Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, tonight, in New Haven, CT, Biagio DiLieto will join with close friends and family to celebrate his 75th birthday. I have respected and admired Ben DiLieto for years, and am grateful for the opportunity to recognize a man who has dedicated his life to the city of New Haven. Ben DiLieto began his public career in 1952. Serving as a police officer and later as police chief, Ben quickly learned how to effectively address the needs of the city's residents. He interacted with the community and embraced its diversity. Ben was determined to make local government work for average citizens by addressing their needs on a personal level. Residents of New Haven came to know Ben DiLieto as a person who cared and would eagerly roll up his sleeves when hard work needed to be done. Ben earned the trust of New Haven's citizens and they elected him mayor in 1979. Mayor DiLieto served for five consecutive terms. During those years, he was dedicated to understanding and meeting the needs of his constituents, particularly those in the greatest need. Mayor DiLieto worked diligently to ensure funding for social service programs that benefited children, elderly, and the disabled. He fought to obtain funding for emergency services and education. He championed the interests of people with real needs and sought real solutions. Indeed, it is difficult to measure the magnitude of Ben DiLieto's contributions to the city of New Haven, for he has played such a large role in our community. Ben DiLieto truly changed the face of our city. On a personal note, Ben has always been a friend who is reliable and supportive, genuine and sincere. His commitment and diligence are the cornerstone of strong and effective local government, and his belief in public service has inspired me time and time again. It is with great pleasure that I commend Ben DiLieto for a lifetime of achievement and service. I join his wife Rose, his family, and his many friends in wishing Ben a very happy 75th birthday. Ben truly embodies the best New Haven politics has to offer, and it is my deepest hope that we will have the benefit of his wisdom and kindness for many years to come.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this conference report, and I would like to thank Chairman Porter and Ranking Member Obey for their hard work and their bipartisan spirit. I am pleased that it contains a substantial increase for health research at the NIH, for disease prevention work at the Centers for Disease Control, and for important educational programs such as Head Start and IDEA. I am especially proud that the conference report includes a substantial increase in funding for quality care, child care for children under the age of 3. New research has shown that the early years are a critical time of intellectual, emotional, moral, and physical development, which prepare a child to be healthy and productive in later life. We cannot afford to waste these critical learning years. This conference report includes a $50 million increase in the child care and development block grant for States to improve the quality of care for our youngest children. It also includes $69 million more than the President requested to expand the Early Start, zero to 3 program, within Head Start. These funds will give thousands of additional children an opportunity to have the very best start in life. I am pleased that the bill includes funding to improve our schools and hold our students to the highest standards, including the $200 million for whole school reform, to assist our least successful students in meeting educational goals. I have the experience of New Haven, CT and the Kolmer model of schools to point to as how whole school reform can work and does work. Throughout this process, we have at times faced the possibility that the bipartisanship would be undermined by controversial riders regarding abortion, parental consent for contraceptives, needle exchange and other issues. I am glad to say that none of these controversial riders are in this bill. I am pleased to support this conference report, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for its passage.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, last night I listened in interest as my colleague, the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Ehlers, discussed the investigation of the election of our colleague, the gentlewoman from California Ms. Loretta Sanchez. He explained that 6,000 voters in Orange County were noncitizens at the time of last year's election, not just in the 46th District, which the gentlewoman from California Ms. Sanchez represents, but in the entire county, which includes five other congressional districts. We ought to be committed to weeding out voter fraud. And if our Republican colleagues are truly committed to weeding out voter fraud in this country, they would be investigating all of the congressional elections that took place in Orange County last year to find all of these ineligible voters. But there have been no investigations of any of the other Orange County elections. And why? Because those seats were won by Republican Congressmen, the gentleman from California [Mr. Royce], the gentleman from California [Mr. Kim], the gentleman from California [Mr. Rohrabacher], the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox], and the gentleman from California [Mr. Packard]. Republicans are only targeting one district, one Member, one community, the Hispanic community, clearly nothing more than a partisan political probe funded by U.S. taxpayers. Enough is enough. Call an end to the investigation.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding. There are two points here. One has to do with our colleague, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Roybal-Allard] who, in fact, has introduced two privileged motions, two different dates. Both are different, if the gentleman will check and take a look at the Record.

