Ted Kennedy

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I will yield the remaining time to myself. While taking care of the war front, we also must take care of the home front. Summer school is an emergency for 300,000 schoolchildren who may not graduate without this amendment. It is just as deserving as other emergency items in this bill. There are other emergency items: National Park Service construction, $18 million; Bureau of Indian Affairs, department management, $7 million; Forest Service capital improvements, $4 million; fire claims, $80 million. These are all under the emergency provisions. I believe $150 million for summer school programs for children is as deserving as those programs. In the end, this is about families, it is about children, it is about who we are as a nation. Can we protect our interests abroad and also help our children here at home? I know a point of order will be made. I hope we would add this as an amendment to meeting emergency requirements such as those other items I indicated have been included. Children, summer school programs, ought to be included as well. Mr. President, I am prepared to yield back the remainder of my time, or I will withhold the time depending on the opposition.

Mr. KENNEDY. And on the other side?

Mr. KENNEDY. How much time do I have?

Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the Chair.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry: The ``yea'' vote will be interpreted as waiving the Budget Act for the purpose of this amendment, is that correct?

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, this is an emergency. If we do not provide the resources to these States, we are going to see an increased number of children who are not going to get the help they need. I will point out, before we get all excited about this being an emergency, there are a number of items that are included as emergencies in this supplemental: National Park Service construction at $18 million; fire claims for New Mexico for $80 million. I am going to support that and vote for it. But let's not leave the impression this is only for homeland security. I will not go into the several hundred million dollars for additional items in the bill. If we are going to take care of the fire claims in the Southwest and provide funding for the National Park Service, I think we ought to provide money for children to go to school in the summer. That is an emergency, too. I hope that we would do that. The principal money that was increased last year starts in July and is for the next fiscal year. These schools and many of the school districts did not understand the emergency. But the requirements we put on the schools were not only for the poor children, they were for every child in this country. We ought to be concerned about the emergency that every child in this country is facing when they are being knocked off assistance to meet certain standards which our bill last year required them to meet. That is why this is an emergency and why I think it is important. Mr. President, I reserve the remainder of my time.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, as I understand, we have an hour's time limit to be divided equally. I will make some very brief opening comments and then yield to my colleague and cosponsor, Senator Smith from Oregon. I offer this amendment on behalf of myself, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mrs. Boxer, Senator Dodd, Senator Reid, Senator Murray, and Senator Durbin. Very briefly, this amendment provides $150 million in emergency funding for fiscal year 2002 to communities to provide students who have fallen behind in their schoolwork the opportunity to catch up with their peers. The second area of education is to award emergency grants to communities that have unmet needs for the summer school programs. Priority in funding will be given to communities that have had to eliminate or cut back their summer school programs due to local and State budget reductions and have high poverty rates. Funding is to be provided on a one-time basis to ensure there are safe learning opportunities this summer for the neediest children. The bill before us provides urgently needed resources to fight against terrorism, and this is vitally important to the Nation. But just as we must address needs on the war front, we must also turn to urgent priorities at home. There is no greater priority than ensuring a good education for our children. Good schools are critical to the Nation's future, and they are critical to our national security and national defense. We want our service men and women to be well trained, well led, and with the latest in terms of technology. In order to be able to do that and perform to secure our Nation, they have to be able to have a good education. We have learned in recent days that schools across the country are cutting back on their summer school programs, creating an emergency for our schools, for our parents, and for schoolchildren. I know the Senator from Oregon has a schedule to keep, so I will yield to him and then I will come back and give the Members an idea about what is happening with the cuts in summer school programs and the value of the summer school programs, reaching the conclusion of all who were involved in the No Child Left Behind Act, if we are going to ask our children to perform, we have to make sure they are given the kind of support they need. The 300,000 children who are going to have their summer school eliminated will not graduate from their schools without this kind of assistance because they are the ones who are involved in this program, and then we will be faced with what their futures will be without completing their education. In our education program, we put a strong requirement on the students to perform, on schools to support those efforts, on teachers to be qualified, and also we have a part as well to make sure those children are not going to be left behind. I yield 10 minutes to the Senator from Oregon.