[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10888]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            CONGRESS UNDERFUNDING NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND BILL

  (Mr. STRICKLAND asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, a few months ago on a bipartisan basis, 
we voted for the so-called Leave No Child Behind bill. But in the 
interim period, we have failed to meet our obligations, obligations 
that we have under that bill. We are underfunding the No Child Left 
Behind bill by $11 billion. Yet the students across this country are 
going to be subjected to the tests mandated under that bill, the States 
are going to be required to fund these unfunded mandates and it is 
estimated that perhaps as many as 60 to 80 percent of our schools will 
be called failing schools.
  Mr. Speaker, our students are not failing, our teachers are not 
failing, our schools are not failing. I will tell you who is failing: 
The President and those of us who serve in this Chamber. We are failing 
our schools, our teachers and our students.

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