Rush Holt

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill that is very important to me and many New Jersey families--the Higher Education Affordability and Fairness Act. As a scientist and former teacher, I have spent many years working in post-secondary education, and I have seen how fortunate we are. We have some of the best colleges and universities in the world here in the U.S. and in New Jersey. However, with the increasing costs of higher education, our high quality colleges are becoming inaccessible to many. According to the College Board, since 1980, the price of a college education has been rising between two and three times as fast as the Consumer Price Index. In fact, tuition and fees for a four-year college education have risen 115 percent over inflation since the 1980-81 school year, while median household income has risen only 20 percent. What is most frustrating is that despite the economic prosperity many families have enjoyed over the past decade, the cost of a college education continues to rise at a rate faster than these families can afford. As a result, more and more families are forced to borrow money to meet tuition costs. In fact, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, nearly 80 percent of their full time, dependent undergraduates receive some sort of financial assistance. This shift from grant-based assistance programs to loan-based assistance programs increases the financial burden of attending college because students and families must then assume interest costs, which can add thousands to the total cost of tuition. In fact, one of my staffers tells me that he must pay over $9,000 in student loan interest a year. We must change this by making college more affordable for our students and their families. In years past, Congress has sought to address college affordability by providing a HOPE Scholarship tax credit of up to $1,500 for the first two years of expenses and a In addition, for low-income families, Congress has increased funding to $8.75 billion for Pell Grants, a need-based grant program that will help send four million Americans to college this year. While this is a good start, much more should be done. Under current law, taxpayers cannot deduct higher education expenses from their taxes, unless the expenses meet a very narrow definition as ``work-related''. In addition, families living in high cost states like New Jersey or California do not receive the same benefits as those living in lower cost states because of unfair income limitations. Finally, a family who invests in an Education IRA cannot use the savings for a child's college education and also receive the benefits of the HOPE or Lifetime Learning tax credits. I am proud to introduce the Higher Education Affordability and Fairness Act (HEAFA), which will make higher education more affordable by allowing higher education expenses to be tax deductible. HEAFA would allow families who take the HOPE tax credit to deduct up to the next $8,000 in tuition expenses not covered by the credit, capping the deduction at $15,000 in tuition expenses in one year if a family has more than one child in college. Families ineligible for the Hope Scholarship, due to its income limitations, would be able to deduct $5,000 of tuition costs. The bill would also increase the Lifetime Learning credit to 20 percent of $10,000 of tuition, from the current 20 percent of $5,000, and provide families with the choice of taking either the credit or a deduction on up to $10,000 of tuition, $5,000 if a family earns more than $120,000 a year. HEAFA would raise the phase-out limit for the HOPE credit to $60,000 for singles and $120,000 for couples, allowing more families to benefit. In order to ensure that savings go to the intended beneficiaries, families and students, the bill directs an annual study to examine whether the federal income tax incentives to provide education assistance affect higher education tuition rates. Finally, to address the needs of low-income families, the bill expresses the sense of the Senate that the maximum annual Pell Grant should be increased to $4,700 per student. College is the best investment of a lifetime. We must take steps to ensure that higher education is within the reach of all Americans so that they are prepared to meet the challenges they will face in our increasingly competitive world. We must make it easier for families to afford college, and we can do so this year by allowing college tuition and other expenses to be tax deductible. I urge my colleagues to support me in this important bill. We can all agree that these are tax cuts we truly need.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, whatever any American may have thought about UNESCO when the U.S. withdrew in 1984, today UNESCO is a different body. It has adopted a culture of reform that is improving management and streamlining personnel and putting the organization's finances in order. Today UNESCO is an efficient and effective advocate for free speech, for education and scientific collaboration worldwide. Membership in UNESCO would benefit every American. As the gentleman friend from California (Mr. Lantos) pointed out, even former Secretary Shultz, who presided over U.S. withdrawal, now has reversed his position, has indicated that the improvements call for reentry of U.S. into UNESCO. Now, as a scientist and a policy maker, I believe that UNESCO would lead, of course, to cultural enrichment but even more. CIA director George Tenet recently testified that some of the greatest threats to the U.S. from abroad come from official corruption, endemic poverty, mass illiteracy, environmental disruption, and the spread of infectious diseases. UNESCO addresses these emerging threats by promoting good government, universal education, sustainable development, and disease control. I urge my colleagues to oppose the Tancredo amendment.