[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14075]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1630
           A MESSAGE FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am here to deliver a 
message from the North Carolina General Assembly. It is a bipartisan, 
nearly unanimous message from our State House: Stop underfunding our 
schools.
  Last week, 52 Republicans joined all voting Democrats in the North 
Carolina House of Representatives in passing a resolution that, ``urges 
the President of the United States and Congress to make a serious 
commitment to improving the quality of the Nation's public schools by 
substantially increasing the funding for the No Child Left Behind Act, 
the Higher Education Act, the Individuals With Disabilities Education 
Act, and other education-related programs.''
  This resounding call from both sides of the aisle in my State is a 
sign that North Carolinians are exasperated with a President and a 
Congress that refuse to follow through on their commitments. They are 
simply fed up, Mr. Speaker.
  By consistently underfunding No Child Left Behind, the Federal 
Government has failed to hold up its share of the bargain it made with 
our schools when No Child Left Behind was signed into law 4 years ago. 
In passing the law, the government promised to help improve failing 
schools by targeting the areas that needed support and providing that 
assistance.
  By failing to come through on promised funding, the administration 
has turned No Child Left Behind into a program that punishes our 
schools instead of supporting them.
  Two of the resolution's clauses tell the story more fully. ``Whereas 
the Federal government has decreased funding to North Carolina for No 
Child Left Behind in fiscal year 2006 by almost $11 million, and 
overall funding for public education by almost $12 million, including a 
deduction of $759,012 from programs that serve students with 
disabilities, and, whereas, in addition the Federal Government has cut 
almost $11 million from postsecondary education programs in North 
Carolina.''
  Mr. Speaker, since No Child Left Behind was signed into law in 2002, 
counting the President's latest budget proposal, the Bush 
administration and the Republican Congress have underfunded this law by 
some $55 billion. In fact, the House is expected to debate an 
appropriations bill for the Department of Education soon that will cut 
the program by another $500 million as compared to last year.
  And what about other Federal education programs? The story is much 
the same. The government is not fulfilling its promises. Since the 
passage of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act in 1975, the 
Federal Government has failed to fully fund the education of children 
with special needs to the tune of $217 billion.
  And this President and the leadership of this House have dropped the 
ball on making college more affordable for students and parents. 
Student loan rates are going up and Federal support for aspiring 
students is stagnant or decreasing while the cost of education 
continues to rise.
  To put this in perspective, our alternative Democratic budget would 
invest far more in education smartly and strategically while at the 
same time balancing the budget sooner.
  Mr. Speaker, North Carolina schools are no strangers to 
accountability. The teachers and parents and administrators in my State 
want our students to succeed like none other. They are simply asking 
that our Federal Government be a reliable partner and live up to its 
promise of support for the education of our children.
  Mr. Speaker, I will insert at this point in the Record House 
Resolution 1811 from the North Carolina General Assembly adopted on 
July 5th, 2006.

A HOUSE RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR THE NO CHILD 
  LEFT BEHIND ACT, THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT, AND THE INDIVIDUALS WITH 
                      DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

       Whereas, the State of North Carolina under the Standards of 
     Learning Accountability System has long pursued the goal of 
     improving the academic performance of all students, 
     especially students of racial and ethnic backgrounds, lower 
     economic status, and limited English proficiency, and with 
     learning disabilities or challenges; and
       Whereas, the State of North Carolina, therefore, applauds 
     the President and United States Congress for putting forth 
     the same goals in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and 
     emphasizing the urgency in closing these achievement gaps and 
     improving the performance of these students; and
       Whereas, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has 
     encouraged some needed changes in public education and was 
     initially accompanied with relatively large increases in 
     federal funding for public elementary and secondary 
     education; and
       Whereas, however, the increases in federal funding since 
     the first year of the No Child Left Behind Act have been 
     minimal and insignificant; and
       Whereas, the federal government has decreased funding to 
     North Carolina for No Child Left Behind Act in fiscal year 
     2006 by $10,777,346 and overall funding for public education 
     by $11,931,500, including a deduction of $759,012 from 
     programs that serve students with disabilities; and
       Whereas, in addition, the federal government has cut almost 
     $11,000,000 from postsecondary education programs in North 
     Carolina; Now, therefore, Be it resolved by the House of 
     Representatives:
       SECTION 1. The House of Representatives urges the President 
     of the United States and Congress to make a serious 
     commitment to improving the quality of the nation's public 
     schools by substantially increasing the funding for the No 
     Child Left Behind Act, the Higher Education Act, the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and other 
     education related programs.
       SECTION 2. The House of Representatives requests the 
     President, Congress, and the United States Department of 
     Education to offer states waivers, exemptions, or whatever 
     flexibility possible through regulations from the 
     requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act in any year that 
     federal funding for public elementary and secondary education 
     is decreased to prevent states from spending state and local 
     resources on activities that are not proven effective in 
     raising student achievement and may not be the priority of an 
     individual state.
       SECTION 3. The Principal Clerk shall transmit a certified 
     copy of this resolution to the President, the members of the 
     North Carolina Congressional Delegation, and the United 
     States Department of Education.
       SECTION 4. This resolution is effective upon adoption.

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