[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18067-18074]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        HURRICANE FLOYD DISASTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 1999, the gentleman from North Carolina is recognized for 60 
minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include therein extraneous material on the subject of my 
Special Order this evening.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, this evening for the first portion of my 
special order I want to take about 5 minutes to raise an issue.
  On the eve of 1 year ago, on almost the same date, one of the most 
destructive storms ever to hit my State came upon the shores. On 
September 15, 1999, Hurricane Floyd made landfall at the mouth of the 
Cape Fear River in North Carolina.
  Floyd moved into the interior of my State and over the next couple of 
days proceeded to dump anywhere from 10 to 20 inches of rain in towns 
and communities and farm areas in parts of eastern North Carolina. 
These rains came only 12 days after the region was hit with pounding 
rains by Hurricane Dennis.
  To call the results devastating would be an understatement. Our 
citizens suffered a full-blown catastrophe of monumental proportions.

[[Page 18068]]

  Floyd produced the worst flooding in North Carolina history, with 
water exceeding what has been called the 500-year flood plain.
  In North Carolina alone, Floyd was responsible for 7,000 homes being 
destroyed and 56,000 homes damaged. We can see from this photograph 
taken only a couple days after the rains as the flood waters had risen 
a whole town underwater. More than 500,000 people suffered without 
power for weeks on end. Damage estimates in my State range anywhere 
from $4.5 billion to over $6 billion.
  Many people lost everything that they own. They lost their 
possessions, their homes, their farms, their cars, their clothing, 
their sentimental items that we rarely think about until they are gone: 
wedding photographs, military awards, the children's first report 
cards, love letters, those kind of things we cannot replace.
  Jobs were lost because businesses were too flooded to reopen, making 
it that much harder for families to rebuild. And worst of all, Mr. 
Speaker, 506 people lost their lives, most of them due to drowning in 
fresh water.
  I remember driving back to North Carolina that night and running into 
the storm on my way home. I remember touring the regions in the days 
that followed and seeing schools, homes, businesses, churches, entire 
towns flooded, as we see here.
  At the peak of the emergency, 235 public shelters housed people. 
Almost 50,000 people were in shelters. I remember visiting them looking 
into their eyes and seeing the fear, the desperation, the hopelessness 
that those people felt. These were the images that no amount of time 
will ever replace.
  In the face of so much destruction, so much suffering, it was 
inspiring to witness the people and the communities coming together and 
responding to disaster with the spirit of generosity and cooperation. 
People from all over North Carolina provided the victims of Floyd not 
only tangible items, like money, food, and supplies, but also equally 
important intangible things, their thoughts, their prayers, and their 
letters of support.
  Another precious commodity donated was the time and effort countless 
thousands of North Carolinians gave. Volunteers aided in evacuation and 
rescue efforts and cleanups that affected towns and the care and 
treatment of families that were forced to live in shelters.
  In addition, those volunteers provided valuable assistance and 
support to State emergency management personnel who worked untold 
hours. They led a valiant effort to respond to the needs of these 
victims, saving countless lives of people from all across this country 
and also donated to the cause of recovery.
  I am so grateful for the many acts of generosity by my fellow 
Americans who saw people were hurting and decided to help. Yes, they 
sent money; but they sent a lot of other things. We even had 
schoolbooks delivered from as far away as Hawaii by my friend and 
colleague, the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie), here in this 
body.
  From the governor to our own State's delegation here in Congress, 
from Federal agencies to local leaders, the assistance North Carolina 
received provided absolutely critical help to our people.

                              {time}  1815

  One year later, my State is still rebuilding, and we will be 
rebuilding for months, if not years, to come.
  It is the assistance provided by my fellow Americans that made this 
possible, and as we reconstruct our State we are taking the necessary 
steps to provide for future disasters. By making our towns and cities 
more disaster resistant, we can reduce the loss of lives and property 
and lessen the devastating impact of future storms. If this storm did 
anything it proved determination and resolve of the indomitable spirit 
of the people of North Carolina. Our people come by the name Terrell 
honestly because we stand firm in the face of adversity. If anything 
knocks us down, we get right back up and fight another day.
  Floyd dealt my State a crippling blow; but we are working to put our 
lives, our homes, our communities and ourselves back together. The 
people of North Carolina will never forget what happened in those days 
in September and the months that followed. Floyd has become part of our 
history, our culture, and our common experience. As Americans do when 
looking back upon a tragedy of this proportion, we were continually 
praying for our lost souls, comforting the anguished and distraught, 
honoring our heroes, rebuilding our homes and communities and looking 
toward the future.