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, these are troubling and arduous times for Israel. Over the past seven months, the continuous clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have claimed the lives of more than 70 Israeli citizens. Car bombings, mob attacks and widespread terrorism in residential areas have caused an outbreak of panic and worry among the residents of Israel. Men and women fear that an ordinarily simple trip to their local shopping center will result in tragedy. Children no longer feel safe to ride their school buses, for they fear that they will be the next targets of this senseless bloodshed. Sadly, terrorism and fear are everywhere, and the violence continues to escalate. Two weeks ago, Israelis commemorated the 53rd anniversary of their independence and mourned the lives lost as they marked their Memorial Day. Grieving countrymen gathered together to remember the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives in the fight for Israel's existence. Those commemorating these events were reminded that despite their independence, Israel must continue in their struggle for recognition and liberty. Before and since being elected to Congress, I have supported a strong Israel. America has had for a long time, and should continue to have for a long time, a unique relationship with Israel--the only democratic nation in the region, our most important strategic ally in this volatile area, and a nation whose founding and existence clearly makes the world a better place. I believe that the United States must continue to voice its support for Israel and for the peace process that the Israelis have courageously undertaken. As I have stated many times before, the United States must be prepared to provide the diplomatic, military, and economic support that Israel needs. The United States plays an essential role as a broker of peace in the region. However, we must not let that role keep us from speaking the truth. I am saddened to see that optimism for quick and lasting peace in the Middle East has been thwarted by the Palestinians' continued violence. I believe it is time for our government to acknowledge that the Palestinians are contradicting the promise Chairman Arafat made in January--a promise to continue working for peace. It is time for our government to exert pressure on the Palestinians to persuade them to put an end to the uprising and to prevent terrorist attacks on Israel. If the Palestinian leaders act as the Palestine Liberation Organization of old, seeking conflict rather than peace with Israel, then we must be clear in our disapproval and resolute in our efforts to once again promote peace negotiations. Most importantly, the Palestinians must end the violence against the Israelis, and Israel must respond, as I am confident it would, with corresponding steps to reduce the level of violence on its side. That is the only way to get back to the peace table. Only peace discussions can achieve the lasting, just peace that will best serve the interests of all Israelis, all Palestinians and indeed, all of us throughout the world. Mr. Speaker, my personal sense of commitment to Israel has only been strengthened by recent developments. We must put an end to this terror and return to a period of goodwill. I believe the same is true for many of my colleagues. Let us reaffirm our solidarity with Israel as they commemorate their independence and struggle for freedom.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Dr. Robyn Agri's installation as the 121st President of the Mercer County Medical Society. Although Dr. Agri is the 121st President, she is the first woman to hold this office since the establishment of the Society in 1848. Dr. Agri's active interest in politics and community service began during her studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1979 Dr. Agri served as an intern in the U.S. House of Representatives. After receiving her BA in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Agri went on to attend the Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, New York where she would receive her medical degree in 1985. Throughout her time at Upstate Medical Center, she continued to be active in politics by becoming an officer in the American Medical Student Association. Due to her steadfast efforts to establish a school wide counseling program for students and residents Robyn would receive the Ciba-Geigy award for community service. Robyn would later return to Pennsylvania to complete her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She would use this time to continue her study of movement through her research work in multiple sclerosis. In 1989, Dr. Agri would continue her work on MS when she joined the staffs of St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center and Capital Health System. Dr. Agri continues to maintain a private practice in Lawrenceville and remains active within the community through her work with various associations' and societies. I applaud the installation of Dr. Robyn Agri as President of the Mercer County Medical Society and ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing her steadfast commitment to our community.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the National Science Foundation on the 50th anniversary of this excellent and important agency. The NSF has been the central advocate for basic and applied scientific research in five decades of service to this country. Before NSF came into existence in 1950, government-sponsored research system for the sciences was disjointed. Different government agencies had made advances in areas as far-reaching as medical research and atomic energy. Under President Truman, the NSF was directed, among other things, to forge a national policy for the promotion of basic research and science and math education. The success of the Soviet Union's space program, exhibited through the successful launch of Sputnik, focused new attention on the need to promote science research and education at all levels. This was done through a strengthened relationship among the government, universities and researchers, with the Foundation in the lead. NSF built a project grant system that President Eisenhower found so effective he promoted it as a government-wide model. Proposals were widely solicited from all geographic areas and from all branches of science, including the social sciences. Scientific merit was the main criterion for award. The prestige of American scientists was encouraged through NSF's support of international travel by its project teams and by sponsoring scientific symposia and conferences. In its early support for science education, NSF increased the number and quality of scientists nationwide that could be used as its research base. Many of today's leading scientists owe their training to the NSF. This was accomplished through a fellowship program for graduate students and post-doctoral scientists. NSF took the lead in performing ``big science,'' which eventually became a sizable percentage of their budget. The Foundation was able to conduct programs that required facilities and instrumentation so costly that only the government could afford them. These facilities were open to all researchers and led to major developments in atmospheric research and radio and optical astronomy. Big-science projects at NSF also led to major breakthroughs in the theories of the shape of the universe, continental drift, and sea floor spreading. NSF's role has been essential in producing science that could enhance America's competitiveness. In an effort to improve science and math education, NSF received a big boost in its budget in the mid-1950s for teacher institutes, other educational projects and new curricula in physics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics. Although Congressional support for education at the NSF has wavered over the years, based on each Administration's commitment to science, the need continues to increase as we find ourselves in an increasingly technological society. The environmental movement provided a context for the growing interest in applied science, and new legislation authorized the Foundation to support applied, as well as basic, research. As President Kennedy stated on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences, ``scientists alone can establish the objectives of their research, but society, in extending support to science, must take account of their own needs.'' The science-government relationship is an essential one, both for the betterment of our society and for the advancement of mankind. NSF has been a leader in this area, and I am sure that we will be celebrating a full century of their contributions fifty years from now.