[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 21, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H9742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          COALITION REVITALIZING EDUCATION OF IRAQ'S CHILDREN

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce 
that after visiting Iraq, I saw that after a decade of neglect, the 
children of Iraq are benefitting from their Coalition Provisional 
Authority and the United States Agency for International Development's 
revitalization of the country's education system.
  Under Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Socialist Party's rule, schools 
fell into disrepair and teaching materials were scarce, distorted as 
propaganda, and outdated. Today, after the American military's success 
in Operation Iraqi Freedom, schools are being renovated, textbooks have 
been updated and distributed, and teachers and principals are being 
introduced to the most current standards of education.
  As an example of the real difference we are making in children's 
lives, I have here a sample of the bookbags that we have given out. It 
includes essential items for education, pens, pencils, calculators, and 
notebooks without propaganda. 1.5 million of these student kits will be 
given out during the school year.
  We are making meaningful progress in the war on terror and making a 
real difference in the quality of life for Iraqis and their children in 
order to protect the American people.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops.

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