[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 26, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             INVEST IN CHILDREN, THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY

  (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle have declared this week Children's Week. Their actions, however, 
speak louder than their words.
  Last week they pushed for a budget that fails children and fails 
families. The Republican budget that barely passed fell $6.15 billion 
short for funding title I, the largest source of Federal education aid 
to disadvantaged youth and the centerpiece of the Bush education reform 
program. It cut $81 million from programs to improve State and local 
teacher quality, which was a stated goal of the President's education 
reform plan.
  We must remember, Mr. Speaker, that the biggest challenge facing 
American families is how to bridge their responsibilities between work 
and caring for their children, and the budget that passed last week did 
nothing to help working parents.
  Mr. Speaker, if my colleagues want to support children, they will not 
shy away from promises for our children in favor of big-money special 
interests. They will invest in children. Children are 25 percent of our 
population. They are 100 percent of our future.

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