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and pointing out that each day this debate goes on, education is losing ground. We started off with a number that was not as good as the President had proposed. Now it comes back from conference committee with even less than that. So whether it is Pell Grants or school modernization, we are just not keeping up. An area that concerns me greatly is teacher recruitment. We need 2.2 million new teachers in the next 10 years just to stay even. Whatever incentives we use to recruit those teachers, whether it is debt forgiveness or other financial aid, it is not here. And we will pay. Schools all across the country will pay.

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield further, and for the continuing professional development of existing teachers.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding me this time. A quarter of a century ago, when the budget process was established, it was established so that we could look at all of the numbers in a measured, considered way, the income and the outgo, and make sure the numbers added up. It was not intended to be done in the dark of night in a hurried manner with some numbers there and some numbers not there and who knows what is there. Well, that is what we have ended up with today and this is a flagrant violation of the whole spirit of the budget process. And in this hurry to get this tax cut through in an ill-considered way, we end up with a terrible shortchanging of the American people. Take education, for example. Inadequate consideration for our national need to recruit teachers, to find ways to get the 2.2 million teachers that we need in the next 10 years to keep up with the retirement and attrition in the ranks of teaching. Insufficient attention to the need for new facilities and modern classrooms, where classes of a reasonable size can meet in good conditions. And with insufficient attention to the other concerns. Take special education, for example: under IDEA, if we are going to meet our national obligation, the Federal Government's obligation for special education, that would come to something on the order of $100 billion over 10 years. Do we find that in this budget resolution? No, we do not. Education is shortchanged at every turn. And what we have got, coming from the House-Senate conference committee, appears to be a zeroing of the education budget, holding it at a level that does not even keep up with inflation. This is totally inadequate; and it is the result of this hurried, inadequate process.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to the attention of the House Dr. John L. McGuire, who will receive the 2001 Hunterdon Distinguished Citizen Award given by the Central New Jersey Boy Scouts of America for his dedication to community service and citizenship. The Distinguished Citizen Award is presented to the individuals who exemplify in their daily life the ideals of the Boy Scouts of America. The recipients are chosen for their outstanding character, citizenship and personal fitness as well as their leadership and respect in the community. Following graduation from Princeton University in 1969, Dr. McGuire has had a long and distinguished career with Johnson & Johnson. He is currently Vice President of Licensing and Acquisitions in the Pharmaceutical Group. Dr. McGuire has served on the Board of Directors of Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation and the Robert Wood Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute. He is a member of numerous scientific societies and has served as consultant to NASA. He has published over 200 papers during his career. Dr. McGuire has also been active in community affairs. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hunterdon Healthcare System since 1991 and as Chairman of Hunterdon Medical Center. He is Vice Chairman at the Raritan Valley Community College and is President of the Board of Trustees at the Pennington School. He is President of the Central New Jersey Scout Council and previously served as President of the United Way of Hunterdon County. He is recipient of scouting's Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and its Silver Beaver Award as well as the Rolling Hills Girl Scout Council's President's Award for service to youth and community. Dr. McGuire has served his community well and deserves recognition for his years of dedication to the Boy Scouts of America and his community. I urge all my colleagues to join me today in acknowledging Dr. McGuire's accomplishments and contributions to New Jersey.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak today in recognition of Paul Pintella, who was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Metropolitan Trenton for more than two decades. His passing will be a great loss to the citizens of Trenton and to the State. Mr. Pintella joined the League as youth director after the city's 1968 race riots and is best known for working on youth programs. The Urban League of Metropolitan Trenton is one of 112 affiliates of the National Urban League and is the city's most visible nonprofit organizations. Urban League programs ranged from summer camps for city children to housing development. Paul was a tireless worker, dedicated to following through on his commitments. Last October, the Urban League unveiled 19 houses that it had built or renovated. This was a project Pintella spearheaded and he consequently received the Citizen of the Year Award by the Trenton Council of Civic Associations. Mayor Douglas H. Palmer called Pintella an inspiration. ``I've always looked to Paul Pintella as a person who cared deeply for Trenton and spent his entire life trying to make conditions better for people in his city. I'm deeply saddened by his loss, and it's my hope that others in the community will pick up the torch that Mr. Pintella has carried all of his life.'' I have the same hope and I urge all my colleagues to join me today in recognizing an outstanding citizen.