Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. At the CIA.

Ms. DeLAURO. Again, it was Major Owens who mentioned the issue of military might. If we only measure this Nation in terms of its military might, our national security is at great risk. Education is as much a part of what the national security of this country is all about as is the number of weapons that we have in our arsenals. I come from a State that is defense dependent, that depends on tanks and aircraft and engines. But I will tell you that if we do not have the young people who are smart enough and competent enough to be designing and manufacturing and doing all those things, our national security is at great risk. When we cut preschool and when we cut school lunch and we cut summer employment, and when we cut skills training and when we cut higher education, we are doing an enormous disservice to the national security of this country.

Ms. DeLAURO. I want to thank my colleague. I would like to mention a couple of things. One is that there is all this talk about how we cannot spend this money and we have to cut, and it is the Democrats who want to spend all of this money. But what they do not want to tell us about is where they do want to spend money, and that is on the tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. They will deal with repealing the alternate minimum tax, and expatriots getting a break for renouncing their citizenship and being able to not pay any taxes. They do not have any problem at that end. But with kids and their future, they say, ``We have to cut back, we have to tighten our belts.'' The AmeriCorps Program, let me just say this, this is a program that says to young people, ``We will help you with your college education if and only if you give back something to your community, you exercise some responsibility for getting this assistance. We want you to participate in the life of your community.'' We are trying to teach our young kids values and responsibility. We are caught up today with saying young people do not have any responsibility, the ``me generation,'' the x generation; that they just want to take something and not do anything. This is a program that goes after that very fundamental value that we have tried to instill in people of responsibility and taking on something, and it is working. Again, it is working all over this country. Young people are involved in the lives of their communities and are given some help to be able to further their college education. Now we are saying ``Forget it. No. It is over.'' We have about 800 kids in Connecticut who are going to be just cut off of that program, not only the work they are doing in the community, but their ability to be able to go to school.

Ms. DeLAURO. Foreign workers.

Ms. DeLAURO. My colleague, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi].

