Bob Etheridge

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a concurrent resolution recommending that the U.S. Postal Service issue a commemorative postage stamp for Johnston County's favorite daughter and one of America's most accomplished actresses, Ava Gardner. Having grown up in Johnston County myself, I am proud to introduce this legislation in Ava Gardner's memory, not only because she is a famous North Carolinian; but because she touched the lives of thousands around the globe. Despite her superstar status, Ava Gardner never forgot her humble Johnston County roots. She was born the youngest of seven children of Jonas and Mary Elizabeth Gardner in 1922 and grew up near Smithfield. When she was 13 her family moved to Newport News, Virginia, only to return to North Carolina where she attended high school in the Rock Ridge community and studied at Atlantic Christian College, which is now Barton College, in Wilson. In the summer of 1941 the Smithfield Herald told the story of Ava Gardner's trip across country to a place called Hollywood. When she arrived there, it didn't take long for the whole world to recognize what the people of Smithfield and all of North Carolina already saw-- Ava's remarkable talent. During her career, she starred in 64 films and won many honors including: A Golden Globe nomination for ``Best Actress in a Drama'' for ``Night of the Iguana'' in 1964; The Academy of Motion Pictures ``Merit for Outstanding Achievement-- Best Actress'' nomination for ``Mogambo'' in 1953; And the Look ``Film Achievement'' award for her performance in ``The Hucksters'' in 1947. She was also the first woman from North Carolina to grace the cover of Time magazine. Indeed, Ava Gardner's story is the American Dream. In addition to her success on the silver screen, Ava was a leader in the fight against cancer and worked tirelessly for more funding for research. She was also a patriot and was recognized by the U.S. Armed Forces for her spirit of public service and her performance as a guest star on the Armed Forces radio network's production of ``Victorious Lady.'' Ava Gardner was one of America's most accomplished actresses in the 20th century. She led the Hollywood golden age, shared the stage with Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Grace Kelly. She served as a goodwill ambassador to people around the globe and graciously dedicated her fame to the fight against cancer. Mr. Speaker, Ava Gardner's legacy lives on through her movies and the wonderful Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina. Being commemorated on a postage stamp is a high honor reserved for remarkable people, places, and even cartoon characters. Surely, someone as glamorous and accomplished as Ava Gardner deserves her own stamp too.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to the accomplishments and career of one of North Carolina's daughters, Mrs. Ruby Butler DeMesme. Mrs. DeMesme, a public servant of the highest order, recently retired from her post as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations and Environment after 32 years of service. Mrs. DeMesme earned her bachelor of arts degree in English from Saint Augustine's College in Raleigh in 1969. Ten years later she earned a master's degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before beginning her civil service career, Mrs. DeMesme was a highly recognized and respected expert on child and spousal abuse and adolescent programs for the Cumberland County Department of Social Services in Fayetteville. Mrs. DeMesme's career in the federal work force began in 1980 as an Army adjutant and diversion chief in Mainz, West Germany, where she led the effort to improve family support and quality of life programs. In 1989, she left the Department of the Army and served as a senior aide to former Senator John Glenn. After leaving Capitol Hill, Mrs. DeMesme returned to the Army for a brief time until her move to the Department of the Air Force in 1991, where she would work until her retirement. She was appointed and confirmed to her current post on August 13, 1998. Over her ten years with the Air Force, Mrs. DeMesme was responsible for increasing housing and station funding policies, establishing the military Transition Assistance Program, and working to ensure that the Air Force had the highest quality child development programs. She was also the catalyst behind the effort to revitalize communities affected by base closures and realignments, overhauled the military commissary and base exchange system, established policies regarding harassment and discrimination, and led the Department of Defense in military family housing privatization. Mrs. DeMesme has touched the lives of thousands of people during her distinguished career and it is fitting that we honor her today. Ruby Butler DeMesme is a true patriot who has helped maintain the best military force in the world. Today, I thank her for her years of dedicated service to our brave men and women in uniform and wish the very best for her and her family in the years to come.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, one of the Titans of North Carolina's public education system, Charles Reid Ross, a pipe-smoking gentle man who left an indelible impression on the communities and state he served, died November 12, 2000, on his birthday. He was 93. If anyone deserves to be characterized as a Renaissance man, Reid Ross earned that title. He was a teacher, school superintendent, civil rights hero, political leader, builder of schools and colleges, champion of putting art and music in schools, husband, father, friend to thousands. All were roles Reid Ross played to the hilt. ``He was very ready,'' his daughter, Sue Fields Ross, said of her father's death. ``He wanted to have a big celebration. He felt very much that he has run the race.'' ``He loved a good funeral,'' Margaret Ross, a niece, said of her uncle. ``He probably went to more funerals than anybody in North Carolina. He did it out of honor.'' Arthur Ross III, a great-nephew who helped preach at the funeral, said that if his uncle could have attended the funeral, he would probably have done ``a little politicking on the lawn,'' all on behalf of the Democratic party, and would have loved the music provided by a string quartet from the school named in his honor. Ross began his teaching career on Hatteras Island when the only way of communicating with the island was by the mail boat. He went from there to spend 40 years in the schools of Lenoir County, Harnett County, and Fayetteville. He was superintendent of schools in Harnett County for 10 years before becoming superintendent in Fayetteville in 1951, a post he would hold until his retirement in 1971. The times and man coincided when the civil rights revolution hit North Carolina. As The Fayetteville Observer said in an editorial at Ross' death, Ross ``was an educational visionary. He instinctively knew when the public education system needed to go to be viable in the future. More important, he knew how to get it there, and had the personality to do it. That gift became crucial during the years of school integration. While many school systems in the South fumbled and stagnated, schools in Fayetteville kept moving forward. He pushed for buildings and for increased funding. Politically courageous at a time when schools had been separate and unequal, he insisted that spending had to be fair and equitable.'' One observer of the period said: ``Don't ever negotiate with a man who smokes a pipe. Between the packing and re-packing and the lighting and re-lighting, he's eventually going to get his way.'' The Fayetteville newspaper went on to give Ross credit for shaping the response of other school superintendents across the state and the South. ``In fact, to look back a the best educational decisions made in the history of this community's schools is to look closely at Ross' career. If's his managed style that helped shape the standard of how school superintendents should lead. it's his personality and insight that influenced educators throughout the state. It's the people he hired and the people he inspired who, long after he retired, continued to make lasting contributions to the betterment of public education.'' Ross was responsible for building 12 schools during his years in Fayetteville. One high school named in his honor and exists today as Reid Ross Classical School. During the period involved, Ross was also a power behind the scenes in the North Carolina Education Association, at that time the organization representing most of the white educators in the state. Ross' gentle advice and courage was deeply involved in the merger of NCEA and the North Carolina Teachers Association in 1970 into the present North Carolina Association of Educators. Quietly, firmly, without fanfare, he insisted that his colleagues do the right thing. Ross' other contributions are numerous. He established sheltered works for the handicapped. He insisted that art and music had a place in the public school curriculum and eventually won that battle. He helped found the Fayetteville Industrial Education Center that became Fayetteville Technical College. He started the first girls' basketball at Fayetteville High School. He served two terms as president of the High School Athletics Association, helping to put in place many of the policies that still prevail for high school sports. Ross was a deacon and elder in Lillington Presbyterian Church. He was a charter member of the Lillington Rotary Club. And until his death, he was active in the Democratic Party and cared deeply about how the University of North of Carolina basketball team was doing. Our state has lost one of its great educational leaders. A man in the same mold as the late Terry Sanford. A man who did his duty as he saw it for the good of the fellow men and women he loved. As Ross' funeral, the Call to Worship was as he directed: ``The strife is over, the battle done. The victory of life is won. The song of triumph has begun. Alleluia.''