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I yield myself 5 additional minutes. Once again, I give this information to our colleagues about the value of the summer school programs and give some examples of the studies that have been done and what the results have been. The most recent review of educational research shows that summer school programs make a difference for students. A recent review of 39 studies shows that the academic test scores declined over summer school vacation. The 13 more recent studies show summer school loss is equal to 1 month of learning at grade level. In addition, summer break was more detrimental to math computation and spelling, and the neediest students lost the most. Middle-class students gained during the summer on grade level reading tests while high-poverty students lost ground. Our efforts with the ESEA are to target the neediest students. Research indicates quite clearly what happens to them without any summer school, but listen to what happens to them with it. The Chicago public schools initiated the summer school program in 1996 to help children who had fallen behind catch up. Eighty-three percent of the 9,700 Chicago third graders required to attend summer school last year had met their grade level criteria by the end of the summer. That is absolutely extraordinary progress. Seventy-five percent of sixth graders and 71 percent of eighth graders made the grade by the end of the summer. Without summer school, these students would not have been promoted to the next grade. Listen to what has happened in Ohio. Ohio test scores for fourth graders show that children in summer school and afterschool programs exceeded the statewide percentages of students meeting proficiency standards in every subject area tested: Writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science. Sixth graders exceeded the statewide percentages of students meeting proficiency standards in four of the five areas: writing, reading, mathematics, and citizenship. School absences and tardiness were reduced for participating students. Look at Fulton County schools in Georgia, operating a summer accelerated learning experience that provides full-day summer school for 1st through 12th grade, including the breakfast and lunch for all students in the community, as well as participating students. In 1999, they provided half-day programs with only 3,000 student participants; in 2000, they expanded to full day and attracted twice as many students; in 2001, they had 10,000 students. This year, they predicted 11,000 students. The district tested students at the beginning and end of the summer and found great improvement. The value of the summer school programs has been defined for students across this country. Against that, we have the schools that are canceling the programs. I refer to an excellent story in the Gannette News Service regarding what is happening to summer schools across the country. It points out that summer schools have been a lifeline for students who struggle to meet higher academic standards and face repeating grades. In No Child Left Behind, we have tried to eliminate social promotion. Children have to measure up. Great numbers of children now are required to take summer school in order to be able to meet the academic challenges we have included in the program. Now we see the canceling of the programs. This is very modest, costing about $1,000. It varies in different parts of the country but is basically about $1,000 for the summer program per student. What is happening is, 39 States have made midyear budget cuts during the fiscal year. A May analysis by the National Association of State Budget Offices shows they are cutting students from kindergarten through high school in the summer. Expectations are rising, but the funds are not. Something has to break. The programs that could be singled out, such as summer school, are getting the ax, according to Michael Griffith, policy analyst with the Denver Education Commission. Across the country, budget cuts imperil summer classes. In Washington, DC, educators slice student enrollment at the District 5- week summer program by 50 percent--a reduction in Washington, DC, by 50 percent of summer school programs that children otherwise are required to take in order to try to meet the standards. In Indiana, more than $470 million in budget cuts forced education to cut 15 percent of the money for the summer school programs. As a result, some school districts are limiting class to key academic studies such as reading and math. In South Carolina, districts have trimmed or eliminated summer school programs. ``You cannot cut textbooks; that money was spent the first day of school,'' said a spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Education, Jim Foster. One of the few things left to cut--something not done yet--is summer school. I will mention some of the reductions. In Florida, in Dade County, 19,000 students are cut out of summer school programs; in Hillsborough County, FL, 36,000 students have lost the summer school program; in Broward County, 40,000 students have lost summer programs; in my State, Massachusetts: Worcester County, MA, 6,000; more than 25,000 in the State of Michigan. Even in smaller communities, in South Carolina, in Laurens County, $100,000 for 280 students is eliminated. In Marion County, SC, $50,000 was eliminated, and 200 students, needy in terms of education requirements, see their program eliminated. In Wisconsin, $60,000 in Mequon; 1,200 students. This is over 300,000 students according to the latest information. This is an emergency. We have in the program provided the Secretary obligate the funds within 4 weeks or sooner. If we are able to get it, there is every expectation that the appropriators will move this conference rapidly. The differences are minimal. There are some differences with the House, not great. They will move it rapidly, I expect in a matter of days, and we will get the final outcome with the inclusion of this amendment. All that has to happen, from our conversations with school superintendents, school boards across the country, if the Secretary obligates the money, they will have the resources and they can reinstate these summer programs. The Department at the present time has on file $150 million in worthy, highly regarded 21st century summer school and afterschool applications--already ranked and already peer-reviewed, on the Secretary's desk. He could approve $150 million worth of those this afternoon. They have been peer-reviewed and ranked. All that needs to be done is to give greater targeting to the needy students. We give discretion to the Secretary to be able to do that. That would be manageable. The Department can promise the funds to those districts placing a priority on those canceling the summer school programs or so the districts can borrow money to resume the summer programs, and the Department can then reimburse. States contemplate more summer school cuts right now. My own State is considering a $40 million additional cut. This is a barebones amendment to deal with an emergency. If we do not do this, these summer school programs are headed for the chop block. We made a commitment to the students that we would not leave them behind. The school districts now are saying to the students: Look, you have to make the grade in these schools, in terms of the tests, and you have to stay and do the work over the course of the summer and raise your grades because we are eliminating social promotion from these States and these local communities. So the students are prepared to go. And now we are saying the resources will not be there. This is an emergency. It does relate to our security in a very important way in terms of the education of our children. It seems to me the Senate should be willing to accept this amendment. How much time remains?