Ms. DeLAURO. I want to thank my colleagues for joining me tonight. If there is a place we can cut, we do not have to repeal the alternate minimum tax. We could apply $17 billion to either the deficit or doing some of these other things.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow we are likely to take up another temporary spending bill to keep the Government open. Unfortunately, that bill will very likely contain the same devastating education cuts that were put in place by the current continuing resolution. These cuts in education are causing a crisis, truly a crisis in American education. I know in my school district and school districts all over this country, what they are trying to do at the moment is struggle and grapple with a plan for the upcoming school year. How much money will they have available in order to carry out what their mission is, that is, to educate our children in this Nation? They have no idea today how much money they are going to have to carry out education functions. The budget plan will have a tremendous, a tremendous impact on the lives of schoolchildren all over the country, and, in fact, they are going to have a tremendous impact on what happens for our future and the future of these young people. My Republican colleagues offer no relief to these school districts. What we are likely to do tomorrow is extend the uncertainty for yet another week. Let me pause a moment here to say that I often hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for the past year and 3 months talk about what they felt their mandate was in 1994. That is, they were going to come here, revolutionize the Congress, make it run like a business, a laudable goal. But what business do you know of that is open for 2 weeks, that closes for 2 weeks, that says to its vendors or the people who supply it with services, that maybe we will pay you, maybe we will not pay you, or maybe we will pay some and not others? What business do you know that says we are only going to extend our services a week at a time? I do not know any business that does that that could stay in business. So that this way of managing is truly incompetent, total mismanagement. And what is at stake here in the education area is the future and the lives of our young people and their ability to be able to compete in an international world, their ability to have an education, that they ultimately can work and work and get a living wage. School districts, let me repeat, all over the country, are in the dark about the type of Federal assistance that they will be able to count on in order to continue what they are doing. I went to a school in my district where I met with parents. I went to a kindergarten class, several of them, and I watched these little bits of kids at their computers with their earphones on and reading, identifying the alphabet, and looking at the letter C and saying yes, this is a cake, looking at the letter D and say this is a duck, this is a deer, and doing this with the computer, listening to stories with comprehension and then writing down what they hear there. These are the kinds of initiatives that are in jeopardy because of the irresponsibility of this congressional majority. The funding of these kinds of efforts is unknown, and therefore we do not know whether these programs will be able to continue, in addition to which one of the things we talk about in private education and private schools is that classroom sizes are very small so you have individual attention. Well, in our public school system, the classes are larger, and therefore we deal with aides who work with the teacher, who can get around to all the kids in the class. So that we are not only dependent on private education in this country which, but in fact that we have a good strong public education system. Mr. Speaker, my kids went to public school. I believe in the public school system. Now, with a cutback, we will see those aides removed. So in public education, where you have an expanded and larger classroom, these children are not going to get the kind of attention that they need in order that they might learn and learn quickly and have opportunities available to them. Worst of all, my Republican colleagues in the House are promising to continue the deep cuts in education that they have made so far this year, at a time when we know in this Nation that Americans are rightly anxious about their job security and at a time we all know that a good education is the key to a good job, congressional Republicans are launching an assault on American education. Poll after poll shows that the American public overwhelmingly supports education and schools. As public servants, it is our duty to ensure that our schools are able to provide quality academic foundations for our kids to be able to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Despite this obligation, and that is one of the reasons we are sent here, congressional Republicans are making tough times even tougher for kids trying to get a good education and for their parents who want to see their kids get ahead. They are making the largest cuts in the history of Federal aid to education. In addition, money is being cut for a school-to-work program. We have young people in this country who go to high school and then go to work. The majority of our young people do that. It is a small percentage that go on to a 4-year liberal arts college. It may be that that is okay. We may have enough history majors and enough English majors to take care of ourselves forever. But the aspirations and the values of these young people who want to go from school to work, those aspirations are being crushed. We began the school-to-work program and it works. Talk to the business community, talk to the academic community, talk to the youngsters involved, they need to bridge that time between high school and the job market in order to go in and to be good, solid, professional workers. We are going to pull away that funding for school to work. The new temporary measure that funds education, which is known as a continuing resolution, is expected to continue to cut basic skills training, reading, and mathematics, by 17 percent; funding to keep our schools safe and free of drugs is expected to be cut once again by 25 percent. Talk to any of the DARE officers, any of our law enforcement community who work in the program, in a DARE program, they tell you that this program is working, let us give it a chance. Let us work the bugs out. Let us start with our youngsters in the elementary grades and follow them along to see if this training has made a difference in what happens with drugs in our school and with our young people today. Let us give this program a chance. People who are working in it believe that it is working. I also might add that our colleagues in the Senate, which I think is interesting to note, our colleagues in the Senate yesterday voted overwhelmingly, I think the vote was 84 to 16, to restore some of this funding in education for Head Start, for skills training, for school to work, for reading and mathematics readiness. Yet, in today's Washington Times, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey], commented, and this was only restoration of money for education because there is a recognition of how important education is in our lives, what kind of opportunity it provides to people in this country, Mr. Armey said: ``Well, isn't that typical of the Senate? All they want to do is spend money.'' Mr. Speaker, it was 84-to-16, a bipartisan vote on a Democratic amendment, I might add, but a bipartisan vote to restore some of the funding to education. Before we can expect our kids to do all of the great things we wish for them, we indeed have to provide them with the essentials, training and basic skills, a safe place for them to learn. It is in these areas where my Republican colleagues have made crippling cuts. Congress will soon face a choice: Will we allow my Republican colleagues to extend these cuts, or will they restore the funds that they have taken from America's classrooms and America's children? I can tell you in my State of Connecticut these cuts spell disaster. We cannot continue to do this; $8.6 million will be taken from the State of Connecticut for basic skills training; 9,200 needy students will go without. Schools in my district will lose $1.5 million. Under the safe-and-drug-free program, $729,000 will be cut for the State of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, what makes these cuts so wrong-headed is that our Nation now stands at this crossroads. We can either choose to give our people the skills they need to compete and win in a global marketplace, or we can allow our citizens to fall further and further behind as they compete with low-skill workers around the world for the lowest paying jobs in the world. Getting a good education has always been a tremendous part of the American dream. It is what has enabled our people to succeed. Public education has been the great equalizer in this Nation. It is said to all children, let us emphasize your God-given talents. Let those talents take you to the highest pinnacles that you can reach. These cuts will dash that dream for too many of our kids and for too many of the working families in this Nation. As Congress considers a new spending message for the rest of the year, I urge my colleagues to remember the children in the classrooms all over America and the parents who have a bright hope for their kids' future. We need to restore the Federal funds that enable our children to make those dreams a reality. I am delighted to be here this afternoon with several of my colleagues to talk about this issue of education, its importance in this country, and what the importance of these cuts are and what a devastating effect they will have on our kids future. I yield to my colleague from West Virginia.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi] to join the conversation.

Ms. DeLAURO. In reading and mathematics.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, I would just like to close with a comment from the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association president: As you are well aware, the law enforcement community is faced with many challenges today, including the use of sophisticated weapons by individuals who are committing very serious crimes. Your legislation is a step in the right direction to reaffirm that society will not tolerate sophisticated weapons by criminals against the citizens or law enforcement personnel. This bill punishes the criminal, not law-abiding gun users or gun owners, and I urge its immediate passage.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I would like just to let my colleague know that this does not ban anything.

Ms. DeLAURO. No, it is an attempt to say that the criminal, the individual who commits the crime with this new technology, bears the burden of doing it and that the penalty would be increased on the individual. It is specifically what a lot of my colleagues have talked to me about, that it is the individual, the criminal, who ought to be penalized, and not the gun owner.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Conyers].

