[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6270]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        FUNDING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, 25 years ago, Congress passed the Individuals 
With Disabilities Education Act. Twenty-five years ago, Congress made a 
commitment to disabled students all over America, promising them we 
would do our part to make sure they got as good an education as other 
kids.
  Twenty-five years ago, Congress made a promise to contribute 40 
percent of the cost of educating disabled children, but it was an empty 
promise.
  For 19 years, the Democrats controlled the House and never once did 
they even come close to keeping that funding promise. Twenty years of 
consecutive Democratic Congresses never even funded 5 percent.
  Special education has for years been yet another unfunded mandate 
created only to make those who wrote the law look good and placing an 
enormous financial burden on local schools.
  Since coming into the majority, the Republican House has more than 
doubled Congress' commitment to disabled kids.
  Today, we will be voting on the IDEA Full Funding Act of 2000. I urge 
my Democratic colleagues to join the Republicans in making good on our 
commitment to disabled children.

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