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Flossie Parker Barber died November 15, 2000, after a life that spanned 91 years. She was my fifth grade teacher. She was also the major influence that took a poor farm boy from Johnston County, described to him the wonderful world he would be entering, and then motivated him to set goals that were beyond his wildest dreams. She did not know the meaning of the word, ``can't,'' and she instilled that philosophy in her students. Every individual should have the opportunity to sit before a teacher of the dedication Mrs. Barber displayed. In her 34 years of teaching at the old Cleveland Union School, she was fair and honest with all her students. But she would accept from each nothing less than all the excellence each was capable of providing. She was never too busy to help a student; she loved us openly and with devotion; and she is, to me, the epitome of what constitutes a good teacher. She described to her students the better world she wanted, and ever since those days in the fifth grade, we have been attempting to build that world for her. Mrs. Barber gave truth to the old adage that a good teacher's influence never stops, that teachers affect eternity by the influence they have on their students. I was lucky to have Mrs. Barber for a teacher. I was luckier still that she became my friend and advisor when I became an adult. Mrs. Barber was a graduate of East Carolina Teachers College, now East Carolina University and was always a strong supporter of the school. Mrs. Barber was the widow of Percy D. Barber. She is survived by one son, Robert W. Barber and his wife, Elizabeth T. Barber of Clayton. She left two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A funeral service for Mrs. Barber was held at her church, Oakland Presbyterian, on November 17. Mrs. Barber had requested the following, ``A Teacher's Prayer,'' be part of her final ceremony. The prayer is by James J. Metcalf and is presented here:

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a member of my staff Mr. Patrick Devlin and his wife Helen on the birth of their first child, Master Patrick Joseph Devlin, Jr. Patrick was born on Saturday, November 11, 2000 and weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces. Faye joins me in wishing Pat and Helen great happiness during this very special time in their lives. Incidentally, Helen is a member of my colleague from Kentucky Mr. Lewis' staff and I know he joins me in celebrating this new addition to both of our extended families. As a father of three, I know the immeasurable pride and rewarding challenge that children bring into your life. Their innocence keeps you young-at-heart. Through their inquiring minds and wide-eyed wonder, they show you the world in a fresh, new way and change your perspective on life. A little miracle, a new baby holds all the potential of what human beings can achieve. In this vein, I welcome young Patrick into the world and wish Pat and Helen all the best as they raise him.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 592, H.J. Res. 123, the 13th Continuing Appropriations Resolution, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, today I congratulate Jennifer and Mark Edwards, Jr. of Raleigh, North Carolina. On October 31, 2000, they welcomed into the world a seven-pound, four once baby girl, Avery Sutton Edwards. As the father of three wonderful children myself, I know that there is nothing more wonderful and joyous than the experience of watching a child grow. I know that they will treasure every new day with their new daughter. Faye joins me in wishing the Edwards family great happiness during this very special time of their lives.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Holt motion. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) for his leadership on this important issue because my friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt), has not only been a Member representing his people but he has only been here about 2 years and he has already made a tremendous difference for his district and for this country on the issue of children. Let me say to my friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), who said he was amused, I want everybody to understand that I am not amused. I do not get amused one little bit when we are talking about issues that affect children. I was the State superintendent of my school system in North Carolina for 8 years, an office to which the people elected me twice. I do not get amused when we are talking about the needs of children. I know we talk about rhetoric, and is this a political issue? Darn right, it is a political issue. Everything we do in this body is about politics. But this is the kind of politics we ought to be dealing with for the children of this country, because they cannot vote; they cannot sit in this body. If we cannot do it, then who does it? Yes, I recognize only 7 percent of the money comes through the Federal Government, but there are places in this country where they are hurting, and they have great needs today, and we have a responsibility. Yes, we do provide money for roads; and, yes, we do provide money for prisons and a number of other things. And to say it is interstate money, the answer is, yes, it is dedicated; but there was a time when there was no money dedicated and there were those that said we ought not to be putting it in. I happen to read history, and I remember that. We can do it for our children, too, Mr. Speaker. Let me just share a couple of quick statistics before my time runs out. In my home district, there are a number of areas, and I am in a district where we have spent a lot of money and we have raised taxes to build schools. We have 55 trailers in the small county of Franklin that is struggling now to meet their needs; 16 in Granville; 41 in my home county of Harnett; 98 in Lee; 40 in Nash County; 162 in Sampson; 76 in Wilson; a total of 530 in our capital county, and they are working hard. Yes, this is an issue we ought to deal with; and yes, this Congress ought to act. I ran for this office 4 years ago because I was tired of the Republican leadership in this Congress at that time who wanted to close down the Department of Education, close school lunch programs. It was cynical against education. We have changed our rhetoric, yes; we have changed it, but there is still a deep resistance to helping public education. We should come together. We should not be here arguing about these issues. Children are not Democrats nor Republicans. They are children. And we can help. We have the resources to do it. Now is the time to act. We do not need to put it off until next year. We should not put it off until next year because if we put it off until next year, there are going to be children in cramped quarters; and we will not be able to reduce the class sizes the way we ought to to teach them properly, and I am here to tell my colleagues that children know the difference between a quality facility and a poor one. How do we tell a child that quality education is important, and we then send them to a run-down school? They know better. No, it is not our total responsibility, but we can sure help. We can provide the leadership and show the way, and I think this Congress ought to do it. I am willing to do my part, and I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, it is interesting, as I listen to the debate today, this is the same debate that I heard over 4 years ago when I decided to run for this body, because I was so disgusted as a State superintendent at a Republican leadership that was going to abolish the Department of Education, reduce school lunches, and the list is long. That would have directly impacted in the most negative of ways the children of this country. Now we are saying we do not really need to put in school construction. We will do this; we will do that. Let me explain to my colleagues very quickly, if I may, because the Republican leadership's tactic, in my opinion, may have changed. But their cynical game is the same. Back then, the revolutionaries wanted to do all the things I have talked about. Today they continue to play politics by blocking what I think is a bipartisan piece of legislation to build schools. Bottom line, $25 billion will build schools. Local units will determine where it is. All we do is pay the interest. Let me tell my colleagues what one of the House leadership Members said yesterday. We are winning the education debate. That is not my words. They are published in today's Record. Mr. Speaker, let me say this loud and clear. Our children are too important to fall victim to partisan politics. Bottom line, the quality of education that we provide our children today will literally determine the future of the kind of Nation that we are going to have in the 21st century. This is not a game. Despite the cynical politics the Republican leadership is talking about, this is about our children. The stakes are high. I say let us pass it. I support this. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Lowey motion. It is long past time for this Congress to do the right thing on school construction. Four years ago, I sought this office because I was sick and tired of watching Republican politicians in Washington playing politics with our children's future. The Republican leadership's tactics may have changed, but their cynical game is still the same. Back then, the Republican revolutionaries were trying to cut school lunches, slash student loans and shut down the entire Education Department. Today, they continue to play politics by blocking our bipartisan school construction bill because their goal is partisan politics. The House Republican Leader yesterday said, ``we are winning the education debate.'' Mr. Speaker, let me say this loud and clear: our children are too important to fall victim to partisan politics. The quality of the education we provide our children today will literally determine the kind of nation we will become in the 21st century. This is not a game, despite the cynical politics of the Republican leaders. This is about what kind of future our children are going to have in this country. The stakes could not be higher. Right now, we have a crisis in this country. Throughout America children are stuffed into overcrowded classrooms, trapped in run-down schools and stuck in makeshift trailers. We in this Congress have an opportunity and a responsibility about this crisis by passing meaningful school construction legislation for our children. I call on the Republican leadership to call off their partisan tactics and pass the bipartisan school construction bill--now.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to continue my call for this Congress to pass real school construction legislation without further delay. We have missed opportunity after missed opportunity, and it is time to stop playing partisan games and pass a meaningful bill to address this urgent priority. Madam Speaker, as a Congressman from the Second Congressional District of North Carolina, I represent an area of the country that has undergone tremendous growth in recent years. In communities throughout my county and my district, our schools are bursting at the seams. The same can be said for this country. Our local communities are struggling to provide resources to build new schools and to get our children out of trailers and to fix up rundown school buildings. Throughout my district, students in overflowing schools are being packed in trailers that are years old and long past their use. As an example, in Franklin County, 55 trailers; in Granville County, 16; Harnett County, 41; Johnston County, 98; Lee County, 40; Nash-Rocky Mount, 162; Sampson County/Clinton City schools, 76; Wilson, 34; and Wake County, a whooping 530. That would not be such an astounding number, except for the fact our State has passed a $1.8 billion bond issue and each county has borrowed money and worked as hard as they could. The problem is, we are the fourth fastest growing state for students in the country. Congress must act now to help get these children out of trailers. For nearly 4 years now I have worked with my colleagues in this House on both sides of the political aisle to provide leadership on this issue and pass a common sense bill that will help our local folks deal with this critical problem. We have come together in support of H.R. 4094, the bipartisan Rangel- Johnson bill that has a number of sponsors. This important bill will provide $25 billion in school construction bonds for our local schools to build new schools for our children and renovate others. Madam Speaker, the clear majority of this House is in support of this piece of legislation. 228 Members, Republicans and Democrats alike have signed on as cosponsors. The House will pass this bill, if we can only get a chance to vote on it. The President has stated that he will sign this important bill into law the minute it reaches his desk. We have an opportunity to provide real leadership and pass this measure that will help further educational progress for all the children in this country. But, unfortunately, the Republican leadership of this House has chosen to choose a path of confrontation and gridlock over the opportunity for consensus and progress. Rather than working together to produce a common sense solution to the need for school construction, the Republican leadership brought to this floor yesterday a bill that contained a sham school construction measure. Madam Speaker, the Members of this House have an obligation, a solemn responsibility, to work together to craft common sense solutions to the problems facing America's people. But, rather than meet this responsibility, Republican leadership has chosen to pass a sham proposal and a bill they know would be vetoed. The Republican tax bill contains many provisions that I support, but the sad fact is they chose to include many good provisions in a fundamentally flawed bill. In addition, the leadership yesterday pushed through an appropriations bill that provided $687 million in grants to states to build prisons. Now, I support the need for prisons in certain areas, but prisons should not be a higher priority than our schools for our children. What does it say about our values that we can pass millions of dollars in prison aid, yet leave our children in overcrowded schools, trapped in rundown facilities and stuck in trailers? Prisons ought not to be nicer than our schools. In conclusion, remain an optimist. We still have time to pass a school construction bill before we adjourn this Congress, and I urge the Republican leadership to allow us to do so.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, today I celebrate and honor the public service of Georgia Lee O'Quinn Brown of Harnett County, North Carolina. Mrs. Brown has served as the County Clerk of Harnett County Superior Court for over thirty years and is now retiring. Georgia Lee O'Quinn was born on July 27, 1938 to the late Flora Lee Holloway O'Quinn and Nelson Carl O'Quinn. She graduated from Boone Trail High School in 1956. Later that year, she married the late Wesley Hal Brown, with whom she has three children and six grandchildren. Mrs. Brown began her faithful service to North Carolina in 1956 when she was hired as a clerk in the Office of Harnett County Clerk of Superior Court. Nearly half a century later, she is retiring. Mrs. Brown has held many offices in the Association of Clerks of Superior Court of North Carolina, including the office of president in 1992-93. She received appointments to serve as a member of a committee that revised the Juvenile Justice Procedures Manual and the Clerks Procedure Manual and has served on various state committees relating to the office of Clerk of Superior Court. With her wealth of experience and knowledge, Mrs. Brown was an obvious choice for appointment to the Judicial Advisory Commission for Court Operations. In 1998, Chief Justice Burley Mitchell appointed Mrs. Brown to this Commission where she served until November of 1999. Mrs. Brown's leadership may also be seen through her unfaltering commitment to service throughout the community. She has been a member of the Harnett County Democratic Women, the National College of Probate Judges, the Board of Directors of North Carolina Baptist Foundation, and more. Her many contributions to her community did not go unnoticed by those around her and in 1981, she was named Woman of the Year by the Lillington Business and Professional Women's Club. In 1987 she was recognized as Democrat of the Year by the Young Democrats of Harnett County. Mrs. Brown has served as a role model and an inspiration for all those around her. She is an active member for the Antioch Baptist Church serving as an adult Sunday School teacher president of Women on Missions. She has exemplified the principles of service and generosity through her numerous contributions and strong commitment to the community. Georgia Lee O'Quinn Brown embodies the North Carolina values my constituents hold dear, and I want to take this opportunity to share with my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives the outstanding contributions of this fine American.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to continue to call on this Congress to pass a real school construction legislation without delay, before our adjournment for the year. We have missed opportunities after opportunities to stop our partisan wrangling and pass a meaningful bill and reach the priorities that we need to reach with this legislation. Mr. Speaker, as a Congressman from North Carolina's Second Congressional District, I represent an area of the country that has undergone some tremendous growth over the last several years. In communities throughout my district and across this country, our schools are bursting at the seams. Our local communities are struggling to provide resources to build new schools and to repair old ones and get children out of trailers and just fix up old, run-down buildings. For nearly 4 years now, I have worked with my colleagues in the House on both sides of the political aisle to provide leadership on this important issue and pass a common sense bill that will help our local schools deal with this critical problem. We have come together to support H.R. 4094, the Rangel-Johnson-Etheridge bill that is sponsored by the Republican Congresswoman from Connecticut and my friend from New York. This important bill will provide $25 billion in school construction bonds for our local communities to build schools for our children. It really provides national leadership on this issue that is critical to the American people. Mr. Speaker, a clear majority of the Members of this House have supported H.R. 4094. 