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, if I just might to my colleagues say the following: It is my understanding that this is something that the NRA has always emphasized and said: Punish the criminal; do not punish the gun owner; do not punish the technology. This incident occurred in the city of New Haven, and it has on several occasions, where we are turning thugs into marksmen and sharpshooters with this device. Again, over and over again, the emphasis has been, place the responsibility on the criminal. If you are going to commit the crime, then you are going to do the time, and more. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Schumer].

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker: On March 12, 1996 the Honorable Richard C. Lee celebrated his 80th birthday. Today he is being honored by Albertus Magnus College. It is with tremendous pleasure that I rise today to salute this incredible individual, who means so much to me and has contributed so much to the city of New Haven. Dick's dedication to the city of New Haven is illustrated by a lifetime of public service. His career began as a reporter and later a wire editor for the New Haven Journal Courier. He later became editor of the Yale News Digest and director of the Yale University News Bureau. Dick then went on to a career as a public servant. After twice running and losing, he became New Haven's youngest mayor in 1953. He served for 6 years, longer than any mayor since. There was an historic dimension to Dick Lee's administration. During his tenure as mayor, he was deeply involved with and dedicated to issues of urban renewal. He initiated an economic revitalization plan, marking a turning point in New Haven's history. He was particularly interested in the human side of urban redevelopment. He incorporated community outreach into the public school system, and added staff to the public schools to facilitate relationships between faculty members and students, and developed job training programs. He also served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Dick's success in New Haven and solid reputation led to his becoming the principal adviser on urban affairs during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, where he led the way for similar programs throughout the country. After retiring as mayor, Dick continued to serve his community by serving as executive director of the United Way of Greater New Haven from 1975 to 1980. Dick's later achievements include an appointment to the Committee on Judicial Review in 1976 and chairing the State Library Board from 1984 till 1986. In 1987 he was appointed to the Judicial Review Council. He later joined Union Trust as the chairman's representative in New Haven. On a personal and political level, the DeLauro and Lee families have been close for years. I witnessed firsthand his knowledge, insight, and caring for the New Haven community. My mother, Luisa DeLauro, served on the Board of Aldermen under Dick's administration. I fondly remember Dick's relationship with my father, Ted DeLauro. They were great friends and worked together on numerous projects for the betterment of the New Haven community. Throughout my life, Dick has been both a mentor and a friend to me. On September 13, 1987, Dick was inducted into the Knights of St. Gregory, a papal honor for ``exemplary conduct as a citizen living up to his full measure of influence and creativity in the community.'' It is exactly this commitment to community that distinguishes the life of Richard Lee and it is with great pleasure that I commend him for a lifetime of achievement and service to our community. I join his wife Ellen, his children, Sally, David, and Tara, and his many friends and family members in wishing Dick's a very happy 80 birthday.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the extreme agenda of House Republicans was repudiated by their own Republican colleagues in the Senate. The Senate voted 84 to 16 to pass a Democratic amendment that restored vital funding for education. They restored $2.7 billion in funding for education and job training programs cut by House Republicans. That means $814 million more in basic skills training in reading and math; $635 million restored for summer youth jobs; and $200 million added for safe and drug-free schools. Education is a priority for the American people. They understand that we live in an age when a good wage is tied to a good education. Let us not turn our backs on the schoolchildren of America by cutting education funding so vital for them to live a secure and prosperous life in the 21st century. Mr. Speaker, I hope my Republican colleagues in the House will hear the wake-up call from Senate Republicans, rather than blindly charging ahead with education cuts that are both wrong headed and hard hearted, and that will hurt working middle-class families of this country.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, my Republican colleagues continue to confuse the onset of spring with the continuation of Halloween. They continue to masquerade as the friend of working Americans but are still the defenders of the special interests. They unveiled their new health care reform plan. They are loading down a bipartisan straightforward health care reform bill with lots of special interest goodies. Who benefits from these provisions? Is it the working families struggling to pay health care bills? No, that is not who. Their proposal would provide a financial windfall for the Golden Rule Insurance Co., providers of over $1 million in contributions to Republican political action committees. This attempt to appease special interests is particularly disappointing because it wastes an opportunity to pass real bipartisan health care reform in this Congress. Sadly, when the gavel drops to open debate on this legislation, it will mark the start of yet another auction where this Congress sells out the public interest to the special interests.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand with my colleagues to reaffirm American support for Israel in the wake of tragic bombings that have claimed nearly 60 lives. My sympathy for the families who lost loved ones in the past weeks is unlimited, as is my outrage at these barbaric acts and their perpetrators. The fanatics who have murdered innocent men, women, and children must be brought to justice. Groups such as Hamas that preach and practice acts of terror are an unacceptable presence in the civilized world. Although it is hard, we must try to draw strength from this tragedy and redouble our commitment to bring peace to the Middle East. We must let terrorists know that their cruel violence will not be rewarded. I applaud President Clinton for meeting with world leaders in Egypt to unite against terrorism and to encourage Middle East nations to rejoin the path toward peace. The United States must do all it can to support the people of Israel, further the peace process, and bring these killers to justice.