                      The Importance of Education

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I am joined this evening by a number of 
my colleagues to talk about an issue of equal importance to this 
Congress and to our Nation and, yes, to our leadership in the world: 
Education.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the critical needs of school 
construction, the shortage of teachers, the need to honor our teachers 
in a way that we have not done before. The critical need for 
construction in our communities across this country is at a crisis 
proportion.
  I will be joined this evening by a number of my colleagues whom I 
will recognize in just a moment, who will discuss with me and with my 
colleagues the specific needs and plans that we have to help address 
these problems.
  First, let me take just a moment to talk about some of the conditions 
in my congressional district.
  Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand this evening a report prepared by the 
minority staff of the Committee on Government Reform's special 
investigative committee which is entitled K-3 Class Sizes in the North 
Carolina Research Triangle Region. The gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Price) and I asked that this be done for our congressional 
districts, and this report has some startling numbers. It shocked the 
people in our congressional districts and it should shock all Americans 
that care about children and care about the future of America, and we 
want to talk about that this evening.
  Although there is much debate and an awful lot of rhetoric in this 
town about education, I believe we need to stick to the facts, and here 
are some of the facts. Fact number one, last year in one of our 
countries, Wake County, a portion of my district, another portion of 
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), over 95 percent, let me 
repeat that again, over 95 percent of the young children in K-3 were 
taught in classrooms that exceeded the national goal for classroom 
size. Across this 13-county region, 91 percent of the children in 
kindergarten through the third grade were taught in classes that 
exceeded the 18-person goal.
  I went into a classroom in Lee County where a teacher had 29 children 
in the kindergarten classroom with no help. Five of those children 
spoke no English and their parents spoke no English. Three only had 
limited English.
  Now, my wife and I, we are fortunate. We have three great children. I 
would not want 29 children that I had to deal with at any one time in 
our house. I would have a difficult time. And to deal with young 
children in kindergarten by yourself with those numbers, one cannot do 
it; one absolutely cannot teach. They are keeping school. There is a 
difference between keeping school and teaching school, and that is just 
not acceptable.
  More troubling is the fact that a whopping 42.5 percent of K-3 
students in Wake County are in large classrooms of 25 students or more, 
and I can say that is repeated in a lot of places across this country. 
Not surprisingly, small class sizes lead to greater academic 
achievement. If the class size is reduced, academic achievement 
follows. How do we get there? We are going to talk about that this 
evening, not only in K-3 but all across America.
  The report demonstrates that class size reduction in the early grades 
is one of the most direct and effective ways to improve educational 
performance. I really did not need the study to tell me that. I have 
known that for a long time. Having served as a superintendent for my 
State schools for 8 years, I knew that before I came to Congress. 
Sometimes we need a report to verify it, to reinforce it so people

[[Page 18069]]

will understand it and it gives credibility.
  Last month, the U.S. Department of Education reported that my State's 
high school enrollment will skyrocket by 26 percent over the next 
decade. We will be the fourth fastest growing State in America. I think 
California is first; Texas and several others. But it is just 
tremendous. We are growing rapidly in this country. We have to meet 
those demands. We now have more children in public schools, 53 million, 
than at any time in the history of America. We know the problem is only 
going to get worse. It is not going to get better. We have to deal with 
it, and local schools need help and they need us in Washington to get 
together and help. We have an opportunity to do it.
  I have a son who taught the second grade, then the fourth grade. Now 
he is a special teacher. Brian is a great teacher, but one cannot be a 
good or a great teacher when they are in over-crowded classrooms, 
poorly lighted, poorly ventilated and all the problems that are 
associated with it, because in this country we have teachers teaching 
in converted bathrooms. We have them teaching in closets, in basements 
and a lot of trailers. I will go into that later this evening, but we 
have to reach out and use the resources that we have to make a 
difference for our children.
  It is hard to tell a child education is the most important thing they 
are about and we send them to an old rundown school as they ride by 
some nice prison or a nice other building. Children do not have to be 
told. They know what is important.
  Mr. Speaker, I would be happy now to yield to my colleague, the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement), who has joined us this evening, 
because he has some important things to say. He has been involved in 
this educational issue all of his career, and we are glad to have him 
in Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I will now yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Clement).
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Etheridge) for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I might say to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Etheridge), I am glad he commented on Hurricane Floyd, the flooding in 
North Carolina. As the gentleman knows, once upon a time the State of 
Tennessee was part of the great State of North Carolina, and North 
Carolinians did rise to the occasion, and I would like to say for the 
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, everyone wanted to help 
and assist, knowing that this was a time of emergency; that we needed 
to come to the rescue of these wonderful people that were having such a 
difficult time.
  I know we are all here tonight, and I am pleased to be here with the 
gentleman, because I know the gentleman is such a leader in education 
and in so many other areas, but also our other colleagues, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), who I have worked with in 
the past very closely, also the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. 
Capps), and I might say she had a wonderful husband who was a Member of 
Congress that served so well and ably here, and the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Holt). It is a pleasure to be with all of them to talk 
about something that is near and dear to my heart, and that is 
education.
  I am a former college president, and I will never forget my first day 
in Congress. People would come up to me and say, boy, you are a 
Congressman now. That is really something.
  I would say that is right, but the last 4\1/2\ years they have called 
me Mr. President. Well, I am pleased to be a Congressman and still be 
involved and engaged in education, and I am currently co-chair of the 
House Education Caucus with the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), 
who is also a former college president.
  I know firsthand the importance of public schools and the value of a 
good education. Our children from Tennessee and all across the country 
are back in school again learning. I think it is appropriate for us in 
Congress to pledge to these students that we will do everything 
possible to ensure that they receive a quality education in quality 
schools by quality teachers. We cannot expect our children to reach 
their potential if school facilities, as the gentleman mentioned, are 
inadequate; if they do not have access to computers and the Internet or 
if their teacher is trying to teach in an overcrowded classroom.
  I am pleased to join with many of my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle in cosponsoring H.R. 4094, America's Better Classrooms Act, which 
will provide much needed school construction funds. A report issued by 
the National Education Association found that upwards of $254 billion 
is needed to accommodate growing school enrollments, fix deteriorating 
buildings and wire schools to be on the Internet.
  The average public school today is over 42 years old. School 
enrollment is already at a record level and expected to continue to 
grow, which will lead to further overcrowding and a greater need for 
modernization. Research shows what parents already know. Students learn 
best when they are in a safe, modern school with small classes, with 
21st century technology. The Federal Government has a responsibility to 
provide States and localities with financial assistance for education. 
H.R. 4094 will provide tax incentives to State and local governments to 
build state-of-the-art classrooms that will make all neighborhood 
public schools a better place for our children.
  In addition, I am pleased to join with my colleagues in calling for 
adequate funding to be provided in the appropriation bills for school 
construction and smaller class size initiatives. I sincerely hope that 
we can find a way to fund these important priorities. If we are to 
continue to prosper economically, America must have an education policy 
that provides the best school facilities and smaller classes for all of 
our children. Modern schools and small class sizes lay the foundation 
for success, but in today's world of technology and the global economy 
an education that ends with a high school diploma is simply not enough. 
A 4-year college degree is increasingly considered the minimum 
education for a large proportion of high school skills and jobs that 
people want. An annual income for a person with a college degree is 
nearly twice that of someone with just a high school diploma.
  Unfortunately, the cost of higher education has been a deterrent to 
many who wish to continue their education. However, this should not be 
the case. Assistance must be available to make college possible for 
every student if they want to pursue an education, whether it is a 
college degree or some other form of education. We cannot afford to let 
higher education be out of reach of those students who wish and desire 
to further their education. No student, regardless of socioeconomic 
background, should be deprived of something as priceless as an 
education.
  The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) knows and I know 
that the cost of education is going up and up and up. In 1997, 1998, 
tuition room and board, $8,000 at the 4-year public colleges and 
universities. For the private counterpart, it is over $24,000. I know 
that as a parent having children in college today. During the 1999/2000 
academic year, students received more than $65 billion in financial 
aid. Often the financial aid process can be confusing and overwhelming 
to parents, students and those involved in higher education and yet 
financial aid is often the key, not only to higher education but a 
successful future.
  I will tell all of my colleagues what I did last weekend and it 
really worked. I joined with the Sallie Mae Trust for Education, and I 
encourage all to do the same thing, in hosting an event in Nashville, 
Tennessee, on paying for college. This seminar brought together 
representatives from Sallie Mae, the Tennessee Student Assistance 
Corporation and representatives from area colleges and universities to 
discuss with parents and students the availability of financial aid. 
With over 280 participants, the forum was a wonderful opportunity to 
share information on financial aid with parents and students. I think 
parents came away with a better understanding of exactly what kinds of 
assistance is available through the local, State, and Federal 
government, private lending institutions and