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize Mr. Robert P. Wise, who will receive the 2001 Hunterdon Distinguished Citizen Award given by the Central New Jersey Boy Scouts of America for his dedication to community service and citizenship. The Distinguished Citizen Award is presented to the individuals who exemplify in their daily life the ideals of the Boy Scouts of America. The recipients are chosen for their outstanding character, citizenship and personal fitness as well as their leadership and respect in the community. For over twenty-five years, Mr. Wise has provided leadership and responsible management experience to hospitals and related healthcare organizations. He has been committed to customer service excellence, team building, and the challenge of profitable growth. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of the Hunterdon Healthcare System which provides healthcare to 120,000 residents of Hunterdon County and its contiguous communities. Mr. Wise's community service includes serving on the Board of Directors of the United Ways of Hunterdon County, Chairman of the Capital Campaign for United Way, Board of Trustees for Hunterdon Hospice and a board member of the Flemington Rotary Club. He is also a member of the American Public Health Association and Chairman of the New Jersey Hospital Association. Mr. Wise has demonstrated a commitment to service and deserves recognition for his years of service. I urge my colleagues to join me today in acknowledging Mr. Wise's accomplishments and contributions to New Jersey.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, on April 24, we commemorated the 86th anniversary of one of the most harrowing events in modern day history--the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. From 1915 to 1923, over one and a half million Armenians were killed by Turks in inter-communal warfare. Hundreds of Armenian leaders, writers and professionals in Constantinople were rounded up, deported and killed. Five thousand of the poorest Armenians were butchered in the streets and in their homes. Men, women and children were driven into the desert between Jerablus and Deir ez-Zor to die of starvation, disease and exposure. In 1915, the New York Times reported that families were burned alive in wooden houses or chained together and drowned in Lake Van. To this day, the human rights abuses and atrocities that were committed against the Armenians by the Turks remain disturbing and continue to have a tremendous impact on the stability of this region. During a campaign speech in February 2000, President Bush stated, ``The Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies comprehension and commands all decent people to remember and acknowledge the facts and lessons of an awful crime in a century of bloody crimes against humanity. If elected President, I would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people.'' It is important to remind the President of his pledge. As a Member of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, I joined my colleagues in signing a letter to President Bush addressing the need to uphold his promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide as what it was--genocide. We cannot let this statement become an empty campaign promise. Mr. Speaker, the Congress of the United States remembers the Armenians. It is time for the world to deal honestly with this senseless genocide and redress this tragedy. I urge my colleagues to join me in condemning the genocide and honor the memory of 1. 5 million innocent victims.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Phyllis Marchand who will receive the Human Relations Award given by the Central New Jersey Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. She receives this award for her outstanding commitment to the Princeton community and the American Jewish Committee. Ms. Marchand is in her fifteenth year as an elected official in Princeton and her sixth year as the Mayor of Princeton Township. She has led in state affairs as President of both the New Jersey League of Municipalities and the New Jersey Association for Elected Women Officials. Ms. Marchand has been recognized as ``Elected Official of the Year'' by the NJ Municipal Managers Association and has received the Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Ms. Marchand has served as President of the Mercer County Hispanic Association and serves on its board as well as that of the Mercer Council on Alcoholism and Drug Addiction. A graduate of Skidmore College, Ms. Marchand has been a professional book indexer working on Collier's Encyclopedia, The Papers of Woodrow Wilson and The Samuel Johnson Letters. She is a member of the Princeton Jewish Center, the American Jewish Committee and a life member of Hadassah. During her 35 years in Princeton, she has served on the boards of Hadassah, The Jewish Center, UJA and B'nai B'rith. Ms. Marchand has made significant contributions to the Princeton community in particular and New Jersey as a whole. I urge all my colleagues to join me today in recognizing Ms. Marchand's dedication and commitment to public service.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my opposition to H.R. 503, the ``Unborn Victims of Violence Act.'' This bill continues to demonstrate the troubling tendency in Congress to undermine women's constitutional reproductive rights. Since 1973 and the Roe v. Wade decision, we have seen Congress slowly chip away at women's right to choose in an effort to ultimately nullify this landmark decision. H.R. 503 is an ill-disguised attack on Roe v. Wade. That is because at root it is an attempt to redefine when life begins. The bill seeks to create a separate Federal criminal offense for criminal acts that cause death or bodily injury to the ``unborn'' fetus. Tellingly, it does not create any comparable offense for killing or injuring the woman bearing the fetus. I think that makes it clear that the real purpose here is not to protect the victims of violence, but to try to get Congress on record as specifying that life begins at conception. There are serious threats to women, including women bearing children, that we need to address. Domestic violence is the single greatest cause of injury to women. Although the statistics vary, according to the American Medical Association, approximately four million women were physically abused by their husbands or live-in partners in 1998. That means that 10,959 women on average are abused every day. This statistic is deeply disconcerting. Domestic violence crimes resulting in the loss of pregnancy are terribly tragic, and these acts should be punished, but H.R. 503 is not the proper approach to eradicating this problem. We need to concentrate our efforts on protecting abused women by passing measures, such as the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, to promote protection from violence as well as increasing assistance to abused women. That is why I support the amendment proposed by the gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Lofgren. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to help these victims of violence and protect their well being. Domestic violence is a national concern, and we need to do everything within our capabilities to make sure that it receives due attention. Let us avoid passing any Federal law that will undermine a woman's right to choose as protected by the Constitution of the United States, and let us focus on the real issue at hand--eradicating violence against women.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the opening of the South Brunswick YMCA. Over the past five years, volunteers from South Brunswick and surrounding communities have pooled their collective resources to take this project from concept to completion. YMCA is an international not-for-profit community service organization brought from London, England to Boston in 1851. From Boston, YMCAs quickly spread across America. At this time many facilities started opening their doors to boys and men of all ages. Some YMCAs were started to serve specific groups such as railroad and factory workers. After World War II, women and girls could enjoy the full benefits of membership and participation. Today, half of all Y members are female. The South Brunswick YMCA has brought families from across Southern Middlesex County together to assist in the development of a family- oriented, multifaceted facility driven by a well trained, dedicated and nurturing staff. The YMCA was founded on the commitment to provide a community-based facility to address the health, recreational and social service needs of the community. The South Brunswick YMCA addresses local community needs through organized activities. Some of the programs offered by the YMCA include swimming lessons, exercise classes for people with disabilities, job training, support groups, water fitness, child care, and dance classes. Although much has changed over the years, YMCA's mission is the same--to provide the tools needed to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities, and reinforce the values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Pennington Public Library. In 1876 a dozen local women took it upon themselves to found a library within the village of Pennington. With a late-Victorian zeal for self improvement, the group organized the Ladies' Library Association of Pennington and forever changed the history of this small town. The Pennington Public Library began with a single bookcase and a purchase fund of $49. In 1889, the library boasted approximately 1,200 volumes. Today, the library has over 3,700 cardholders that enjoy over 23,000 books, 60 magazines, six newspapers, and one computer, complete with Internet capability. Libraries are true community centers. They create environments where students can do their homework, townspeople can gather, families can interact, seniors can learn new skills, and job seekers can find advice. They are masters at building partnerships, linking everyone from day care centers, garden clubs and 4H clubs to Head Start and junior colleges, to extend their reach throughout the community. Although much has changed over the years, Pennignton Library's mission is the same--to supply useful and profitable reading for the community and implant in the minds of our youths an everlasting desire for information. Today, a dedicated group of volunteers continue to carry out this 19th-century mission. For over 125 years the Pennington Public Library has remained an integral part of the Hopewell community. I urge all my colleagues to join me today in recognizing the Library's steadfast dedication to serving the growing needs of our community.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for his work all along, and for bringing up these instructions. Mr. Speaker, the House-passed budget is really full of irresponsible tax cuts and fuzzy math; and it should be adjusted to match closely what has been reached in compromise in the other body. As a teacher, I am particularly disappointed that the budget resolution fails to deal adequately with the many urgent needs for our children in public education. At a time when more is demanded of our schools through higher standards, annual assessments, ``increased accountability'' is the phrase we are using this year, we risk failing too many children by not providing greater resources to turn around low-performing schools. Mr. Speaker, the House-passed mark falls short of providing adequate help for teacher training, recruitment, for school construction and modernization, for meeting Federal obligations to assist local schools in providing excellent education for students with special needs. The average age of public schools in this country is 40 years old. We have to get the students and their facilities into the 21st century. Mr. Speaker, estimates are quite clear that we will need 2.2 million new teachers over the next 10 years to keep up with attrition. This is not even to get smaller class sizes; this is just to keep up. Too often, I hear stories of teachers with history degrees teaching science and math because the schools have trouble finding qualified teachers. Having spent a year on the National Commission on the Teaching of Mathematics and Science, the John Glenn Commission, I have offered a bill to help schools recruit and retain qualified science and math teachers. Mr. Speaker, we have to do that. The chairman of the Committee on the Budget said a few moments ago that they have provided, at the President's request, an 11 percent increase in education spending. No, it is about half that; it is 5.8 percent. The total increase in the President's budget, as in the House-approved budget, would not cover even half of the cost of meeting our needs in special education, of meeting our obligation, our Federal obligation to assist the local schools with special education. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join in supporting the motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I am today introducing, with 17 of my colleagues, a bill to protect America's national parks from what is expected to be the next environmental rollback by the Bush Administration--an effort to overturn the National Park Service (NPS) decision to phase out snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. In response to a 1997 lawsuit, the NPS prepared an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the 100,000 snowmobiles entering Yellowstone and Grand Teton each winter. The NPS determined that those snowmobiles produce noise that can be heard by other visitors as much as 95% of the time, produce more air pollution than all other motor vehicles in Yellowstone throughout the year, and disturb bison and wildlife when they already face the stresses of brutal winter conditions. Because of these and other impacts, the NPS adopted a new rule to phase out by the winter of 2003-2004 all snowmobile use in Yellowstone and most of that use in Grand Teton, with expanded service by snowcoaches (multi- passenger vehicles) to provide continued wintertime access to the parks. The rule, the culmination of a 3\1/2\ year process, was published in the Federal Register on January 22, 2001. Three key facts about the Yellowstone-Grand Teton snowmobile rule: First, it is strongly supported by the public--by most public comments on the EIS, and fully 85% of the public comments on the proposed rule. Second, the National Park Service determined not only that the snowmobile use in these parks is inappropriate, but also that it is unlawful. The Service determined that it violates the basic NPS mandate, in its Organic Act of 1916, to keep the scenery, natural and historic objects, and wildlife of national parks ``unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.'' The Park Service determines that the snowmobile use violates the Clean Air Act. The Service determined that the snowmobile use violates two Executive Orders, one by President Nixon and one by President Carter, setting standards for snowmobile use in national parks. And the Service determined that it violates the NPS's own general regulation on snowmobile use, in effect since 1983, that prohibits snowmobile use in parks that disturbs wildlife or damages other park resources. Third, this is the first time in the NPS's 84-year history that it has determined that a use it has authorized in parks has gotten so out of control that it has ended up violating the mandate of the Service's Organic Act. In that sense alone, the NPS decision to end all snowmobile use in Yellowstone and most use in Grand Teton is historic. Still, the Bush Administration has this rule in its sights. It has already delayed its effective date. Now there are published reports that the Administration wants to settle a Yellowstone and Grand Teton are not the only national parks where inappropriate and unlawful snowmobile use is occurring. Last year, in response to a petition by 60 environmental organizations, the NPS acknowledged that much of the snowmobile use it has allowed to occur in other national parks violates, in four separate ways, some of the same requirements that are being violated in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. First, in nearly every instance, the Park Service merely allowed areas that were already open to snowmobile use to stay open, without reviewing them to determine if that use is consistent with protection of park resources, as required by President Nixon's Executive Order. Second, the NPS has allowed snowmobile use to occur in two parks and on some trails without designating them for that use through a public rulemaking process, which is required by the NPS's general regulations. Third, the NPS has consistently failed to monitor the effects of the snowmobile use it has allowed to occur, as required by President Nixon's Executive Order. Finally, the NPS concluded that it has allowed snowmobile use to continue that violates the substantive standards of the two applicable Executive Orders and its general regulations. The Park Service concluded that in many instances snowmobiles disrupt the natural wintertime quiet of the parks, disturb the enjoyment of other visitors, adversey affect wildlife, and otherwise harm the resources, values, and management objectives of the parks, all of which is prohibited by the standards of the Executive Orders and the NPS's own regulations. Based on these impacts, the NPS determined that, in general, recreational snowmobile use is not an appropriate use of most national parks. The NPS developed a plan to end inappropriate snowmobile use and to come into compliance with the standards governing snowmobile use in national parks. That plan would limit snowmobile use in national parks (other than in Alaska and in Voyageurs National Park, where special statutes apply) to short crossing routes providing access to adjacent public lands open to snowmobile use, and to routes providing necessary access to private lands in or adjacent to parks. Under this approach, of the 43 units of the national park system where some snowmobile use is now occurring, that use would be ended in 12 (including Yellowstone), would be allowed to continue but in more limited fashion in 10 (including Grand Teton), and would be allowed to continue without change in 21. However, in addition to reviewing the Yellowstone-Grand Teton rule, the Bush Administration has halted the rulemaking process to implement this overall NPS approach to snowmobiles in other parks. Because of the Administration's policy, the NPS has not yet been able to finalize a rule proposed last December to restrict snowmobile use in Rocky Mountain National Park, and has not been able to propose other regulatory changes with respect to other parks. The legislation my colleagues and I are introducing would legislatively adopt the sound approach the National Park Service developed last year to end inappropriate snowmobile use in national parks and come into compliance with the long-established standards of law that are supposed to govern that use. The bill would allow continued snowmobile use in parks when that use meets the current standards of law and is necessary to provide snowmobile access to adjacent public lands that are open to snowmobile use, or to provide access to private lands within or next to the parks. The bill would continue to allow snowmobile use without change next winter, to provide time for new regulations to be adopted under the bill. And in Yellowstone and Grand Teton, the bill would allow an extra year before it takes effect, to accommodate the phase- out period established by the Park Service in its recent rulemaking. Finally, the bill would affect only a portion of the 670 miles of snowmobile trails in all national parks--or a mere one-half of one percent of all 130,000 miles of trails in the United States. Let's end inappropriate snowmobile use that shatters the wintertime quiet of the national parks, pollutes their air, disturbs wildlife, and bothers other visitors to the parks. Let's keep our national parks, our most special lands, unimpaired for the enjoyment of today's Americans and future generations.