[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 25, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E78]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ON THE INTRODUCTION OF THE KEEP OUR PACT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 25, 2005

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, it is with a sense of urgency that I 
reintroduce the Keep Our Promises to America's Children and Teachers 
Act at the outset of the 109th Congress.
  I offer the Keep Our PACT Act today to help meet the aspirations of 
our nation's school children--and to help provide all of their teachers 
and schools with the resources they need to help them achieve those 
aspirations. Additionally, I offer this bill as a reminder to those of 
us in government of the importance of keeping our promises and of truly 
making education the priority our constituents believe it to be.
  Put simply, the Keep Our PACT Act would make good on two basic 
commitments the federal government has made but so far failed to keep: 
It would fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)--on a mandatory 
basis, once and for all.
  Mr. Speaker, the fiscal year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill funded 
No Child Left Behind at $24.5 billion--$9.8 billion below its 
authorized level and $27 billion less cumulatively than the bipartisan 
agreement reached just four short years ago. As a result, over 2.4 
million students are currently not getting the extra Title I help they 
were promised under NCLB.
  Furthermore, the recently enacted Omnibus continued underfunding IDEA 
at $10.7 billion--less than half the 40 percent average per pupil 
expenditure the federal government originally promised the states 
thirty years ago. An estimated 6.7 million students with disabilities 
are currently being shortchanged as a result of this abdication.
  By keeping our commitments to NCLB and IDEA, we can support our 
schools, ease the property tax burden on our constituents and provide 
all of our students with the resources they need to succeed.
  Mr. Speaker, once again I am proud to make the Keep Our PACT Act the 
very first piece of legislation I introduce this Congress. 
Additionally, I want to thank my colleagues joining me as original 
cosponsors on this bill today--in particular, Mr. Miller, Ms. Woolsey 
and all of the Education and Workforce Committee Democrats. We pledge 
to stand for the fundamental values this bill represents and invite 
Members from both sides of the aisle to embrace those values and get 
this bill passed this year.

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