[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8175]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



      NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT REWARDS PROGRESS, CORRECTS FAILURE

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, the overarching goal of H.R. 1, the No 
Child Left Behind Act, is to narrow the achievement gap between 
disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers. The bill takes a 
two-track approach, expanding flexibility for States and local school 
districts while holding them strictly accountable for increasing 
student achievement.
  The No Child Left Behind plan will tie Federal funding to results for 
the first time in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that was 
enacted in 1965. Since then, the Federal Government has spent more than 
$130 billion, including more than $80 billion in the last 10 years, and 
created more than 50 programs on the landmark Title I program to close 
the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their more 
affluent peers.
  Today the gap remains wide, and in some cases it is getting wider. We 
cannot keep perpetuating a system that accepts such mediocrity, not at 
the expense of our least fortunate children.
  One feature of accountability in H.R. 1 is a plan to help low 
performing schools, a designation that will be made by the States, to 
improve their performance. The bill increases the set-asides for 
States' school improvement funding to 5 percent.
  Let us please support the No Child Left Behind bill.

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