Ms. DeLAURO. Let me just finish. Second, there is nothing, nothing, nothing we would like better on this side of the aisle on this issue than to have the opportunity for debate. Every time one of these, after the notice and the vote comes due, we would love to have a debate. In fact, what happens is that a Member gets up and calls for the motion to be tabled, so in fact, we cannot have a debate.

Ms. DeLAURO. Well, I would like to correct the Record in a couple of ways, if I can.

Ms. DeLAURO. Allow us the opportunity to have the debate on this.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, last night this body voted down the Gingrich voucher proposal. This was a great victory for America's public schools and a great victory, more important, for America's public school children. This Nation's commitment to public schools, to public education, is one of the cornerstones of our democratic society. The notion, the notion that every child, regardless of race, gender, station in life, is entitled to public education, that is what we have been about in this great Nation. Today our public schools do have a lot of problems. Vouchers is not the way to fix them. Vouchers simply provide an out for a lucky few, while draining precious resources that could be spent on replacing leaky roofs, buying new computers, or hiring new teachers. This is a way to take money from public education and put it to private education for the privileged and for the few. Let me congratulate my colleagues who stood up on the floor last night. They stood up for public education, and they voted down the Gingrich voucher plan.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from New York spoke out of order for 5 minutes, or longer than that.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, we, too, are weary on this side of the aisle. End this witch-hunt. End the malarkey on your side of the aisle, and let this investigation conclude and let Loretta Sanchez continue her fine work as representing the 46th District of California. Democrats are sending a simple message tonight with these resolutions: It is enough, the investigation of allegations by Citizen Dornan, with subpoena power unprecedented in the history of the House of Representatives. The majority of these allegations have proven to be without merit. Fraudulent voters, who have turned out to be nuns and Marines and even some of his own supporters. Enough of this waste of taxpayers' dollars. Eleven months, a half a million dollars, and we are still counting. Enough with the attempts by the Republican Party to intimidate Hispanic-American voters, an 8-year history in southern California of intimidating Latino voters at the polls. No investigation like this has been targeted at Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans, or Jewish-Americans. There were other closer elections in 1996. They did not result in this kind of an investigation. It is interesting to note that the surnames of those Members are Fox and Smith, and not Sanchez. Today, Democrats are saying to the Republican leadership of this House, enough is enough. We can say it in Italian, and we can say it in Spanish and the word is the same, ``basta,'' stop this intimidation. Stop this investigation of Hispanic-American voters in this country. Allow the democratic process to go forward. The people of the 46th district elected the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Loretta Sanchez. They said no to Bob Dornan. This House ought to have the courage to say no to Bob Dornan and end this investigation of the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Loretta Sanchez. Motion to Table Offered by Mr. Thomas

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Special Agent Vito S. DeMarco of the U.S. Treasury Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, on the occasion of his retirement. After 30 years of diligent service in law enforcement, Special Agent DeMarco has built a distinguished reputation of protecting the United States and her citizens. Special Agent DeMarco began his career with the Office of Naval Intelligence in 1967, after graduating from Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT. After his assignment to the Naval Investigative Service in New York City, Special Agent DeMarco spent the last 28 years of his tenure with the Boston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. During his tenure with BATF, Special Agent DeMarco distinguished himself by serving on several task forces, including the Sky Marshall Program during the 1970's. He has made his expertise available to the U.S. Secret Service, serving on protection details during the Presidential campaigns of Presidents Ford, Carter, Bush, and Clinton. In addition, he has contributed to the protection details of several foreign heads of state and conducted investigations into illicit firearms trafficking and numerous explosives and arson cases. Special Agent DeMarco also served with distinction in the U.S. Navy Reserves, from which he retired in 1996 with the rank of commander. His 33 years of naval service included his activation for the Persian Gulf War, in which he commanded a special security division. Special Agent DeMarco also demonstrated his steadfast commitment to his country and community by volunteering to work with the Marine Cadets of America. Mr. DeMarco has given a great deal of his time and energy to this organization, and has served on the board of its national office. Law enforcement personnel serve our country by putting their lives on the line, ensuring the safety of our citizens. We owe them all a great debt of gratitude, so it is with the deepest appreciation and pride that I salute Special Agent DeMarco today.