[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 7, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1002]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2016

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JOHN KLINE

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2822) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 
     environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2016, and for other purposes:

  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chair, I rise today because I believe every child in 
every school should receive an excellent education.
  It is a goal that I have worked toward as Chairman of the Education 
and the Workforce Committee, and one I know many in this House share. I 
would like to especially thank the Committee Chairmen Rogers and 
Calvert, and Ranking Members Lowey and McCollum, for working with me to 
address the challenges facing Native American students.
  Earlier this year I visited the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School of the Leech 
Lake Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota. At the school, thin metal walls are 
all that separate students from harsh winters and blankets hang over 
the doors in a desperate attempt to keep out the cold air. When winds 
reach a certain strength at the ``Bug School,'' students are forced to 
evacuate the building--often in below-zero temperatures. On many cold 
and windy winter days, Bug School students keep their winter jackets on 
all day, to save time during evacuation.
  Mr. Chair, this is unacceptable. These children deserve much better. 
It's incumbent on the Administration and this Congress to get to the 
bottom of this.
  The Education and the Workforce Committee recently held hearings to 
examine the deplorable conditions affecting Native American schools--an 
issue that in recent months has received national attention thanks to 
the investigative work of the Star Tribune.
  Mr. Chair, the federal government promised to provide Native American 
students a quality education in a manner that preserves their heritage, 
and we are failing to keep that promise.
  Accordingly, I sent a letter to my colleagues on the House Committee 
on Appropriations this year requesting an increase of nearly $60 
million more than last year's budget for Bureau of Indian Education 
schools.
  I am pleased the Department of Interior appropriations bill, through 
the hard work of the Chairmen and Ranking Members, reflects my request 
and recognizes that we cannot continue to fail meeting our commitment.
  While additional resources are certainly important, they are only 
part of what is needed in a long-term solution. We still must work 
together in a bipartisan manner to untangle the maze of bureaucracy 
that continues to plague BIE schools and students.
  Mr. Chair, these unique, vulnerable children have waited long enough 
for the federal government to live up to its promises and I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill which is an important step toward our 
goal of providing an excellent education for all our children.

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