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, the estate tax. It is unfair and punitive and hurts family-owned small businesses and farms. Last year, I visited the DePalma Farm, 85 beautiful acres in Holmdel, New Jersey. This property is one of the largest parcels of undeveloped land in my central New Jersey Congressional District. The DePalma farm survived two World Wars . . . the Great Depression . . . and the advent of the technological revolution and the factory farm. But today, because of the estate tax, family members had to make difficult decisions about whether to sell the property to developers just to pay the estate tax. This is true even though some wanted to keep the land in the family or preserve it as open space. When a government policy robs families of their heritage and forces communities to develop land instead of preserving it, something needs to be changed. Some people say that the estate tax is something that only affects the wealthy. But any community that has lost a lumber yard, a jewelry store or a family grocery to the estate tax knows better. These losses can forever change the character of a town. In boroughs and townships across New Jersey, businesses and families are going through financial gymnastics to avoid being bankrupted by this punitive tax. I am proud to be a cosponsor of bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Tanner and Dunn to phase out the estate tax. The legislation before us today provides $186 billion in tax relief by phasing in a repeal of estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes. Beginning next year, the unified credit, currently applied to the first $675,000 of property, will be converted to an exemption so that the lowest statutory rates will apply to the value of an estate exceeding the exemption amount. The bill expands conservation easements by modifying the distance requirements from metropolitan areas. Under the bill, maximum distance of eligible land from a metropolitan area, national park, or wilderness area is doubled. In an area like central New Jersey, where land values are skyrocketing, these provisions are important. It is clear that simply raising the size of an estate exempted from the tax won't truly solve the problem. In central New Jersey, where the price of an acre of land runs into many, many of dollars, simply increasing the exemption would only help a minority, not a majority, of farms. Because wages, equipment, and the cost of living is higher in New Jersey than in other states, such a change would be unlikely to help most small businesses, too. As an environmentalist and a fiscal conservative, I believe that Federal tax policy should not make it more difficult for families to retain the businesses or farms on which they have worked for their lifetimes. And it should not give wealthy developers an unfair advantage over those who want to preserve open space for their community. Central New Jersey supports eliminating the estate tax for family- owned farms and business. I urge my colleagues to pass responsible estate tax relief.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in joining me today in voting to eliminate the so-called marriage penalty that makes many couples pay more in taxes than they would if they were not married. I have been pushing for marriage tax relief since I was elected 2 years ago. In the last Congress, I was proud to be one of the Democrats to cross party lines and vote for this measure when it passed the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, the bill was vetoed by President Clinton and did not become law. Today we have another chance to correct this inequity in our Tax Code. Since President Bush is likely to sign this bill, we can now solve this problem. All of us know the problem. Under present tax law, a couple may pay more taxes than they would as two single people because the rate brackets and standard deductions for joint filers are not twice as large as those for single filers. According to a study by the Treasury Department, about 48 percent of couples pay a marriage penalty. When a couple chooses to get married, its almost as if the tax collector is joining them at the altar as they take their vows. Couples I hear from in my central New Jersey congressional district tell me all the time: The marriage penalty is unfair, and it should be corrected. This bill gets the job done. H.R. 6 provides true tax relief to New Jersey families. It increases the child tax credit and fixes the ``marriage penalty'' by: increasing the standard deduction, expanding the 15 percent tax bracket, doubling the earned income tax credit for low-income families and adjusting the alternative minimum tax (AMT). It's a good proposal that all of us should support. Before voting for H.R. 6, I will first vote for the substitute amendment by Representative Rangel, the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee. The Rangel substitute not only eliminates the marriage penalty, it makes bigger and quicker tax cuts than H.R. 6. It cuts everybody's taxes by lowering the tax rate on the first $20,000 of income (for a couple) from 15 percent to 12 percent. It expands the income eligible for the earned income tax credit (EITC) by $800, increases by $2,500 the income level at which the credit begins to phase out for a married couple with children, and simplifies the calculations to determine the earned income credit. It makes all of the tax cuts being considered by Congress more real for more people-- especially in states with high income tax rates, like New Jersey--by adjusting the alternative minimum tax so it does not take away with one hand what these tax bills purport to give with the other hand. The Rangel substitute makes more of these tax cuts take effect this year, to help people hurt by the slowing economy and to rebuild consumer and investor confidence. All in all, the Rangel substitute cuts taxes by $585 billion over 10 years, compared to H.R. 6's $399 billion. Our tax code should not penalize marriage. We must come together in a bipartisan way to address this problem. I will continue to work in a bipartisan way to see that marriage tax relief becomes law.