228 Members, Democrats and Republicans alike, have signed on as cosponsors. The House will pass this bill if we can only get a chance to vote on it. The President has stated that he will sign this important legislation the minute it reaches his desk. We have an opportunity to provide real leadership and pass this measure to help provide educational opportunities for our children. But unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Republican leadership of this House has chosen the path of confrontation and gridlock over the opportunity for consensus and progress. Rather than working together to produce a common sense solution to the need for school construction, the Republican leadership brought to the floor today a bill that was a sham of a school construction measure. Instead of fully funding the cost- effective Rangel-Johnson bill, the Republican leadership's bill would shift funds to much less effective arbitrage relief and private activity bonds. The arbitrage proposal would provide schools with only $24 per $1,000 in bonds compared with $624 per $1,000 in bonds in the Rangel-Johnson bill. In addition, because schools would have to delay construction for at least 2 years to receive any benefits, areas with the most urgent need would not be able to build the buildings that they need. The private activity bonds benefit only those schools available to find a for-profit company willing to pay up-front construction costs. Neither arbitrage nor private activity bonds target assistance to the schools that so badly need it today. Mr. Speaker, the Members of this House have an obligation, a solemn responsibility in my opinion to work together to craft common sense solutions to the problems facing America's schools. But, rather, we do not work hard to meet the responsibility that is before us. The Republican leadership has chosen to pass a sham proposal, a bill that is truly going to be vetoed. They knew it was going to be vetoed when it passed today. The Republican tax bill contains many provisions that I supported, but the sad fact is the Republican leadership chose to include many good provisions in a fundamentally flawed bill. In addition, the leadership today pushed through an appropriations bill that provides $687 million in grants to States to build prisons. Mr. Speaker, I supported that provision because we probably need to build some, but to me it is the wrong priority to pass prisons before we build schools. In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I remain an optimist. We still have time to pass a real school construction bill before this Congress adjourns and I urge the Republican leadership to do so.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to talk for just a few minutes about an issue that is critical not only to my district, but to communities and children all across this country. This issue is school construction. I am pleased that several of my Democratic colleagues have agreed to join me this evening to talk about school construction and other priorities in the Democrats' education agenda. I shall restrict my remarks mostly to school construction. Today is October 25. The fiscal year started October 1; and yet, the Republican leadership of this House has failed to do its work and get the work done for the American people. To put it in school terms, they are tardy and they are incomplete. They have failed the test of leadership for the American people. Today, the House passed a stopgap spending measure to keep the government from shutting down for one more day. This is the fifth time this year that we have had to pass one of these bills just because the leadership, the Republican leadership has failed to get the people's work done. Specifically, they have failed to act on important educational priorities, like the bipartisan school construction bill that is desperately needed in communities all across this country. The bill would provide $25 billion in school construction bonds to build new schools, renovate them, and to relieve overcrowding, reduce class size, and enhance the opportunity for discipline in the classroom and improve education by making sure that all of our children get the kind of individual attention that they need to learn. Mr. Speaker, I have been working with my colleagues on both sides of the political aisle to pass this bill since I first came to this people's house 4 years ago. We have gathered more than 228 members on H.R. 4094; and yet, the Republican leadership has refused to simply bring this bill to a vote. As this Congress crawls to its conclusion, more than 3 weeks late, the educational funding bill is the very last priority of the Republican leadership. While education languishes under the threats of cuts and the current congressional leadership has loaded up the appropriations bill with special interest pork, we are still waiting. Last week, I told this body about a Senator from Arizona's observation that the leadership's pork has swelled each of the spending bills that have been passed. For example, he pointed out that the transportation appropriation contains some $700 million in transportation earmarks for the Chicago Metropolitan Transit Authority in the home State of the Speaker of the House. The transportation appropriations bill also earmarked $102 million for a bridge across the Mississippi River in the home State of the majority leader of the other body. A senior Republican appropriations member got $1.5 million to refurbish something called the Vulcan Statue in Alabama. Today, I was shocked to read in the paper that one of the Republican appropriation members describing the raid on the U.S. Treasury by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The House Republican described items like $1.25 million for repairs to a church, $176,000 for a Reindeer Herders Association for somewhere in southeastern Alaska. That Republican concluded by saying, ``You need a cargo plane to carry all of this money back.'' Mr. Speaker, each of these projects may very well merit Federal support. These projects may not be the big spending Federal pork that they appear to be. I am not an expert on these items. But as a former State superintendent of the State of North Carolina, I know that our local neighborhood schools need our help. Our schools are bursting at the seams, and our communities do not have the resources to build or repair and provide the quality schools that our children need. As a result, children are stuffed into overcrowded classrooms, substandard facilities and rickety trailers that they should not be in. My Republican colleagues like to talk about block grants, but when it comes to their own special projects, they are not shy about adding earmarks, and all of us in this body know what earmarks are. They are directed projects to be spent specifically for that purpose. If they were not so important, why did they not just put them in the transportation bill and let them decide at the local level how to spend the money. When it comes to roads, airports, bridges and prisons, special interest pork is powerful when it comes to powerful politicians. Mr. Speaker, we should be able to come up with common sense legislation to build a few schools for the children in this country, and I think H.R. 4094 is that common sense bill. Mr. Speaker, I call on the Members to pass it and pass it now. Prisons ought not to be nicer than our schools. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to remind my colleagues that the bills we passed here are much more important than the abstract arguments about outlays and budget authority. These bills reflect our values, and these bills demonstrate what our priorities are.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, today I celebrate and honor the life of Mr. Kenneth ``Deacon'' Jones of Smithfield, NC. Mr. Jones is a talented business leader, a respected community figure, and a dedicated family man. As a member of the Johnston County Board of Education, Mr. Jones is known for placing a strong emphasis on the value of education and for his extensive service and leadership in the community. Through his commitment to goodness and generosity, Mr. Jones is truly a driving force for excellence in education in the Johnston County School System. Bobby Kenneth Jones was born to the late Reverend Clyde W. Jones and Mrs. Mary Brooks Jones. He graduated from Princeton High School in 1958, after having played on the baseball and basketball teams, including the basketball team that achieved a 32-1 record and was runner up in the Eastern North Carolina Championship in 1958. It was during his high school years that ``Deacon'' became his nickname. The other kids, in fun, called him ``Deacon'' because his father was a minister. The name has remained with him to this day. Mr. Jones married Faye Woodall in 1961, and today they are the proud parents of three children and three grandchildren. In 1970, Mr. Jones ventured out into the business world and became co-owner of D&D Motor Company, selling used cars. Only 3 years later, he established Princeton Auto Sales, and today he owns several dealerships, employing more than 150 people. A fair and compassionate employer, his favorite slogan for business, as well as for life is, ``Treat people the way you want to be treated.'' Mr. Jones' generosity and fairness may also be seen through his unfaltering dedication to service and leadership throughout the community. He has served as a member on countless boards, including the Board of Directors at Lee and Mount Olive Colleges, the North Carolina Economic Development Board, and the Johnston County Board of Education. He is a member and past president of the Princeton Lions Club, the Princeton PTO, and the Princeton Boosters Club. He has financially sponsored many school projects, including the Academic Super Bowl, the Battle of the Books, the Special Olympics, and more. His Alma Mater, Princeton High, has greatly benefited from his support of the Future Farmers of America, the Band and Chorus, athletic groups, and other school organizations. Mr. Kenneth ``Deacon'' Jones has served as a role model and an inspiration for all those around him. He has exemplified the principles of service and generosity through his numerous contributions and strong commitment to the community. Deacon Jones embodies the North Carolina values my constituents hold dear, and I want to take this opportunity to share with my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives the outstanding contributions of this fine American.