[[Page 18070]]

individual schools and how to apply for it.

                              {time}  1830

  This kind of assistance is critical in helping our children attend 
college; however, we in Congress have an obligation as well. If we 
expect to continue American dominance in the 21st century, we must fund 
such critical financial aide programs as Pell grants, Perkins loans and 
Federal work study programs. These initiatives allow millions of 
students to attend college who otherwise never would.
  These are investments whose returns far exceed the outlay. America 
has always been the land of opportunity for everyone. We simply cannot 
allow our schools to decay, our classes to spill out into hallways and 
our colleges to become a privilege enjoyed by a select few. I thank the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) for giving me the 
opportunity to fight for education on the floor of the U.S. House of 
Representatives.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Clement) for his comments, but, more importantly, for his commitment to 
education and his hard work.
  As we continue in this special order, I am pleased to be joined by 
the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps), my friend and fellow 
colleague, who has really been a leader in education. She understands 
the needs of students. She came to this body with her husband. She is a 
nurse by training. She understands what the need is, and she fought for 
children to have a decent classroom in California, which is another one 
of those States that is busting at the seams.
  I yield to her for her comments.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Etheridge), my colleague, for yielding to me. We are going to make 
this an across-the-country discussion this evening of this issue of 
such great importance.
  Mr. Speaker, I am here this afternoon to discuss an issue of such 
great importance in my district and across this country: school 
construction and modernization. Last week, I visited Peabody Charter 
School in Santa Barbara, California. At Peabody School, students 
receive a top-notch education. Unfortunately, these students also feel 
the disturbing effects of overcrowding and inadequate school 
facilities.
  This is a school built for 200 students. Today it has an enrollment 
of way over 600 students. In an attempt to accommodate, portable 
classrooms take up precious playground space which should be used so 
that students can take part in physical activity, an important part of 
their education. Peabody School is one school in my district, which I 
am using this afternoon as an example to represent the dozens of 
overcrowded schools in my district. There are dozens of schools like 
this school, overcrowded and antiquated, in California and across this 
country.
  It seems rather amazing to me that as we begin this new century in 
this country, with unparalleled prosperity before us, relatively at 
peace in the world, that we are allowing our most precious resource, 
our children, to face their future preparing for it in circumstances 
that are far from ideal, that in many instances are totally 
unsatisfactory.
  Mr. Speaker, yes, public education in this country, one of our most 
important hallmarks, is a matter for local control; but I believe these 
issues are so pressing that there is a role for all of us to play. In 
my opinion and in my belief, the Federal Government can help to free up 
needed funds so that local districts can make the decisions they know 
best for the children in their communities.
  And I have here today a letter to our bipartisan House and Senate 
leadership asking that they allow and encourage the passage of H.R. 
4094, the America's Better Classrooms Act before this session of 
Congress comes to a close.
  This letter is signed by over 300 students from Peabody School. I 
have the letter here. I have two signatures along with mine, and then I 
have a collection of pages with signatures, second graders, third 
graders, fourth graders, fifth grade, sixth grade, 300 students in this 
school. They asked me if I would bring this letter with their 
signatures; and I told them that I would not only bring it to Congress 
with me, but that I would carry it with me to the floor and stand here 
in the well and give their testimony to this House and to the Senate so 
that we can meet their expectations.
  These students were very excited to take part in this process, since 
overcrowded schools is something they know all about. It is an issue 
that affects their lives on a daily basis. In signing this letter, 
Peabody students are really making a statement about their educational 
environment and helping to improve the lives of future Peabody 
students. And they are actually speaking for students in their 
situations across this country.
  The America's Better Classrooms Act has bipartisan support and 225 
cosponsors. It would provide approximately $25 billion in interest-free 
funds to State and local governments, for local school construction, 
and modernization projects. The funding would help schools like Peabody 
make improvements to classrooms and playgrounds and would help to 
reduce class size.
  Here in Congress, we must set our standards high to ensure that all 
children have a healthy start. All children deserve to have safe, clean 
and modern schools to attend each day. And, Mr. Speaker, my friends at 
Peabody Charter School ask us that we bring H.R. 4094 to the floor for 
a vote before this session of Congress comes to a close. I thank the 
students, my friends, for sharing and asking, along with me, for this 
vote. We owe them the best we can offer them.
  The business world, which has helped to bring our economy to the fast 
pace that it enjoys today, knows the importance of investing in 
infrastructure, and here our most precious resource, the key to the 
future and for future economic development, our children, ask nothing 
less that we pay attention to their surroundings and their learning 
environment. In doing that, we will assist them in becoming the best 
that America can be for the rest of this century and on into the 
future.
  I thank my friends at Peabody School. I thank my colleague, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge), the former 
superintendent.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the following:

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                               September 11, 2000.
     Hon. Dennis Hastert,
     House Speaker,
     U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Richard Gephardt,
     House Minority Leader,
     U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Trent Lott,
     Senate Majority Leader,
     U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Tom Daschle,
     Senate Minority Leader,
     U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressional Leaders: We are writing to ask for your 
     help with a long standing problem in our schools here on the 
     Central Coast--overcrowding. Before the 106th Congress comes 
     to a close, we ask that you pass H.R. 4094--the America's 
     Better Classrooms Act--an important piece of legislation that 
     would help improve Central Coast students' learning 
     environments.
       At Peabody Charter School, students receive a top-notch 
     education, but also feel the effects of overcrowding. Imagine 
     how hard it would be for members of Congress to concentrate 
     and work in conditions similar to those found at Peabody. 
     Unfortunately, overcrowding problems exist in schools across 
     the country, and we know this can have an impact on students 
     education.
       H.R. 4094, which has bi-partisan support and 225 co-
     sponsors, would provide approximately $25 billion in 
     interest-free funds to State and local governments for school 
     construction and modernization projects. This funding would 
     help schools like Peabody make improvements to classrooms, 
     playgrounds and would help reduce class sizes.
       We must set our standards high to ensure that all children 
     have a healthy start. All children deserve to have safe, 
     clean, modern schools to attend each day. And so, my friends 
     at Peabody Charter School and I ask that you bring H.R. 4094 
     to the floor for a vote before this session of Congress comes 
     to a close. The congressional session is coming to an end, 
     but Peabody students have a lifetime of learning ahead and 
     need your help.
           Sincerely,
     Lois Capps,
       Member of Congress.


[[Page 18071]]

     Nick Hill,
     Milagros Macias,
       Peabody Charter School Students.