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Charter Schools Amendments, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill. This bill represents the strategy we should be taking--investing in our public school system to strengthen the schools that 90 percent of American children attend. Charter schools are an innovative means to change our public schools for the better, without siphoning off funds to private or parochial schools. The two charter schools in my home town of New Haven--Common Ground High School and the Village Academy--have proven to be highly effective in improving student performance. They give parents a real opportunity for school choice. The schools are held to high standards and in fact are reviewed periodically to ensure that students are meeting their goals. This type of accountability is exactly what we need to improve our students' performance. Unfortunately, Republicans don't always follow the policy of investing in public schools. Time and time again they have voted to take money out of our public schools and put it into private and parochial schools. I am particularly disappointed that this bill will be combined with the Gingrich voucher experiment--virtually guaranteeing a veto by a President who has promised to protect America's public schools. Vouchers are not the way to strengthen our public school system. Innovative programs like charter schools will allow us to continue our investment in America's public schools without deserting our children.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced a bill to designate the U.S. courthouse in my hometown of New Haven, CT, as the ``Richard C. Lee United States Courthouse.'' I am pleased to take this opportunity to speak of the dedication and service that my friend and colleague, Richard Lee, has given the city of New Haven throughout his life. Richard Lee epitomizes all that a mayor should be. He is a local boy, a family man, a dedicated and hard working person, and most of all a friend to everyone. He is truly a model mayor for this century. After serving his tour of military duty, Dick Lee returned to New Haven to begin a lifetime of service to his beloved city. During four terms as an alderman, Dick Lee was committed to urban redesign at a time when most cities had not yet considered such ideas. When Lee first ran for mayor in 1949 he had the foresight to recognize the need for urban renewal. He was elected mayor in 1953 and then went on to serve eight terms. Those of us from New Haven know Richard Lee for his profound influence on the city, but he is well known for his signal impact on national urban policy. Lee fought for and won Federal funding for important city renewal projects. Under Lee's aegis New Haven came to have three times more Federal funds per capita than any other city. Both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson courted Lee's insight and innovation on urban renewal. Lee's forward thinking ideas on city planning were the first version of the War on Poverty. When the signs of an urban upheaval were noted by President Johnson, Richard Lee's connection to the heartbeat of cities was well acknowledged. The new Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development was created and Lee was offered a prestigious Federal post--which he declined because he wanted to continue his service to the city of New Haven. Anticipating the coming storm embodied in the civil rights movement, Lee applied for and received $2.5 million from the Ford Foundation to combat urban unemployment and poverty. In addition, he received the first Federal grant to battle juvenile delinquency. When the urban tensions of the civil rights movement came to a head with rioting across the Nation, New Haven was spared the violence which shook other American cities. In New Haven, not one shot was fired by a policeman and not a single citizen was seriously harmed. Under Lee's direction, the city of New Haven became one enormous renewal effort. Every neighborhood and school was involved in Dick Lee's programs and projects, and citizens of New Haven are still reaping the benefits today. The restoration of Wooster Square and the engineering buildup of Long Wharf are both credited to Dick Lee. The Knights of Columbus building and the Veterans coliseum were also projects of Lee's doing. While Dick Lee is known for his many achievements, projects, and programs, he is also known by the people of New Haven for his commitment to the average citizen, his community involvement, and his accessibility. For Dick there was no higher service than the office of mayor of New Haven. Time and again he rejected offers of higher government positions. He felt the best way to serve the city and the people was in the mayor's office. In 1980 Richard Lee was presented with the Distinguished Service Award for his advocacy on behalf of America's cities by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The country is thankful to this man who has brought so much to America's cities. Most importantly, the people of New Haven are blessed with the presence of this hometown boy who came to the position of mayor and changed the face of the city. As a citizen of New Haven, I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to know and learn from this remarkable man. The Richard C. Lee U.S. Courthouse will be a lasting tribute to a man who was truly one of the most dedicated and effective mayors of this century.