[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 77 (Friday, June 4, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TEACHER TRAINING ENHANCEMENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 3, 2004

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4409 and H.R. 4411, 
despite my concerns that they do not do enough to address the problems 
facing colleges and K through 12 schools in this country.
  In the past year, college tuition has increased an average of 14 
percent a year at public institutions and by 6 percent at private 
colleges.
  Under President Bush, students are taxed more on college loans. 
College students in this country will be taxed an additional $3.8 
billion over the next 10 years.
  While campaigning in 2000, President Bush promised to raise the Pell 
grant to $5,100--which would help make college more affordable for the 
students who need scholarships the most. But the Pell grant has been 
frozen at $4,050 for the 3rd year in a row. It freezes funding for Pell 
Grants and cut funding for Perkins loans by nearly $100 million.
  Since No Child Left Behind was enacted in 2002, it has been 
underfunded by $27 billion. This year, President Bush's budget under-
funds No Child Left Behind by $9.4 billion. It provides only half of 
the funding promised to after school programs. And it cuts $316 million 
from vocational education and community colleges--again.
  What do those numbers mean to the young boy or girl in San 
Bernardino? What do they mean to our children across the country?
  It means that 2.4 million children will not get the help with reading 
and math they were promised. It means that over 1 million children who 
were promised after school programs will not get them. It means that 
many of them will not be able to afford the cost of college.
  There should be more Title III funding, which provides for bilingual 
programs for LEP (Limited English Proficient) students. California will 
receive over $138 million in Title III funding, but this is not enough 
to reach these students' needs.
  Last school year, 25.3 percent of students in California were English 
learners. And this number is likely to grow significantly.
  I am grateful that this House passed my amendment to H.R. 2211, the 
Ready to Teach Act, last summer which will allow the use of funds for 
teacher training on technology for bilingual students. I am also 
looking at legislation to address teacher retention and an increase in 
incentives for teaching in minority serving institutions.
  There is a long list of problems not addressed by H.R. 4409 or H.R. 
4411 and more must be done. Our students and teachers deserve more than 
merely lip service. They need the funds and support from this Congress 
to provide equal educational opportunities for all.

                          ____________________