[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 23334]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                               EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as I stand here and 
think about how the economy is booming, we talk about how many jobs 
that have been created; yet we have record unemployment, and we are 
passing bills to bring people over under the H-1B visas to take the 
better jobs. Now, I do not have a problem with that, Mr. Speaker; but 
we have got to educate the people here so that we do not continue to do 
this forever.
  It has been said that a school is four walls and a roof with a future 
inside. If that is true, then we need to start to look at the 
investments that we make in education. I have heard far too much about 
the trillion dollar tax break and far too little on the investment in 
our future, which is with our young people. It is very simple. It is so 
easy. And this administration has taken a lead in standing firm and 
holding the line, hopefully until we can get some of these issues 
addressed.
  All of us know we need additional teachers and after-school programs. 
We all know that we need to do something about our buildings. In my 
State of Texas there are buildings that have more portables than the 
main building, and some of the portables are a block from the first 
restroom that kids can go to. I do not believe that we think that all 
of this ought to be left to the local districts because they simply 
cannot afford it when the districts are poor.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a wealthy Nation. This is a Nation that can do 
about whatever it wants to, and I do not believe that we are thinking 
soundly when we are willing to leave here without addressing the real 
needs of our future, which is our students. We have to get rid of these 
leaky inadequate buildings that have no heat, no running water, and are 
not even in a condition to be wired properly for today's education. Yet 
we continue to talk about how much we can give for a tax break.
  I do not know why it is so difficult to understand that kids simply 
cannot grasp what they are being taught if they are in a class with too 
many other children and only one teacher. In my State of Texas, the 
ratio is one teacher for 22 children. That is really above the national 
average, but every one of those asks for a waiver each year so that 
they can have even more students in a class. Just imagine young 
children coming to school for the first time and finding themselves in 
a class of 25, 30, and 40 children with one teacher. We wonder why they 
do not do well on tests and wonder why they drop out or start being 
absent from school. No child wants to feel that they are being left 
out, and yet that is what we are getting when we have our classes that 
are too large because we do not have enough teachers.
  One of the reasons we do not have enough teachers is because we do 
not pay them adequately. If we graduate young teachers now from college 
that are well prepared for today's classrooms, they can get a job 
making twice as much almost anywhere else. We have got to address the 
issue of educating our young people, and we have to acknowledge that we 
have a long ways to go in many of these communities.
  The answer is not vouchers for a private school. I do not have a 
thing against private schools. I think whoever wants to send their 
children to private schools should be able to do that. But I do not 
think it should be with taxpayers' money while we are neglecting the 
public schools, which is where 90 percent of the children have to go. 
Imagine kids still going to school in areas that are not safe, where 
half the teachers are eligible for retirement, but they simply cannot 
retire because they do not have anyone to replace them. They go into 
schools that are not equipped with our technology and computer hardware 
that we all say we have to have.
  In spite of all this, Mr. Speaker, the Republican leadership stands 
in the way of bringing a bill to the floor to just spend a portion of 
what we call the surplus to address these basic needs. I am hoping that 
we can remember our ABC's. A, for additional teachers and additional 
after-school programs. Without additional teachers, my own State will 
lose something like $146.8 million to reduce overcrowded classroom 
sizes.
  And B is for building improvements. Current estimates indicate that 
my State faces $13.7 billion in costs for school modernization; 76 
percent of the schools in Texas report a need to upgrade or repair 
buildings.
  And C, of course, Mr. Speaker, is reducing classroom size. Hopefully, 
that is simple enough that all of us can remember that and not go home 
this session without addressing this.

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