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to speak this evening on an issue that is critically important for communities throughout my district and across this country and that is school construction. I am pleased to be joined this evening by several of my Democratic colleagues in a series of special order speeches to call on the Republican leadership to pass real school construction legislation before this Congress adjourns. Since the beginning of my service in the United States House nearly 4 years ago, I worked hard with members of both bodies across the partisan aisle to craft a creative legislative response to the urgent problem of overcrowded schools, run-down facilities and the widespread use of trailers and closets as classrooms. Mr. Speaker, across my district and many places in this country, our schools are bursting at the seams. Just about every day I hear from teachers, parents, students and others that the need for better schools for our children to learn and teachers to teach are desperately needed. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that so many Members have come together to support a common sense bipartisan piece of legislation to address this problem. H.R. 4094, the Rangel-Johnson-Etheridge bill, has enjoyed the support of 228 cosponsors in the House, Republicans and Democrats alike. This important bill would provide about $25 billion in new school construction bonds for communities throughout this country. We now have a clear majority of the Members in the U.S. House who will vote for this bill if we can just get it to the floor for a vote; but, unfortunately, the Republican leadership continues to keep it tied up in committee. Mr. Speaker, this refusal to act on this common sense bipartisan bill to build and renovate schools stands in sharp contrast to the blatant manipulation of the appropriations bills to bring pork back to their home districts. For example, the Transportation appropriations bill is full of earmarked projects for the House districts of powerful Members of the Republican leadership. Senator John McCain of the other body stood on that floor, and I quote, said ``there were over $700 million in transit earmarks in the Chicago Metropolitan Transit Authority in the home district of the Speaker of the House, and yet the Republican leadership refuses to allow an up and down vote on our modest proposal to provide tax credits to help finance just a few neighborhood schools.'' The Transportation appropriations bill also reported earmarks of $102 million for something called the U.S. 82 Bridge across the Mississippi River in Greenville, Mississippi, in the home State of the majority leader of the other body; and yet the Republican leadership of this Congress refuses to have a vote for simple school construction for the children of this country. Mr. Speaker, as the former chairman of my State's House Committee on Appropriations, I know well the need for government investment in certain projects to help give people a hand up, but I also know that budgets and appropriations represent more than just items on the balance sheet. They represent our values. What does it say about the values of this Congress that the leadership refuses to allow a vote on a bipartisan school construction bill, while at the same time it loads up must-pass bills with these special-interest pork projects? The Interior appropriations bill contains many special items earmarked. For example, there is $500,000 for a National First Ladies Library in Ohio for a senior ranking member. It contains $176,000 for the Reindeer Herders Association, and it contains $1.5 million to refurbish the Vulcan Statue in Alabama. Mr. Speaker, these projects may have their merit. I am not an expert on every line item in an appropriations bill; but as the former superintendent of my State schools, I do know that our schools are bursting at the seams. Our communities need our help to help build and modernize schools, reduce classroom sizes and relieve overcrowding and enhance good order and discipline in classrooms and improving education for all of our children. H.R. 4094 will not solve all of our problems, but it is a good step in the right direction; and I urge the Republican leadership of this House to bring this common sense bill to the floor without further delay and let us pass it.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, today I celebrate the life and memory of Mr. Thomas J. Lassiter of Smithfield, NC. Mr. Lassiter was a talented and influential journalist, a respected community figure, and a dedicated family man. As a journalist and editor of the Smithfield herald, Mr. Lassiter was widely known for his bold and careful thought and for taking sometimes umpopular, yet morally correct positions on issues of the day. History has proven that Thomas Lassiter was truly a man before his time. Thomas James Lassiter, Jr. was born on August 21, 1911, to Thomas and Rena Lassiter, and graduated from Duke University in 1932. After taking a year to play jazz trombone with the Jelly Leftwich orchestra, Mr. Lassiter returned to Smithfield to join his mother at the herald, where she was serving as editor. He remained at the paper for not quite half a century until his retirement in 1980. During the 1940's, 50's, and 60's. Lassiter gained fame for his strong editorials on racial justice and his opinions on local and international issues. He also served as president of the North Carolina Press Association in 1951-52, and in 1982 was elected to the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame. Mr. Lassiter also taught journalism at the University of North Carolina from 1948 to 1953. By virtue of the words he wrote in the Smithfield herald, Mr. Lassiter was already a public figure, but he also was motivated to serve his community through action. Over the years, he served as chairman or president of the Smithfield Library Board of Trustees, the Smithfield Chamber of Commerce, the local chapter of the North Carolina Symphony Society, and the Smithfield Kiwanis Club. He was also a leader at Smithfield First Baptist Church, as superintendent of Sunday school and church history. Mr. Lassiter was also committed to his family. Together he and Elizabeth, his wife of 61 years, raised two children who gave him four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Mr Speaker, before I close I want to read a quote form one of Mr. Lassiter's editorials. I believe it summarizes the greatness and vision of his work and gives us an idea of the intellect Mr. Lassiter possessed. This excerpt taken from an article titled ``A Regrettable Rift'' was written after some African American citizens were denied the right to register to vote in the 1945 Smithfield primary election. All the Negroes who presented themselves for registration-- more than 75 of them--were turned down, while only two whites were denied the privilege of getting their names in the book. Racial discrimination is on the way out in America and the sooner the people generally recognizing that fact the better it will be for whites as well as Negroes. Racial discrimination is on the way out because it is fundamentally wrong. It is contrary to the very heart of the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is contrary to the highest concept of democracy. It is specially forbidden by the Constitution of the United States. Negroes pay taxes; they are subject to the same laws that govern whites; they are drafted into the armed forces; they shed their blood on the battlefields alongside of white soldiers. If they are asked to spill their blood for democracy, can we honorably deny them the right to share in the democracy for which they fight? How long will the Negroes refrain from militancy or belligerency in their struggle for basic rights? That depends upon how soon the majority race frees itself from deep-rooted prejudices and refrains from denying Negroes fundamental democratic privileges which are guaranteed them by the highest law in the land. Twenty years before the Voting Rights Act, the extraordinary editorial was bold, visionary and courageous. Mr. Speaker, Thomas J. Lassiter left us a legacy of words and actions that inspire us to improve our society, serve our local community, and uphold the honor of our families. I am honored to share his story and celebrate his legacy with this House today.