[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 13, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2463-H2464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRESSIONAL CONSTITUTION CAUCUS' WEEKLY ``CONSTITUTION HALF HOUR''

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to announce 
our support of the A-PLUS Act authored by my good friend from Michigan 
(Mr. Hoekstra). I stand here as the founder and chairman of the 
Congressional Constitution Caucus, and I urge my colleagues to 
cosponsor this legislation.
  Normally, when I begin my weekly floor speeches, I quote the relevant 
portion of the Constitution that corresponds with the evening's topic. 
Yet today I have difficulty choosing a coinciding article and section 
from our founding document. You see, the Constitution does not contain 
the word ``school'' or even ``education.'' Contrary to common modern 
misconceptions, there is no constitutional right guaranteeing each 
citizen an education.
  Now, this does not mean education is unimportant or that the 
Constitution is silent on the issue. The 10th amendment unambiguously 
states, ``The powers not delegated to the United States by the 
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the 
States respectively, or to the people.''
  Historically, in the United States, education has not fallen under 
the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. Parents, local schools and 
the States were responsible for children's academic training. It has 
only been in the last 50 years or so has the Federal Government begun 
overstepping its constitutional boundaries by parading the increasing 
bureaucracies of the Department of Education.
  Mr. Hoekstra's bill seeks to correct many of the problems associated 
with a Federal bureaucracy by putting control over education money back 
into the hands of the taxpayers and, most importantly, the parents.
  Under the current system, the Federal Government essentially bribes 
States into complying with the burdensome No Child Left Behind program. 
Yes, States can opt out of these regulations, but doing so would mean 
losing millions of dollars in aid every year.
  Under its bill, first it will free States from following needless 
Federal regulations and mandates. Currently, the No Child Left Behind 
program restricts academic innovation and ignores the diversity present 
in each State, region and school district.
  Secondly, A-PLUS Act will reduce the amount of time and money that 
school officials currently devote to complying with these mandates. 
Each

[[Page H2464]]

hour and dollar spent in administering No Child Left Behind could be 
funneled instead into improving our schools.
  Thirdly, A-PLUS Act will ensure that parents, schools and the States 
are held accountable for the education process. Rather than allowing 
oversight to rest in some far-flung bureaucracies here in Washington, 
it will be right at home here in your local school district. But most 
importantly, giving States the freedom to keep their education dollars 
in oversight within their own State is exactly what our Founding 
Fathers originally intended.
  James Madison, often considered the father of the Constitution, will 
be remembered this coming Friday, March 16, on the 250th anniversary of 
his birth.
  In a way, Madison predicted this situation we now find ourselves in, 
when he wrote, ``In framing a government which is to be administered by 
men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable 
the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it 
to control itself.''
  It is time for us to explain why we are not controlling ourselves. 
Our Founding Fathers deliberately wrote a Constitution of enumerated 
specific powers. While some countries have attempted to limit 
government by writing Constitutions that specify every single thing and 
every single line, our government Constitution does not do that. 
Therefore, in Article I, Section 8, the founders specifically listed 
congressional powers, and in the 10th amendment grants that all other 
legislative powers are in the hands of States or the people 
respectively.
  So, in essence, it makes sense that Congress should perform duties 
only prescribed by the Constitution. When you think about it, the 
United States has thrived as a nation precisely because the freedom of 
the people has been protected by a limited government. The Constitution 
is the anchor that protects American citizens from the storms of a 
controlling central government.
  James Madison wrote also in The Federalist No. 45, ``The powers 
delegated by the proposed Constitution to the Federal Government are 
few and defined.'' He would add, probably, that education is not one of 
them. So Mr. Hoekstra's common-sense legislation follows Madison's 
insights by ensuring that the States have the opportunity to retain 
control over their own education dollars. Doing so will not only 
improve the quality of the education system, but will help return our 
Nation to the principles of limited government, federalism, and the 
10th amendment.

                          ____________________