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the Women's Center of Monmouth County's 25th Anniversary. Over the last quarter of a century, the Women's Center of Monmouth County (WCMC) has made a tremendous difference in the lives of women and their families throughout Monmouth County. The WCMC is a New Jersey-based private, non-profit organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault. Since its inception in 1976, the Center has helped more than 100,000 women, children and men gain control of their lives and stop the violence. Through the help of individuals, government agencies, small businesses and corporate partners, the WCMC has had an open door to a safe shelter and critical services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. According to the 1999 New Jersey Crime Clock, a rape occurs every six hours in New Jersey. In Monmouth County, 70 rapes and 12 sexual assaults were reported in 1999. In fiscal Year 2000, the WCMC Rape Care program received 1,201 calls, e-mails or walk-ins from women seeking assistance. A total of 298 survivors and their family members were accompanied to medical, legal and law enforcement agencies. Services offered by the WCMC include a hotline, emergency shelter, transitional housing, counseling, crisis intervention, advocacy, education and prevention that help end the cycle of domestic violence and abuse. The Center works to mobilize concerned individuals, organizations, and civic and religious groups to end violence and abuse against women and children through public education, public policy reforms, and training of allied professionals. The Center also provides a liaison program to family and municipal courts and an art therapy program for children and non-offending, parents. The WCMC has received three national awards: 1998 United States Crime Victim's Rights Service Award for Karen Wengret; the 1998 United States Sunshine Peace Award for Domestic Violence Administration and the 1999 American Art Therapy Award for Outstanding Programming for their Amanda's Easel program. The Center has also received numerous accolades from New Jersey and local organizations for community service and leadership. For the past 25 years, the Women's Center of Monmouth County has provided a much-needed service for families affected by domestic violence or sexual assault. I urge all my colleagues to join me today in recognizing WCMC's dedication to ending domestic violence and sexual assault.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, when I talk with the folks back home in New Jersey and they discover that the tax cuts, three-quarters of them, will not even kick in until more than 5 years from now, and they combine that with their realization that there is a lot of uncertainty about these projections, they wonder whether they are ever going to see this. In fact, Mr. Chairman, we would be doing them a much greater favor in putting more money in their pockets if we pay down the debt. The Democratic version would pay down the debt a trillion dollars faster in the next 10 years. That would make us better able to deal with Social Security and Medicare when the baby boomers retire. It would lower interest rates, which would help farmers and students and small businesswomen, home buyers; and by establishing fiscal discipline, it would improve consumer and investor confidence. That would be more money in the people's pockets. Furthermore, the Democratic version goes considerably farther in investing in education and research, the necessary ingredients of a successful economy. In both of those areas, they are necessary to lead to productivity growth. Again, more money in the pockets of the people of America.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin. I would like to pick up on a point that the gentleman made. The Congressional Budget Office, not a Democratic organization nor, for that matter, a Republican organization, has talked about the uncertainty in the budget projections; and they have made it clear that what looks like a surplus in some of the future years could actually be a deficit. Now, we have a surplus today, an honest-to-goodness surplus, and the projections that tell us that we will have a net surplus to work with of more than $5 trillion have been gone over by lots of experts; and these projections are every bit as good, I would say, as the projections of several years ago that said we would be in deficit right now. So we should keep that in mind. But the Democratic alternative budget that calls for paying down more debt and somewhat smaller tax cuts is arrived at not out of fear. This is not a fear of that uncertainty; this is not an eat-your-spinach austerity budget. No. We are trying to do, really, what the other side has said, which is to put more money in the pockets of the people of America, of the working families. Mr. Speaker, we want to give a tax cut, not like the Republicans, one that pays off 6 or 8 or 11 years from now; and we want to pay down the debt. We would pay down the debt as rapidly as possible, more rapidly than the majority's budget. This is not only the responsible thing to do, but it is important in demonstrating that our government has fiscal discipline, financial discipline. This leads to greater investor confidence and greater consumer confidence, lower interest rates, and that alone would put more money in the pockets of Americans, every homeowner getting a mortgage, every farmer buying a combine, every student with a student loan, every small businesswoman raising capital. And if we add to that the fact that what we are trying to do is to create a budget that leads to productivity growth, productivity growth that powers our economy leads to people having jobs. If we are going to have that productivity growth, we need a smart, well-trained workforce and we need new ideas. Quite simply, we need to invest in education and we need to invest in research and development. In both of those areas, our budget does a better job than the majority party's budget. Mr. Speaker, in other words, we want to invest in teacher recruitment, teacher training, smaller class sizes, Pell Grants that will help everyone have the advantage of a college education. The Republican budget quite simply shortchanges the American people in education and in research. So the Democratic budget is not an austerity budget. By paying down the debt, by investing in education and research, we are convinced that we will have a richer country; and that, I think, has been lost in the debate tonight. Yes, we can talk about who is spending more on this program and who is spending more on that program, but what we think we will end up with here is a program that is more fiscally responsible because we do not commit money over the long term when there is uncertainty in the projections, and we invest in those things that are necessary to have the economic growth that we need. I thank the gentleman for putting together this discussion. There are a lot of differences in what the majority budget has and what we propose to do.

Mr. HOLT. Just on that point, we wanted to talk about education funding and the obligations we have. With all of the talk about increased attention to education, the fact of the matter is that the budget of the majority party is less as a percentage increase in spending than any of the past 6 years; and to put it really into perspective, to see what is really at work here, when we face an obligation of something on the order of $100 billion to meet our obligation for special education, the majority party is presenting as a tax cut for the top 1 percent of Americans 13 times as much money as they are proposing for all of their educational reform and new educational initiatives. That, I think, is a stark difference. I thank the gentleman for yielding.