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California 
(Mrs. Capps) for her remarks, and I thank the children. We tend to 
forget here sometimes that it really is about them. We get to dealing 
with a lot of weighty issues, and they are important. But in the end, 
most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, it is really about our 
children, our other children. And all the issues of security, safety, 
et cetera is about that, and that is why I introduced the bill early on 
for school construction.
  I am glad to see the kind of structures taken, and I would say to my 
colleagues that in addition to those 200-some people that signed, the 
leadership in this body has still refused to bring it up. We have now 
drafted a letter, and we have over 150 of our colleagues having signed 
it to go to the President. I hope all the rest of them will sign it by 
next week, encouraging them not to give in on any issue until we get 
some school construction money for children across this country.
  My friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt), has been a real 
leader. He came here as a teacher. He still is teaching us about the 
importance of education. I am glad to have him join us this evening in 
this Special Order, and I yield to him.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Etheridge), for yielding to me. I am pleased to be here with the 
gentleman on his Special Order this evening to talk and focus on school 
construction and talk about the implications that that has for 
education overall.
  I do thank the gentleman for setting up these Special Orders. The 
gentleman has been a leader in education, starting with his school 
board back home and going through his time as State superintendent of 
schools in North Carolina and then preceding me here in the House of 
Representatives. The gentleman has been a true leader.
  Mr. Speaker, I visited nearly 100 schools in my district; and 
everywhere I go across the five counties that I represent, I hear from 
parents and teachers and administrators and students about the problems 
of overcrowding. It is no wonder the number of school children, 
certainly in my part of the country and in many other parts of the 
country, is setting record levels.
  We are experiencing what is sometimes called the echo of the baby 
boom, and there are schools where the student population has doubled in 
the past 10 years. I can show my colleagues school districts where the 
kindergarten is twice the size of the 12th grade. We do not have to 
have higher mathematics to understand the implications of that for 
school construction.
  The classrooms are overcrowded. To alleviate this, many schools are 
turning to trailers. Trailers may be a temporary solution. In one place 
in my district, in one school district, in fact, at one school, there 
are 18 temporary trailers out back, and another three in the school 
next door and others that will be moved in in coming weeks.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Reclaiming my time, this gives me an opportunity to 
really talk about the heart of the issue. We have the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Price), and if he will join us here we can get into 
it. When we talk about that, what many people who are not in the school 
fail to see is we have those extra students in trailers or in closets 
or wherever, and most cases we do not increase the size of the 
cafeteria where children eat or the media center or the libraries, as 
many of us would think of years ago, nor the bathroom where children 
need to go, all of those extra facilities that teachers need to take. 
And if they are out in a trailer outside when it rains, what happens to 
the children? They get wet.
  Mr. HOLT. If the gentleman would yield, the students tell me that 
they get teased because they get wet going back to the classes that 
they have in the other building, and these trailers are not a cheap 
solution either. They are expensive to install, expensive to maintain. 
And what I am struck by is that their long and narrow floor plan makes 
them really totally unsuitable for instruction.
  I asked a teacher, well, what do you do when you need to write on the 
blackboard, because the students on either wing cannot see the 
blackboard, and he said, well, he has to talk about word by word or 
number by number what he is writing on the blackboard and hope they can 
take it down. That is no way to teach children.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. On that point, reclaiming my time, if I may, I would 
ask my colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) to join 
us. The gentleman and I visited a number of schools, and let me say I 
appreciate him joining us this evening. Not only has he been a leader 
in this, but a leader in trying to find us teachers we are going to 
need to fill those extra classrooms we are going to build, because he 
has a piece of legislation on it, and he was kind enough to let me join 
him and be a part of it; and I think the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Holt) is on it also. He has seen this, and he has been a fighter. Not 
only is he a teacher, but he has taught a lot of us here how important 
it is for education.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Price).
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for 
calling this Special Order and for helping us focus our attention here 
in this critical closing period of the 106th Congress on our education 
needs.
  My colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge), 
referred earlier to this study, which the minority staff of the 
Committee of Government Reform and Oversight has carried out, showing 
that 90-plus percent of our students in our part of North Carolina are 
in classrooms of larger than the recommended size. This is children 
grades K through three, when we know class size matters most.
  The gentleman and I took a tour a few days ago to unveil this report. 
We went to an elementary school in Cary, North Carolina, in my 
district, and then in Raleigh and then in Wake Forest; and as he has 
already said, we witnessed the situation there. I must say that the 
teachers and the students are making the best of the situation. They 
have made these trailers attractive, and they have made the best of it.
  But in some of these schools, the children are eating lunch at 10:15, 
10:30 in the morning, and as late as 1 o'clock and 1:30 in the 
afternoon simply because the central facilities had not caught up with 
all the additional population of the school occupying these trailers. 
And the same is true of the bathrooms; the same is true of the athletic 
facilities. It is unjust in a country as wealthy and as prosperous as 
ours when we know, when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that 
children's ability to learn and teacher's ability to teach is linked to 
a decent class size. I just think it is unconscionable that we are not 
addressing that situation.

                              {time}  1845

  I think local and state authorities often are doing the best they 
can. On this tour with us, we had the county superintendent of schools, 
we had school board members, we had county commissioners. There is no 
question we are in this together, and nobody is blaming the other. It 
is a matter of working together at all levels of government and making 
the Federal Government and especially the Federal Tax Code a partner in 
what we need to achieve. It is that kind of partnership we are looking 
for.
  If we can get this legislation on the floor in these closing weeks, I 
believe we can do great things to bring 100,000 new teachers into the 
classrooms of America and to expand our schools and to modernize those 
schools.
  Mr. HOLT. If the gentleman will yield. Of course the real purpose of 
our being here this evening is to call attention to the action that we 
have yet to take here in the House of Representatives, to call on the 
leadership to act on these bills.
  The school construction bill is a wonderful partnership between the 
Federal Government and the local school district, and it is applicable 
not just in schools that are overcrowded because of a booming 
population, such as in my district. It is also applicable to the

[[Page 18072]]