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, Harnett County and the town of Coats lost one of its most indefatigable education, civic, and business leaders with the death on May 16, 2000, of Murry Ormand Phillips. His lifetime resume of accomplishments could well do credit to 10 men. Born in 1913 in a Mississippi county that the U.S. Department of Commerce ranked the poorest in the entire United States, Mr. Phillips turned to education as a way out, eventually gaining entrance to Mississippi State University, where he graduated with a degree in vocational agriculture and a commission as a 2d Lieutenant in the Army Reserve. His graduation came in the midst of the Great Depression when jobs were almost nonexistent. The university placement center offered one opportunity--a teaching job in far off Coats, NC. Mr. Phillips set off for North Carolina and a lifelong love affair with his adopted state. The teaching job in Coats turned out to be teaching vocational agriculture at Coats High School in the mornings and vocational agriculture in Angier in the afternoons. Mr. Phillips proved very popular with his students, so much so that one student introduced the teacher to a sister, Kathryn Stewart Smith. The two young people were married a year later. The marriage was to produce a daughter and a son. Mrs. Phillips died in 1998. Mr. Phillips' career was interrupted by World War II. He entered active duty on February 14, 1942, barely 2 months after Pearl Harbor. He was to serve under Gen. George S. Patton and Gen. Mark Clark and see action in North Africa and Italy. He participated in the landing of Allied forces on Anzio Beach. His military record was a distinguished one. Mr. Phillips was a liaison officer, company commander, and a headquarters executive officer, among other assignments. He received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the American and Silver Star, European Service medals, the Legion of Merit Award, a Presidential Unit Citation, six campaign stars and two commendations for meritorious service, one from the Army and one from the Navy. One citation for battlefield merit detailed how Mr. Phillips ``disregarded his personal welfare and safety by carrying'' a message ``through artillery fire in an exposed one-fourth ton truck.'' He also received an Army commendation for his teaching methods in training tank commanders. After the war, Mr. Phillips came home to Coats. He remained a member of the Army Reserve, eventually retiring as a Major. But it was to be in his chosen profession, education, that Mr. Phillips would make his greater contribution. Almost immediately upon his return to Coats, he began a night carpentry class for veterans. More than 1,500 veterans were to pass through that carpentry class. He and his agricultural students constructed a new agricultural building and later built and operated a cannery on the school grounds for use by the community every summer. Mr. Phillips' educational career had many highlights. He taught vocational agriculture in Harnett County for more than 28 years, worked for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for more than 10 years as a curriculum specialist and supervisor for curriculum development, and designed the course of study for several divisions in vocational education. He wrote, photographed, and developed a fourth grade curriculum for the study of North Carolina that included a resume of six sound color filmstrips with a teacher's text and guide to utilization. He worked closely with NC State University, an institution from which he received the Master's Degree in 1958, over a period of 25 years and supervised some 100 student teachers during that period. He received many honors for his activities. He received the Honorary American Farmer Degree in 1958, the highest honor that a vocational agriculture instructor can receive. He won the Teacher of Teachers Silver Award in 1968 from the National Vocational Agricultural Teachers Association. Former students established an ``M.O. Phillips Scholarship'' in 1966, and a day was set aside in Coats as M.O. Phillips Day with a large celebration and life story at the Coats school. This scholarship is given each year to an outstanding student who has been accepted to attend a four-year college or university. North Carolina State University award him its ``Outstanding Alumni Award'' posthumously in 1999-2000. Mr. Phillips was active in all agriculture associations as well as the North Carolina Association of Educators and the National Education Association. One of his enduring gratifications was that he was a member of the Future Farmers of America nominating committee that nominated Jim Hunt for FFA president. Hunt won, then later went on to serve as North Carolina Governor for 16 years. Under Mr. Phillips' leadership, the Coats FFA chapter won more honors than any other chapter in North Carolina. The chapter received the ``Gold Service Award'' twice, the highest award given by the national organization. A total of 23 Future Farmers received the ``American Farmer Degree,'' under Mr. Phillips' leadership. Mr. Phillips was executive secretary of Meredith Publishing Company's Successful Farmers Teaching Aids for 13 years. As executive secretary, he recommended to the publisher what aides were to be published monthly and from those recommendations would prepare the monthly teaching aid kits which Successful Farming mailed to some 5,000 vocational education teachers each month. A lover of roses, he was the publication's rose editor for 13 years. In 1994, Governor Hunt gave Mr. Phillips the ``Governor's Volunteer Award'' for his activities. Those activities included service to the American Legion, the Lions Club, the Chamber of Commerce, the Coats Development Group, and the Coats Senior Citizens Center, as well as numerous other civic endeavors. Mr. Phillips was founding member of the Coats Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He was named ``Coats Man of the Year'' in 1983 and was a grand marshal of the Coats 85th Farmers Day Parade in 1997. He was also a charter member of the Coats Lions Club and the Coats Senior Citizens Center. A member of Coats Baptist Church for 64 years, Mr. Phillips taught Sunday school for 45 years and was Sunday school superintendent for 26 years. He was a deacon for 40 years and chairman of the Baptist Men for 11 years. He served as a tour escort for a tour group formed at the church and made some 30 trips with the group. He was a popular speaker in both Methodist and Baptist churches in North Carolina and in his home state of Mississippi. Mr. Phillips survivors include one daughter and son-in-law, Carolyn S. and Ben Spears of Greensboro; one son and daughter-in-law, Murry T. and Dora Phillips of Dunn; one sister, Evelyn Collier, five grandchildren and one great granddaughter. If an individual's role is to leave the world a better place than he found it, Murry Ormand Phillips did an inestimable job. When his country was threatened, he rallied to the colors. When courage was called for, he responded. When his community needed vision, he supplied it. When students needed inspiration, he offered it. When children needed an adult model from whom they could learn, he was always available. Coats and North Carolina have lost an outstanding citizen. But we can thank a Kind Providence that placed us on the same highway of life as this good man.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for the reauthorization of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. I urge the House to pass this vital legislation as soon as possible. Although the House Republican Leadership has inexcusably delayed bringing up this bill until four days before the law was due to expire, I am very pleased that we finally have the opportunity to act on this important measure. Last month, I had the opportunity to visit domestic violence and sexual assault shelters in my district to see firsthand how the federal government plays a key role in the fight against domestic violence. I personally met with victims, and I spoke directly with the Directors of these shelters that provide refuge and crisis-management services to thousands of women, children and families in my district who have suffered from domestic violence and sexual assault. Kim Gauss, the director of the Wesley Shelter in Wilson County, North Carolina, spoke to me of the importance of taking programs into our nation's schools. Both Ms. Gauss and Ms. Susan King, the Executive Director of Haven Shelter in Lee County, North Carolina emphasized the importance of educating our youth about the cyclical effects of violence. Although children may not bear obvious bruises and scars, those who witness violence inside their homes learn that anger equals violence and that too often adults use violence to solve problems. These children often experience severe anxiety and helplessness and they often have problems with anger management and almost always have a marked decrease in