[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1924]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               THE INTRODUCTION OF THE KEEP OUR PACT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 22, 2007

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, it is with a sense of urgency that I 
reintroduce the Keep Our Promises to America's Children and Teachers 
Act at the beginning of the 110th Congress.
  I offer the Keep Our PACT Act today to help meet the aspirations of 
our Nation's schoolchildren--and to help provide all of their teachers 
and schools with the resources they need to help them achieve those 
aspirations. Additionally, I offer this bill as a reminder to those of 
us in government of the importance of keeping our promises and of truly 
making education a priority.
  Put it simply, the Keep Our PACT Act would put Congress on a fiscally 
responsible path to fully funding the No Child Left Behind Act and the 
Individuals with Disabilities Act--on a mandatory basis, once and for 
all.
  Madam Speaker, the 2006 Education Appropriations bill funded No Child 
Left Behind at $23.51 billion, over $1 billion less than the previous 
year and $13.36 billion below the 2006 authorized level. As a result, 
over 3.1 million students are not getting the extra Title I help they 
were promised under NCLB.
  Furthermore, the 2006 Education Appropriations bill continued 
underfunding IDEA at $10.7 billion--less than half of the 40 percent 
average per pupil expenditure the government originally promised states 
more than 30 years ago.
  By keeping our commitments to NCLB and IDEA, we can support our 
schools and provide all of our students with resources they need to 
succeed.
  Madam Speaker, once again I am proud to make the Keep Our PACT Act 
the very first piece of legislation I introduce in this Congress. 
Additionally, I want to thank my colleagues for joining me as original 
cosponsors of this bill today. We pledge to stand for the fundamental 
values this bill represents and invite Members from both sides of the 
aisle to embrace those values and get this bill passed.

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