school districts where the schools are aging.
  Across the country the average age of a school now is well beyond 
what a business or industry would consider satisfactory for use. It is 
well into the 40 years for an average school. In New Jersey it is 
actually closer to 50 years for the average age of schools. We have all 
heard stories of ceiling collapses, of teachers who put cheesecloth 
over the vents to stop the lead paint flecks from coming in to the 
classroom.
  Estimates by the civil engineering societies say that school 
construction is the number one infrastructure need of the United States 
of America, and to put America's classrooms reasonably up-to-date would 
have a price tag of several hundreds of billions of dollars.
  The school construction legislation that the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) has presented to us as a companion piece to 
that that is sponsored by Representatives Johnson and Rangel that would 
be a great boon to school districts that have aging schools and to 
school districts where the population is booming and they cannot keep 
up the construction, have enough construction to keep up with the 
population, and in the school districts who need to build so that they 
can have enough classrooms to have the smaller class sizes that are 
ideal for education.
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield 
just for a moment. I want to underscore something the gentleman said 
just a moment ago about the way this legislation would work and the 
fact that decisions about when and if to build would remain under local 
control.
  We are not suggesting, and this is the genius, I think, of the 
Etheridge proposal and that of the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Rangel), the President has made similar proposals targeting low-income 
schools and high growth schools. The genius of that proposal I think is 
that it would leave the decision in local hands, it would leave the 
responsibility about issuing the bonds and raising the funds in local 
hands, but it would say that through the use of the Federal Tax Code, 
through giving tax credits to the holders of those bonds in lieu of 
interest, we are going to let those local authorities stretch those 
dollars a great deal further. That is a non-intrusive approach that 
leaves the decision where it should be, but makes the Federal Tax Code 
the friend of those who would invest in our children and invest in our 
school infrastructure.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. I think the gentleman is right. We never hear those 
complaints when it comes to building other things that we allow the Tax 
Code to be used for. I think that is the secret here. I think the 
leadership in this House has an obligation to the American people to 
say we are either for children or we are against them. If they do not 
bring it up, we know where they stand.
  When you have over 225 Members sign a piece of legislation and you 
cannot get it on the floor of this House, it is obvious that they have 
decided in their great wisdom that there is not that need. I think that 
is absolutely wrong.
  As the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) and I know, and you 
mentioned in your district, we were at Joyner Elementary School, and 
they had a little trailer park out back, literally, and the children 
were having to go back and forth. They were doing a good job. I 
remember what Kathleen Marynak, the principal, said. ``We call these 
our cottages in the woods,'' I believe she said, trying to help the 
students, but literally they had to walk up a hill, and when it rained 
they got in trouble.
  We went to Wake Forest Elementary and talked to the principal, he was 
standing there, and he said we have 829 students in a school originally 
built for 361 students. They added to it, but they had an awful lot of 
portable facilities there.
  It is just not right at this time. The gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Price) is well aware of this and the gentleman touched about 
growth communities. In Johnston County, a county south of Wake, and it 
is true of every county around because we are growing, they built a new 
school and had something like 18 trailers. They moved those off and 
opened a new school, and they are now back up to eight. It is growing 
that rapidly. The students have to walk through rain to get there. I 
remember what Nell Ferguson said. She said we do the best we can. We 
nurture all we can.
  But we get back to the problem that the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Price) talked about, which is this whole issue of children 
starting lunch early. If you are a little fellow, I just wonder how 
many Members of Congress, and, now, we sometimes do not get to eat 
lunch and I understand that, but every day if you had to go eat lunch 
at 10, 10:15 or 10:30, and you are in a controlled situation and do not 
get a snack until you are home at 3:30 or 4, if you are on a bus, I 
wonder how many adults would like that around here?
  Mr. HOLT. Yes, I can imagine. Some days I know what that is like.
  I would like to turn our attention to your school construction 
legislation, because I would like to believe that if my colleagues here 
understood it, and if the leadership really understood the legislation 
that the gentleman has put forward, they would not stand in the 
hallways, they would not block this. It makes such good sense.
  I would like to ask my colleague to explain for us why this is not 
taking away local initiative, the local control of schools? As my 
colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), said, part of 
the genius of this is it allows the local school districts to decide 
when and what needs to be constructed.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. The gentleman is absolutely correct, because the way 
it is drafted, the locals only pay the principal back. They determine 
it. The interest is paid by all of us as citizens in this country. It 
is not unique, because we do it on other kinds of projects in this 
country. For some to say it has not been done, it was really done in 
education right after World War II, some money was appropriated because 
of the growth.
  We are at a time now where we are seeing phenomenal growth, a 
tremendous economy, none like we have ever seen before in this country, 
and we not only have an obligation, we have a great opportunity to make 
a difference and propel this economy at a whole new level.
  As we move forward and as we talk about construction, as important as 
that is, and that is a critical part, we need people to go in those 
classrooms, the 100,000 teachers, the next installment we are talking 
about this year. That is going to be a fight before we adjourn, count 
on it. They want to block grant it.
  Well, having been State superintendent, I will share with you what a 
block grant means, and to my other colleagues. I want Members to 
understand what we are talking about. It means you use it for whatever 
you want to use it for.
  As a Member of this Congress, if I want it spend it for teachers, and 
I think the people out there would tell you it goes for class sizes, 
put it on teachers, I guarantee you parents will say the same thing. 
They do not want it diluted.
  As we do that, one of the critical pieces we are going to be facing 
over the next 10 years is replacing all the teachers that have the 
ability to retire. I think that is a great challenge, one of the 
challenges. While we are on this, the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Price) introduced some legislation, and I hope he will share his 
thoughts on that as we look between the two of you at this whole issue, 
because having taught, you understand it.
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I thank my colleague for referring to 
this, because it clearly is part of this solution. As we build 
additional classrooms, as we get children into lower class sizes, 
especially in the early grades, we are going to need quality teachers 
to teach those children.
  As a matter of fact, we are confronting a teacher shortage in this 
country, and it is going to get a great deal worse before it gets 
better. The estimates are we will need to hire 2 million new teachers 
in the United States