school performance. By educating and empowering our children and giving them the tools and resources they need to combat the damaging physical and psychological effects of violence, we can increase the likelihood that the cycle of violence will end with them. Without this funding, many shelters like those in my rural district of Eastern North Carolina would be unable to provide the essential crisis and preventative services our communities so desperately need. Many would be forced to shut their doors altogether. This past year, the State of North Carolina received $3.5 million in funding under the Violence Against Women Act. This funding provided shelters like the Haven and Wesley Shelters in North Carolina with the necessary resources to cope with family violence and sexual assault. And it allowed shelters like My Sister's House in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and the SAFE shelter in Lillington, North Carolina to serve thousands of North Carolina residents. Reauthorization of this Act is an essential step in our battle against violence. Through the community-based services they provide, domestic violence and sexual assault shelters across the nation strengthen the social fabric that binds all of us together. Gone forever should be the days when domestic violence was swept under the rug as a family matter. Domestic violence is not just a family matter. Domestic violence is a crime. It is a crisis, and there is no excuse for failure to act. I call on my colleagues to vote to pass this important bill without a delay. America's families are depending on it.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. If the gentleman would yield, I have a letter here that was a letter to the editor. It was in our State paper, the News & Observer, just this morning on this very issue. A teacher had written a letter talking about class size and how important class size is, and in addition to that, how important it is to have a classroom large enough to teach. My colleagues know we will hear so many people talk about, well, this school was fine when I was there. It was a different world then. We were talking earlier about high tech and our people in the business community, not only just high tech, the people who work, run small businesses. It is important for them to have a well-educated employee who comes in, but it is important also for them to understand that their business is different than it was 25 years ago, and so are our schools and so are their needs. But this parent said, her name is Kimberly Clay, in Raleigh, North Carolina, she said, just a few days ago I visited my daughter's class. She happens to be a 4th grader. She had 31 students in the classroom, 31, and those children come with any multitude of issues. The gentleman talked about those who come from different backgrounds, and that is true; and we have children who need special help in languages, specialty help as a result of a number of disabilities they might have; but the other side of it is also a number of students who may come to school sick, we sort of forget that sometimes, simply because the parents cannot afford to put them in daycare, and they have to work and the teachers have to handle that. Medication has to be dispensed and the list goes on and on. I do not think we have a lot of colleagues who really understand that today, what we really place on the shoulders of a teacher; and then we say to them, but we want you to turn out the best students in the world, and we want them to be better than they have ever been; and by the way, we cannot control your salaries up here, so we are not going to pay you too much, but we still want you to do a good job. This parent was saying, it is impossible, talking about this teacher being able to teach them with all they need to do, and nurture 31 children. It is impossible for the teacher, who is excellent, let me repeat that again, the teacher, who she has already identified as an excellent teacher, to address those children's needs, let alone the remainder of the class. Because there were a couple of children with very special needs in this class. And she talks about Wake County, which is a county this was written about. They subsequently improved their test scores, and they have been over the last several years one of the leading ones in our State; and she talks about the need for better facilities. The facilities are inadequate as we continue to increase student enrollment. I think we have a lot of colleagues who forget that. We talk about needs, but we forget enrollments are the largest today in America they have ever been in the history of this country. Fifty-three million students are in our public schools today, as a result of what we call the baby boom echo. That means the baby boom who is having babies. And if my colleagues will remember, Secretary Riley has released a report that over the next 10 years that number is going to grow even more dramatically, and in my home State of North Carolina, the projections are that we will be the fourth fastest-growing State in America for students in that age group. We are growing fast now. We have children in closets and converted gyms. You name it, they are there. It is very difficult to teach. One of the real challenges, and I saw it this morning on the local news here in D.C., a Maryland school, where we are starting, and it happens in North Carolina I am sure it happens in Indiana and if the Members will check in their home schools, they will find it is happening all across America because our schools are getting bigger. And they were built years ago. We have not increased the size of the media center. We used to call them libraries. We have not increased the size of the cafeteria where children have lunch. Can my colleagues imagine a small child having to eat lunch at 10 o'clock in the morning? And that happens in this country. It happens in my home county, my home State; and we passed a $1.8 billion bond issue, incidentally, at the State level in 1996 to help the local units, and they are raising taxes to build schools, but they are growing so rapidly across America that they need help.

Mr. ETHERIDGE. I want to thank my friend and colleague the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) for yielding and secondly for hosting this special order today. I was seated there as the dialogue was going on and could not help but think, when I was the State superintendent of schools in North Carolina back in 1996 contemplating running for Congress, I could not help but think it is amazing what a few years have done to the dialogue in this body. In 1996, I was so irritated as State superintendent trying to work in my State of North Carolina with 1.1 million children and listening to the teachers and administrators so beaten down here in Congress, talking about abolishing the Department of Education, doing away with child nutrition, cutting moneys, block granting, all those things that scared the people to death who were out there nurturing and caring for children, many of whom came to school each day to the safest place that they would arrive, and we have talked about that, where the teachers had to feed them breakfast and love them before they could teach them because unfortunately they did not get the kind of nurturing that every child did have to come. It is good to know now we are having more dialogue now across the aisle about the ability of this Congress to do something. I am glad our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are starting to pay some attention. I hope that before we finish this 106th Congress that we will heed to a number of the issues that have been addressed already but which I will not try to repeat. But I think it is important, a number of the pieces that you have worked on and been a cosponsor on. The whole issue of character education that we have included not only in higher education but now we have included in the reauthorization act. I thank the gentleman for his help on that. We have used it in North Carolina and it absolutely works in increasing academic achievement and reducing discipline in our schools. I sought this office when I came to Washington for only one reason and really one reason only. I wanted to come and help change the tone of the debate. I wanted to help make education work at the national level. Since I have been here and was sworn in, I have worked, as the gentleman knows, with my colleagues really on both sides of the aisle to help shape, where I could, meaningful legislation that will help our communities do a number of things, one of which that you are a cosponsor of as are, I think, most of the Members who have been here today, the truth is about 228 Members have now signed on to a bill for school construction. All these things. New teachers. We are talking about 100,000 teachers we have to fund this time, and I happen to believe we ought to fund those teachers and not block grant it. Funding for teachers, that is what parents tell me they need. I got a letter out of my local paper today that I am going to share with our friends in a few moments. But it is so important that we make sure that we help build schools and we do help reduce class sizes. The gentleman and his wife have several children. How would you like to be teaching 28 or 30 of them in your house each day?

