[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 23103]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       EDUCATION SYSTEM IN AMERICA IS NOT GETTING PASSING GRADES

  (Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, a new report says that 75 percent of 
American students cannot write a simple essay. It also says many 
students cannot even change a dollar bill, and many of them cannot 
read.
  But, what is even worse, the report says these uneducated students 
continue to graduate. And all the experts are now looking at Congress 
and asking, what is Congress going to do about this?
  Beam me up, Mr. Speaker. This is not about Congress; this is about 
parents. In the old days, kids knew their ABCs before they went to 
school.
  I yield back all the well-intended billions of taxpayer dollars that 
are not reaching home without the help of parents.

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