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, today the House will consider yet another temporary spending bill to fund the Government. While the Republican congressional majority is operating the Government in fits and starts, they have been consistent in the targets of their cuts. Their agenda hurts working families. Just take a look at education. The bill on the House floor today will cut $3.1 billion from education. That is a $1.2 billion cut in training for basic reading and math skills. How does this help our children to succeed? It does not. It hurts our kids. In my State of Connecticut it means that over 9,000 Connecticut school kids may not get the help that they need in order to compete in the 21st century. The bill cuts assistance for college loans. That does not help working families. My colleague prior to me getting up here this morning talked about drugs. They are going to cut the money for safe and drug-free schools. My colleagues bet, actions speak louder than words. Vocational education and training cut, so that young people cannot get the opportunity to work. Let us not cheat our children out of their future. Let us try to do something that helps working families.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, the crimes of rape and incest are not about abortion, they are about violence and brutality. The language in this continuing resolution is cruel and it is senseless punishment for thousands of women who are victims of rape and incest. I only wish that this body would spend as much time working to prevent sexual assault, domestic violence, and tougher criminal prosecution of rapists as they do on the issue of choice. We should consider ways in which we can heal young girls and women who fall victim to these horrifying acts with the same ferociousness and vigilance as this body attacks a woman's right to choose.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, this continuing resolution is another chapter in the sad story that began when Newt Gingrich and his Republican colleagues took over the people's House. Their agenda hurts working families, and this bill that we are voting on today is no exception. It continues to assault on working families by cutting education by over $3 billion, the largest education cuts in the history of this country. It cuts funds to improve kids' basic reading and math skills by over a billion dollars. It slashes more than half of the funds from the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program 57 percent. That program includes the DARE Program, which is, in combination, a program with the COPS and with kids to Say No to Drugs. It also cuts college loans by almost a billion dollars. The school- to-work program that says to kids who want to go on to work and not to a 4-year liberal arts college, we recognize your aspirations and your dreams, and we want to give you a hand. This program is cut by 23 percent. Mr. Speaker, at a time when Americans are rightly anxious about their job security, at a time when we all know a good education is a key to a good job, the congressional Republicans are launching an assault on American education. In my State, these cuts are a disaster. I met with parents and educators at a school in my district. They are concerned about what these cuts will mean. Under this proposal, funding for basic skills training will be cut $8.6 million in Connecticut; $1.5 million under the Safe and Drug Free Schools will be cut as well. Let me quote a parent that I met with at the beginning of the week, Carolyn Jackson. ``The proposed cuts would eliminate students' chances of being competitive they won't make it. They won't be trained. They won't be able to go on to a trade school or to college,'' she said. These after-school programs that would be cut keep the kids off the streets. It keeps them occupied. It gives them something positive to do. If they cut that off, the only place that they will have left to go is the street. Mr. Speaker, these cuts are wrongheaded. The American dream is about education. Do not cut it off for our children.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I would respond to my colleague who just spoke about what we need the 2 weeks for. We all know what that 2 weeks is for. That is to see how we can in fact continue to try to hold this Government, this country, and the President of the United States hostage with regard to the debt limit. That has been the program all along in extending this debt limit in 2-week periods of time. Let me just say that I am going to support the proposal this morning because I believe it is the right thing to do, to have a clean debt limit to be extended. But this is an irresponsible action on the part of my Republican colleagues. This is a temporary measure. Everyone should understand that. This is for a 2-week period of time. Do not take the word ``debt limit,'' use and substitute for that ``credit rating.'' What we are discussing and talking about here today is the credit rating of the United States of America. Let me tell the Members, if the Congress or the Republican majority does not understand credit rating, working men and women in this Nation know what that is all about. When your credit rating gets muddied, you are in a bad, bad situation and you cannot get a credit in the future. That stays with you for the remainder of your life. What we are talking about here, what we are saying to Wall Street, what we are saying to Main Street, what we say to the international community, is that the United States of America will only honor its financial obligations for a 2-week period of time. After that, we will have another charade on this issue about what they might want to try to pile on, and then try, as I say, to hold the Government hostage and the President hostage. Let me just say this, that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about trying to run Government as a business. How many businesses do we know that start for 2 weeks, close down for 2 weeks, tell their vendors they will only pay them in the next 2 weeks, and after that they are on their own? Is this a way to run a business? It is not a way to run a business. It is not the way we provide trust and faith in what the American Government is all about. This is wrong.