Mr. ETHERIDGE. I think the gentleman is right, and as the gentleman knows, we have a number of things we are working on, one of which the gentleman is a part of. I have introduced legislation, a number of others have, there was one yesterday the Rangel-Johnson-Etheridge bill for school construction at the Federal level providing that at the Federal level we will only pay the interest, $25 billion, to be allocated across the country. The local units will sell those bonds, build the buildings to help give that relief. Because in a lot of places, the real problem the schools have is space. Teachers are a problem. Space is a problem. All these other things are a problem, but even if we allocate the 100,000 teachers, we have to do it hand in hand with the locals and help them build the space; and I think it is absolutely imperative that we do it. During the recess, we released the report, not unlike the report mentioned by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), on K through 3 showing the number of schools, classrooms that had more than the 18 optimum we are trying to get to in K through 3. What we found out, there was over 90 percent. Now, I mentioned the gentleman's children and mine earlier, we love all three of ours. And they were great youngsters. They were great youngsters, and they are outstanding young people today. But I shudder to think if I had to teach them everyday and I had 28 or 30 of them with their varying personalities as bright as they are and their different interests, I admire the teachers. God gave us mothers, and that was great. But he also gave us teachers, and that is even better. Because they are great people; they deserve our admiration and all of our praise. I visited one school, and I will not forget it, I went in. They had so many trailers on the campus they called it the trailer park. Now, teachers can teach in that, but the problem is we do not have the space, we do not have the opportunity to move around and interact with students like we would like to. The real problem is, when it rains, guess what happens? They get wet and go into the main building. They go to the bathroom. They go to the cafeteria. They go to the media center. They present a part of the linkage of that school, and we can do better and we have some wonderful teachers in this country with hearts of gold doing the Lord's work in all kinds of conditions. I think at a time when we have the opportunity in this body to form that partnership, we ought to do it. We have a bill pending now, as the gentleman well knows, with 228 congressional sponsors from those on both sides of the aisle. I think it is incumbent upon the Republican leadership who runs this House to bring that bill up and allow us to vote on it. It would pass. The President would sign it, and we could send that money out to help local schools. It is in no way meddling, because they would have total control over it; all we would do is pay the interest. Those are the kind of partnerships that the business community would applaud. They are the things that the parents want to happen. The years that I served, 8 of them as State superintendent of the schools in North Carolina, and my colleagues have heard me say this on the floor before, I have never had a child, I never had a student ask me where the money came from. They do not really care. They just know they do not have as much in some communities as others. We have a great country. We have one of the wealthiest countries ever in the world, and there is no excuse at a time of prosperity when we cannot do the things we need to do for children to prepare for the 21st century and give every child that opportunity. Because I truly believe education is the one thing that levels the playing field, and that is what you fought for all of your life. I would not be here today if it were not for public education, and most Members of this body, if they would be honest with us, would not be here either. And I think we have an obligation to the next generation to reach out and help when we can. There have been times when we could not do that in the past. We did not have the resources. We now have it. We can join with the President in making sure we put out that 100,000 teachers; we can do the staff development we need, start planning for the future and also provide the resources to build schools.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. I think the gentleman is right. We never hear those complaints when it comes to building other things that we allow the Tax Code to be used for. I think that is the secret here. I think the leadership in this House has an obligation to the American people to say we are either for children or we are against them. If they do not bring it up, we know where they stand. When you have over 225 Members sign a piece of legislation and you cannot get it on the floor of this House, it is obvious that they have decided in their great wisdom that there is not that need. I think that is absolutely wrong. As the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) and I know, and you mentioned in your district, we were at Joyner Elementary School, and they had a little trailer park out back, literally, and the children were having to go back and forth. They were doing a good job. I remember what Kathleen Marynak, the principal, said. ``We call these our cottages in the woods,'' I believe she said, trying to help the students, but literally they had to walk up a hill, and when it rained they got in trouble. We went to Wake Forest Elementary and talked to the principal, he was standing there, and he said we have 829 students in a school originally built for 361 students. They added to it, but they had an awful lot of portable facilities there. It is just not right at this time. The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) is well aware of this and the gentleman touched about growth communities. In Johnston County, a county south of Wake, and it is true of every county around because we are growing, they built a new school and had something like 18 trailers. They moved those off and opened a new school, and they are now back up to eight. It is growing that rapidly. The students have to walk through rain to get there. I remember what Nell Ferguson said. She said we do the best we can. We nurture all we can. But we get back to the problem that the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) talked about, which is this whole issue of children starting lunch early. If you are a little fellow, I just wonder how many Members of Congress, and, now, we sometimes do not get to eat lunch and I understand that, but every day if you had to go eat lunch at 10, 10:15 or 10:30, and you are in a controlled situation and do not get a snack until you are home at 3:30 or 4, if you are on a bus, I wonder how many adults would like that around here?

Mr. ETHERIDGE. On that point, reclaiming my time, if I may, I would ask my colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) to join us. The gentleman and I visited a number of schools, and let me say I appreciate him joining us this evening. Not only has he been a leader in this, but a leader in trying to find us teachers we are going to need to fill those extra classrooms we are going to build, because he has a piece of legislation on it, and he was kind enough to let me join him and be a part of it; and I think the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) is on it also. He has seen this, and he has been a fighter. Not only is he a teacher, but he has taught a lot of us here how important it is for education. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Reclaiming my time, this gives me an opportunity to really talk about the heart of the issue. We have the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), and if he will join us here we can get into it. When we talk about that, what many people who are not in the school fail to see is we have those extra students in trailers or in closets or wherever, and most cases we do not increase the size of the cafeteria where children eat or the media center or the libraries, as many of us would think of years ago, nor the bathroom where children need to go, all of those extra facilities that teachers need to take. And if they are out in a trailer outside when it rains, what happens to the children? They get wet.