[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 24292]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    DEMOCRATS ARE FIGHTING FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION AND MODERNIZATION

  (Mr. ALLEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, Republicans in Washington, D.C., are always 
talking about what small business wants and it always comes down to 
what Washington Republicans want. But when I talk to small business men 
and women in Maine, the two most important issues to them are the 
education and training of their workforce and the cost of their health 
care.
  The strong economy has meant that it is harder to find and keep 
qualified employees. But remember, the Republicans in this Congress 
tried and failed to eliminate the Federal Department of Education and 
the assistance that goes to local school boards.
  It is Democrats who are fighting for school construction and 
modernization, which will improve education, hold down property taxes, 
and give our businesses, large and small, a better trained workforce.
  On health care, too many small business men and women in Maine can 
now only afford to buy catastrophic health insurance with an annual 
$5,000 deductible. They are seeing 10 percent to 40 percent increases 
in their premiums. They will not get help from the Republicans in 
Congress because the majority here will not even support providing a 
guaranteed Medicare prescription drug benefit for our seniors.
  For small business, Democrats stand for continued economic growth, 
support for education and health care, and fiscally responsible tax 
cuts.

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