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, the Republican leadership has spent 10 months and more than $500,000 investigating the election of our colleague, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez]. This money could have been better spent providing immunizations for 3,000 children or providing prenatal care for 450 pregnant women. What is most disturbing about this investigation is that the Republican leadership seems to be focusing on this race because it is a seat held by a Democratic Hispanic woman and Hispanic voters might have made the difference in this election. Other closer elections last year for Congress did not result, did not result, in similar investigations. This, unfortunately, is only the latest example of the Republican Party's attempts to suppress Hispanic voting and to intimidate Hispanic voters. The latest move to turn this investigation back to the Republican Secretary of State in California is clearly another attempt to prolong this partisan witch hunt. The gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez] won this election fair and square. The people of the 46th deserve to have her undivided attention. Let us bring an end to this investigation.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2 of rule IX, I hereby give notice of my intention to offer a resolution which raises a question of the privileges of the House. The form of the resolution is as follows: Whereas, Loretta Sanchez was issued a certificate of election as the duly elected Member of Congress from the 46th District of California by the Secretary of State of California and was seated by the U.S. House of Representatives on January 7, 1997; and Whereas A Notice of Contest of Election was filed with the Clerk of the House by Mr. Robert Dornan on December 26, 1996; and Whereas the Task Force on the Contested Election in the 46th District of California met on February 26, 1997 in Washington, D.C. on April 19, 1997 in Orange County, California and October 24, 1997 in Washington, D.C.; and Whereas the allegations made by Mr. Robert Dornan have been largely found to be without merit: charges of improper voting from a business, rather than a resident address; underage voting; double voting; and charges of unusually large number of individuals voting from the same address. It was found that voting from the same address included a Marines barracks and the domicile of nuns, that business addresses were legal residences for the individuals, including the zoo keeper of the Santa Ana Zoo, that duplicate voting was by different individuals and those accused of underage voting were of age; and Whereas the Committee on House Oversight has issued unprecedented subpoenas to the Immigration and Naturalization Service to compare their records with Orange County voter registration records, the first time in any election in the history of the United States that the INS has been asked by Congress to verify the citizenship of voters; and Whereas the INS has complied with the Committee's request and, at the Committee's request, has been doing a manual check of its paper files and providing worksheets containing supplemental information on that manual check to the Committee on House Oversight for over five months; and Whereas the Committee on House Oversight, subpoenaed the records seized by the District Attorney of Orange County on February 13, 1997 and has received and reviewed all records pertaining to registration efforts of that group; and Whereas the House Oversight Committee is now pursuing a duplicate and dilatory review of materials already in the Committees possession by the Secretary of State of California; and Whereas the Task Force on the Contested Election in the 46th District of California and the Committee have been reviewing these materials and has all the information it needs regarding who voted in the 46th District and all the information it needs to make judgements concerning those votes; and Whereas the Committee on House Oversight has after over nine months of review and investigation failed to present credible evidence to change the outcome of the election of Congresswoman Sanchez and is pursuing never ending and unsubstantiated areas of review; and Whereas, Contestant Robert Dornan has not shown or provided credible evidence that the outcome of the election is other than Congresswoman Sanchez's election to the Congress; and Whereas, the continued Sanchez probe unfairly targets Hispanic-Americans and discourages their full participation in the democratic process. Whereas, the Committee on House Oversight should complete its review of this matter and bring this contest to an end and now therefore be it; Resolved, That unless the Committee on House Oversight has sooner reported a recommendation for its final disposition, the contest in the 46th District of California is dismissed upon the expiration of November 7, 1997.