[[Page 18073]]

over the next 10 years; and in North Carolina, we are going to need to 
find 80,000 new teachers. Believe me, that is a great deal more than we 
are producing at the present time.
  That is a lot of manpower and woman power we are going to need to 
bring into the classroom. This 100,000 new teachers proposal of the 
Presidents is an important down payment on that, and, goodness knows, 
we should not go home before we do that. I cannot imagine we could do 
any less than bring on an additional installment of those 100,000 new 
teachers in the classroom.
  But, as my colleague said, we have a piece of legislation that I 
think is very promising for the long haul, and I would like to commend 
it to colleagues. These colleagues here tonight have very generously 
cosponsored this bill, it is H.R. 4143, the Teaching Fellows Act.
  This is legislation, just briefly, that would build on some 
successful State experiences in recruiting and training teachers. We 
have in North Carolina the North Carolina Fellows Program which takes 
high school seniors and gives them a scholarship to take them through 
the 4 years of training to be teachers. But it is so much more than 
just money, it is not just a scholarship. This cohort of students goes 
through college with an extracurricular program that solidifies their 
professional identity and trains them in what it means to be a 
professional, what it means to serve the community. The retention rate 
for these teachers, the people who stay with the program after they 
have done their obligation, is very, very high. This is a State-based 
program that has worked very, very well, and we would like to take this 
nationwide. We would like to build on it in North Carolina and see 
States across the country do this.
  There is a second feature to this, and this is something that I think 
is something new, although in North Carolina we are making a start with 
our North Carolina model teaching consortium. The idea here is to reach 
into our 2-year schools, reach into our community colleges and take 
paraprofessionals, people who may be training as teacher's assistants, 
and give them the wherewithal and the incentive to go on for that full 
4 years, because I think that is an excellent source of teachers. These 
people are rooted in the community, they are already serving children, 
and, with an additional incentive and with some work at the 
institutional level to make sure there is a seamless transition from 
that 2-year to 4-year program, I think we will have a whole new 
resource there for our teaching force out of our community colleges.
  So those are the two main components, the Teaching Fellows Program 
for high school seniors and then the Teaching Fellows Partnership 
Program for students in community colleges. We have a number of 
cosponsors, a number of people who have indicated an interest in this.
  I just think the quality and quantity of our teaching force is 
probably going to be the dominant public education issue over the next 
decade, and I believe this legislation could help us prepare for it.
  Mr. HOLT. If the gentleman would yield, I would like to underscore a 
couple of points that he has made about these numbers. The latest 
numbers I have from the Department of Education say that in the next 10 
years we will need somewhat more than 2 million, probably 2.2 million 
new teachers, just to stay even. This is not to have smaller class 
sizes, to reach this optimum of 18 students in the early grades, but 
this is just to stay even with the attrition, the retirement of the 
teachers and the students that are now in the pipeline.
  Where are we going to get these teachers? This raises questions of 
where we will recruit them, how we will encourage them and mentor them, 
train them and see that they are treated as the professionals that they 
are, and how they will get ongoing professional development. I think 
the gentleman's proposal is a very good one, and that will help in 
this.
  We must at the same time work for smaller class sizes. The 
President's proposal, he has made this a personal cause, is to get 
smaller class sizes in the early few years, and I hope we can do that.
  Once again we are coming to the end of the appropriations cycle and 
the money is not there. In the past 2 years the President has been able 
to succeed in the negotiations with his masterful negotiation skills to 
get the installments on these 100,000 new teachers. I just hope we will 
be able, before we go out of session this year, to get the next 
installment on that.
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I think we all have to push toward that 
end, and I hope we can have a good bipartisan effort on that. There is 
no reason before we go home that we should not have the next sizable 
installment of those 100,000 new teachers on the way into classrooms in 
those early grades across this country, and there is no reason that we 
should not have this school construction program in place so that local 
school authorities, who know firsthand what the needs are, can take 
advantage of this and get those facilities on line.
  There has been a lot of talk about whether this Congress is going to 
go down in history as a high achiever or a low achiever. Right now it 
is looking more on the low side. What could change that would be for us 
to catch on fire here in these remaining weeks and do a job for public 
education.

                              {time}  1900

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, I would also, 
before we finish this, just commend the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Etheridge) for his very attractive tax credit school bond 
proposal. It would be of great benefit to districts like mine. New 
Jersey would be able to get on with building a couple hundred million 
dollars worth of school construction, just in my State, if this 
legislation goes through. I certainly am doing all I can to advance 
this legislation, and I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for 
bringing it forward and for pushing it. There are only a few precious 
weeks of legislative time left this year, and this is surely one of the 
most important things that is remaining on our agenda.
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will 
yield, let me chime in and also thank my colleague from the neighboring 
district in North Carolina. We have worked together cooperatively on so 
many things, and there is nothing more important than this. I thank the 
gentleman for calling this Special Order and for focusing all of our 
attention on the unfinished business in the days ahead.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank my colleagues who are still 
on the floor and others who have left this evening, because we really 
are serious about this issue. It is an issue that is critical to 
America's future as we talk in this Special Order about creative 
solutions to these problems. Certainly school construction is part of 
it as we invest in a national commitment to educational excellence 
where schools are accountable to our taxpayers for raising standards 
and every child has an opportunity to learn. One cannot learn when one 
is not in the right kind of conditions. Improving education in this 
country is about creating a classroom environment where children can 
learn and teachers can teach.
  Mr. Speaker, I was in Sampson County on Sunday and dedicated a new 
school. It was amazing how important that school, on the outskirts of a 
small community, identifies a community. Our schools do identify 
communities. We need to foster a greater connection between students, 
teachers, and parents. Our schools can do better; and with our help, 
they will do better, and we have to quit pointing fingers and start 
joining hands.
  Mr. Speaker, it is amazing what a hand is about when we give a 
helping hand instead of pointing fingers. We are good at pointing 
fingers around here. One of the best ways we can improve education, as 
we have talked about this evening, is to help provide for smaller class 
size, help provide for more teachers, where we can have orderly and 
disciplined classrooms, where children get the additional attention 
that is so badly needed.
  We have children coming to our public schools to start from a variety 
of

