to lose faith in our public school system.
  Every day the numbers indicate there is greater concern about the 
quality of public education. I think we can do a better job. But I do 
not necessarily believe that just testing kids every year, and at what 
cost, is necessarily going to improve the quality of education. So 
while I am not opposed to testing, I think we ought to think more about 
what we can do for those children who are failing, what ideas can we 
come up with and work on with our local communities and States to 
improve the quality of teachers, the quality of classrooms, the quality 
of educational materials, wiring schools to take advantage of the 
explosion in technology and information that is available.
  I always find it somewhat mortifying when the Federal Government 
lectures the country about the quality of education, where we lecture 
local school districts, States and school boards about what they ought 
to be doing. The Federal Government contributes less than one-half of 1 
percent of the entire Federal budget dedicated to elementary and 
secondary education. I find that scandalous, to use the word I used 
when talking about the election process. The fact that the Federal 
Government in its resources only contributes one-half of 1 percent of 
its budget to the elementary and secondary educational needs of 
America's children; that of every dollar that gets spent on education 
the Federal Government's one-half of 1 percent amounts to about 6 
cents. Mr. President, 94 cents of every education dollar comes mostly 
from local property taxes and some from the States.
  In my view, in the 21st century we ought to become an equal partner 
with local communities and States: one-third, one-third, one-third. 
That can reduce property taxes and provide more meaningful resources to 
communities that do not have the wealth, the support for the kinds of 
educational opportunities their students should have. No child in 
America ought to have the quality of their educational opportunity be 
determined solely by the wealth of the community in which they happen 
to have been born. That is just wrong.
  If you are born in America, you ought to have an equal opportunity 
for a good education. It seems to me that the Federal Government ought 
to do a better job of being supportive, particularly as we write bills 
that mandate testing, without putting the resources there to allow 
communities to pay for these additional burdens.
  For the last 35 years we did that on special education. We mandated a 
law that said you had to provide for the special education needs of 
children. Then we never came up with the money to pay for those costs. 
The bill we just passed in the Senate now mandates full funding of the 
40-percent requirement of special education, but it has taken 35 years 
to do it. We have allowed for full funding of title I, but I would like 
to know when President Bush is going to tell us what sort of resources 
the Federal Government is going to commit to these elementary and 
secondary educational needs.
  The President talks about how he wants this done, but I am waiting 
yet to hear from the White House. How much money is the administration 
willing to commit to full funding of title I and to special education 
needs?
  They are telling us that they want to have mandatory testing. They 
want accountability, but they are unwilling to say whether or not they 
will commit the necessary resources to achieve those goals.
  I hope the administration, as they urge us to get ready to pass this 
bill in conference, will also heed their own advice and more quickly 
expedite the commitments made by the President as to what resources 
will be provided.
  It is now only a matter of a few weeks before children and their 
parents start to prepare to go back to school. We ought not wait much 
longer to get the job done.
  My point of these brief remarks is to urge the administration to step 
up to the plate and tell us what the resources are. If they are not 
going to make any at all, then we ought to rethink this bill. Do not 
tell me the administration will mandate costs on the local community 
and then not have the resources to pay for it. And do not tell me that 
Americans will have to watch property taxes go through the ceiling 
because Uncle Sam tested their children every year from the third to 
the eighth grade without providing the resources to help communities 
and parents meet those greater educational goals.
  Both on election reform, and on education, I hope we can get 
something done.
  I wish the President would support election reform. I hope he will 
speak up and tell us what sort of resource commitments he is willing to 
make to support the elementary and secondary education needs of 
America's children.
  I appreciate the indulgence of the Chair in listening to these brief 
remarks.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. I thank the Senator from Connecticut.

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