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, education has always been the great equalizer in this Nation. It opens the doors of opportunity and provides every American child with the opportunity to live up to his or her potential. It is the public schools in this Nation where students of all economic levels, races, and creeds come together in one classroom to develop the skills that they are going to need for a successful future. The right wing of the Republican Party has never believed in American public schools. Former Republican Presidential candidate Pat Robertson said straight out in 1994, and I quote, ``abolish the public schools.'' Today, the Republican leadership is continuing their attack on public education by advocating a radical experiment that would take precious taxpayer dollars out of our public schools and into private schools. I have a message for the Republican leadership: Our children are not your guinea pigs. We need to support and strengthen our public schools, not siphon off precious funds. Stand up for public education. Reject the Gingrich voucher plan.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as cosponsor of H.R. 2527.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, today Republicans continue their attack on America's public schools. This is what it is all about. Shift the taxpayers' dollars from public education and put it into private education. This legislation drains the Treasury of taxpayers' dollars needed to improve public schools and provides a tax break for those who are the wealthiest in this country. Ninety percent of America's children attend public schools. These are the children we should be helping. Focusing on school construction, fix the schools where walls are crumbling down, invest in teacher training, purchase new textbooks, put in computers and get them on line with the Internet. That is what the Rangel substitute does. Republicans would help wealthy families who can already afford to send their kids to private schools. My kids went to public schools. I know what that means. I know what the great equalizer public education has been in this country. Under this legislation, a parent could write off the purchase of a car to drive their kid to school or they could pay one child to tutor a brother or a sister. Seventy percent of the benefits of the bill go to upper income families making $93,000 or more. It is wrong. Education is for everyone, not the few or the privileged.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say thank you to colleagues of mine who have joined this evening to speak out on the fight against breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is a time when we honor all of the women who are fighting this deadly disease, we remember those who we love who have lost the fight, and we renew our commitment to trying to find a cure. It is time to take stock of where we are in the fight against cancer. Are we committing sufficient resources for biomedical research to find a cure? Do women who have been diagnosed have access to the care that they need in order that they can heal properly? I am very, very pleased that the appropriations committee that I sit on is poised to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health by at least $700 million so researchers can continue their quest for the causes of this disease and find an effective treatment that will, at longlast, give us the cure that we have been looking for. Also the Department of Defense, along with NASA, is putting state-of- the-art technology to use in improved mammograms to increase the rate of earlier detection, which is clearly a key. Unfortunately, all too often the answer to the second question, do women have access to the care that they need, is a resounding no. More and more often managed-care organizations are forcing patients home just hours after a mastectomy. In fact, a study by the Connecticut Office of Health Care Access proved that the average length of stay for breast cancer patients in Connecticut is dramatically decreasing. Most disturbing, it is decreasing faster for mastectomies than for other inpatient discharges. This is really unacceptable. These are real women, women who are undergoing traumatic surgery, who are then sent home while they are still in pain, groggy from the anesthesia and with drainage tubes stitched to their skin. It is not every day that you come face-to-face with your own mortality in a very profound way, as you do when you face a cancer diagnosis. It is not too much to ask for a mere two days in the hospital as you recover from this kind of surgery. Congress needs to act to stop this practice. That is why, along with Congresswoman Marge Roukema of New Jersey and Congressman John Dingell of Michigan, I introduced the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act. The bill would require insurance companies to cover 48-hour hospital stays for women who undergo a mastectomy and a 24-hour stay for those undergoing a lymph node dissection. The patient and her doctor, not an insurance company, can decide if a shorter stay is appropriate. My home State of Connecticut and a number of other States have passed legislation to give women a 48-hour hospital stay. However, 125 million Americans are covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA. These plans are exempt from State law, so we need to work together here in the Congress to pass Federal legislation to ensure that every woman is protected. This measure has wide bipartisan support, 195 cosponsors, Democrats and Republicans. Congress has yet to act on this important bill. Nor has it moved on another piece of legislation that is so important to breast cancer patients, and that is the Reconstructive Breast Surgery Benefits Act, which was introduced by my friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from California, Anna Eshoo. Congresswoman Eshoo could not be with us here tonight, and I will include her remarks for the record. Americans understand the need for this legislation. In fact, through the breast cancer care petition, which is an on-line petition drive which we have initiated, thousands of Americans are speaking out and calling for hearings on these bills. Not only can they sign a letter, but they can leave their own stories of their own experiences about breast cancer. Over 6,000 people have signed this petition. Hundreds of women and men, survivors and their families, have left very moving stories that are more eloquent than anything that I could say. Just a quick example that has been posted on the petition, from a Nebraska resident. I quote: As the director of a breast cancer screening program, I have felt close to the medically underserved women who are our clients as they daily struggle with the painful choice of taking care of their own good health and buying cereal for their kids. There are real tears being shed by real women every day. They are your neighbors, your colleagues, your kids' teachers, the clerk at the grocery store. Breast cancer survivors have enough to deal with. Do the right thing, pass this legislation, and help make the tears fewer for those who will follow us until a cure is found. One New York resident simply wrote, ``During the most devastating time in my life I should not have to fight with the insurance company.'' We all pray for the day when we find a cure for cancer. Until then, we must ensure that those suffering from this disease get the care they need and the care they deserve. I call on the Congress to pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act. Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the statement by the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Anna Eshoo, on this legislation. The statement referred to is as follows:

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of my special order today.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, my colleague who pointed out that I was factually incorrect in fact is factually incorrect. I would like to make a clarification with regard to the bill. It says directly in the bill with regard to the District that tuition scholarships may be used at private schools in the District. It is right here in the language of the bill.

Ms. DeLAURO. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Ms. DeLAURO. It says private schools in the District. The gentleman is incorrect.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this bill. The headline in the Washington Post editorial page this morning reads, and I quote: ``The House at Its Worst on D.C.'' ``Republican and Democratic Members ought to be embarrassed even to consider such a small-minded measure on the House floor.'' It certainly is the truth. For after proposing the biggest cuts in education in this Nation's history, after attempting to shut down the Department of Education, the Republican majority is now trying to end public education in this country. Education is the single-most important issue that faces us today. It is education that opens the doors for opportunity in our society. It is education that levels the playing field, provides every single American child with the opportunity to make the most of his or her God-given talents. Mr. Speaker, 89 percent of American students attend public schools, and our schools need fixing. They have serious problems, and we all know that. But the Republican voucher plan, an experimental plan, would do nothing to improve the D.C. schools. It would drain precious taxpayer funds from these schools and put money into private schools, money that could be used to repair leaky roofs, buy new computers and books. We need to spend our time focused on improving public schools for all of our children, not providing an out for a select few which will further degrade educational equality for those who remain in the system. Mr. Speaker, 2,000 kids. What about the 76,000 other children? Proponents of vouchers argue that they will enable poor families to have the same choice of school as wealthy ones. This is a false promise. Not only do vouchers weaken the public schools by siphoning off funds, they typically do not even cover the high cost of tuition at private schools. Example: The bill would provide a D.C. student with $3,200 toward tuition at a private school, yet this does not come close to paying for tuition at the District's most prestigious schools, Georgetown Day School, Sidwell Friends cost $11,000. Vouchers will not solve the problems in our public schools; they will create new ones. Speaker Gingrich wants to test this program on children who live here in the Nation's Capital. It is an experiment, an experiment that they want to try to foist on this entire country. I have a message for the Speaker. Our children are not guinea pigs and the American public understands that. They do not want to see taxpayer dollars put into private education, and that is a poll number by 54 to 39 percent. The American public says no to taking taxpayers' dollars and putting them into private education. Democrats are not going to allow the experiment to go forward; neither will be American public. I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill. Let us work to find ways in which we can rebuild America's schools, not to destroy them.