[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 82 (Thursday, June 5, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1170-E1171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FULLY FUND THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT

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                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 5, 2003

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
right a terrible wrong that has been perpetrated on our schools and our 
children in this country.
  Last Congress, we passed and the President signed into law, the No 
Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). I voted for that bill because the 
Administration promised historic new investments to facilitate 
education reforms and dramatically improve educational performance in 
this country.
  Unfortunately, that promise has been broken. The Administration has 
refused to fund its own program and is cutting billions from NCLB. In 
this year's budget request alone, the Administration is proposing to 
shortchange NCLB by $9.7 billion. Over the first three years of the new 
law, the Administration cuts $20 billion from the funds that are needed 
to make NCLB work.
  Without the promised federal funds, states and mostly localities will 
be forced to bear the brunt of these tough new requirements. In North 
Carolina and across the country, the state budget and those in our 
counties, towns and cities are in fiscal crisis. The administration's 
education cuts to NCLB will cruelly punish our children by withholding 
funds needed to achieve these tough new requirements. And without the 
promised funding NCLB will become a massive unfunded mandate on our 
local governments that could lead to higher property taxes, cuts in 
vital services like police, fire and rescue and roads. Or both.
  Mr. Speaker, a promise is a promise and a deal is a deal. Because the 
Administration has demonstrated its unwillingness to live up to its 
side of the bargain and provide necessary funding, Congress should 
rescind its authority to implement the reforms until those funds are 
forthcoming.
  Today, I am introducing legislation that I have been working on for 
several months to accomplish just that. My bill, the Fully Fund the 
Leave No Child Behind Act requires the federal government to fully fund 
NCLB or the requirements in the statute are suspended for the year in 
which full funds are not provided. My bill specifies Title I and Title 
II of NCLB, which deal with school assessments and teacher training 
requirements respectively. My bill does not apply to sections of NCLB 
on Limited English Proficient Education, 21st Century Schools, public 
school choice, Impact Aid and other important provisions.
  Let me state that I continue to support the goals of NCLB. As the 
former Superintendent of North Carolina's public schools, I have led 
the fight for standards based education reform in the state that is 
widely recognized as the national leader in that effort. I want to make 
sure NCLB works so that every school in this country is a quality 
learning environment for our children. This legislation is an effort to 
hold the Administration's feet to the fire to make sure that its record 
matches its rhetoric.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress must ensure that the federal government honor 
its commitments to our nation's children. I urge my colleagues to join 
me in support of this vital legislation.

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