[[Page 18074]]

backgrounds, children who are loved; unfortunately, some who are not 
loved like they should be. Some who are well advanced and others who 
are not. But teachers try not to differentiate; they love and care for 
all of them and try to ignite that flame of learning in each child. 
They can only do it if we give them the help and support they need.
  We do need a national commitment to the notion that parents in 
America have the right to expect that their children will have the best 
teacher in the world in that classroom. There are places in this 
country where they absolutely do not have the money; they do not have 
the resources to do it. They cannot build the buildings, and they 
cannot hire the teachers. Dagburnit, we ought to be about helping them. 
That is what America is about. We need to provide support for teachers 
as they do this difficult, difficult task.
  It is a critically important job. It is the most important job we are 
about in rearing children early. We have had enough teacher-bashing in 
this body the last few years; and an awful lot of it, I am sorry to 
say, has come from my Republican colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle, and that must end and it must end now. We have to come together 
and help. We are in this thing together. Our children deserve no less. 
We must make every neighborhood school in this country work, and work 
as they should.
  That is why we are working to help pass H.R. 4094, and that is a 
bipartisan piece of legislation. I am thankful that we have finally 
gotten there. It does provide $25 billion for school construction money 
across the country. A lot of money? Yes. Not nearly enough to get the 
job done, but enough to get started and say we do have a commitment at 
the national level; and yes, we are going to be a partner. 
Unfortunately, this Congress has failed to act, and the leadership has 
not brought it to the floor to provide our local communities with the 
assistance they need.
  Mr. Speaker, our schools are bursting at the seams. In communities 
throughout my district and across this country, the flood of student 
enrollments keep coming, and at the public school level, there will not 
be and cannot be a sign on the door that says, no vacancy. We can do 
that in a lot of other schools. Private schools can say, we cannot take 
anyone else. Colleges and universities can find a way not to accept, 
but when school opens in September and August and they keep coming as 
they transfer, they take them, and classes get overcrowded. We must 
continue to take them and help them. We have to help our schools meet 
this challenge.
  This Congress must take action to help these communities cope with 
this urgent problem, and we must act this year. We cannot wait another 
year. For many of these children who will be stuck in trailers, shoved 
in closets, crammed in the bathrooms and in converted other rooms, 
gymnasiums, substandard facilities, that is not acceptable in a country 
that has the resources we have. This country needs to help schools 
where better order and discipline can foster better learning for all of 
our children.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this Congress to stop playing partisan games, to 
lay down our swords and pick up the language of working together and 
put our Nation's children first. Pass school construction legislation 
without further delay.
  Mr. Speaker, I have written a letter to the President with the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and a number of my colleagues 
insisting that school construction, in any final budget compromise with 
the congressional Republicans, be the highest priority. More than 150 
of my colleagues have joined me; and I trust before early next week, we 
will have over 200 names, as we have on the bill.
  The American people consider this their highest priority. They want 
to improve education by building new schools, hiring new teachers, 
reducing class sizes and improving order and discipline in the 
classrooms so that our children can get the attention they need and 
learn as they should learn.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank my Democratic colleagues for 
joining me this evening in this very important Special Order. There are 
a lot of things we deal with in this body that are important, no 
question about it. This is the people's House, one of the greatest 
Nations in the world. But I am here to tell my colleagues that there is 
no issue that we face on the threshold of the 21st century that is more 
important to the security of this Nation, to the prosperity that we 
hope to have in the 21st century, than that we have the resolve and the 
commitment to do what needs to be done for the children of America.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, back in July this body unfortunately 
rejected a motion to instruct conferees on the FY 2001 Labor/HHS/
Education appropriations bill--a motion that insisted on more education 
funding and dedicated funding for class size reduction and school 
renovation. Personally, I couldn't believe this motion to instruct 
failed. I say this because as parents all across America know, our 
nation's schools are overcrowded.
  Children in Texas returned to school in August, and I can tell you 
that over the past several weeks I have heard again and again from 
parents talking about the need to address the challenge of overcrowded 
schools.
  Total public and private elementary and secondary school enrollment 
has continued to rise, from 52.8 million in 1999 to a projected all-
time record of 53.0 million this fall. These numbers are projected to 
rise for most of the century.
  The point I simply want to make today is that as the United States 
embraces these new generations and new arrivals to our schools, we must 
be prepared to be able to provide a quality education to all students. 
We must help communities nationwide modernize their schools and we must 
support class size reduction so that America's children are in an 
environment where they can realize their full potential. These are 
smart investments--investments that merit broad bipartisan support.

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