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, how much time now remains?

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask the modification that Senator Smith and I described be made at the desk.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the amendment is at the desk.

Mr. KENNEDY. On the other side, Mr. President?

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Our time is expiring, but we are going to take time every week to go over these figures and give a report to the American people and our colleagues on what is happening in real terms. We are giving the assurances that we are going to fight in these remaining weeks and months to make sure we are going to invest in the children. We are very hopeful we will get the support of our colleagues in doing so. I thank the Senator and I yield the floor.

Mr. KENNEDY. Now we are putting it at risk--both the kinds of reforms we have gotten out here and in terms of the assurances to those parents that we are going to do our business. Doesn't the Senator agree with me? We heard so much about accountability, that we ought to be accountable, as well as these children in local schools, and by doing that meet our responsibilities in investing in the children.

Mr. KENNEDY. I ask unanimous consent for 3 more minutes.

Mr. KENNEDY. Well, the Senator is absolutely correct. If you take the past years of expenditures, the increases, we show that from 1997 to 2001, in terms of education, it went up 13 percent. In 2002, total education is 16 percent. If you look at the budget request by the administration--I draw this to the attention of my colleagues. Look at the budget projections over the future. From 2003 to 2010, it is virtually zero. It is the cost of living, which in this bill the request is not--but it is not any increase whatsoever in terms of children. As a result, we are going to find out the number of children who are going to be left behind. These are the facts. You are going to find out all the way out to 2007 that you are still going to have--current projections--over 6.5 million children left behind. If we had funded the legislation--No Child Left Behind--which the President signed, we have gone from 6.3 million down to 3.9 million over that period of time. If we are going to say we are not going to leave any children behind, we ought to have this number zero. This is the best we could do in terms of the legislation. This is what the rhetoric is. This is what the reality is. That is what is happening in this country not only in funding this legislation but in school budgets. I would like to inquire of my colleague and friend, does he not find in Illinois that parents want their children to be able to go to a good school and learn? They are less interested about what the funding stream is going to be from the local, State, or Federal. Obviously, we have a responsibility to meet our obligations as to States and local communities. The parents want to be sure children are----

Mr. KENNEDY. I want to answer the question in two ways: First, to underline the point being made by the Senator from Illinois, if it is going to cost more to go, if the children are going to borrow more and it will cost more, it will be a disincentive to those who want to have additional degrees in teaching. We want a well- qualified teacher in every classroom. This will be a financial disincentive for them to get their degrees, and it will be a disincentive for nurses to continue their education in order to become better nurse specialists, as it will in terms of child care, to try to strengthen those individuals who are trying to get some degrees to increase their ability to deal with the Nation's children. In those three areas, this will be a further disincentive. Second, as the Senator will see from this particular chart I have before me, the administration's budget does nothing to improve teacher quality and reduce class sizes. We had final appropriations of $742 million last year. The proposed budget is zero for this year. These funds can be used in terms of recruitment, in terms of developing a mentoring system which has been so successful, as we found in the hearings. In terms of retention, it gives flexibility to local communities. They need these additional funds to provide financial help for salaries in local communities. We have given maximum flexibility to communities to ensure that we have a well-qualified teacher in every classroom. We want to provide the incentive to help local communities. We can't do the whole job, but we are committed to trying to do our part. The Senator raises the issue of where we are in the budget for this year in terms of recruitment and maintaining professional development for teachers who want to upgrade their skills. We find that in this administration's budget it is effectively zero over the previous year. I am troubled by both of these factors when we say we are serious about enhancing education.

Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator is absolutely correct. There are many important parts of this No Child Left Behind. But for me the point of having a well-qualified teacher in front of every child in this country and doing that over a 4-year period--we gave the priorities to the areas where we had the neediest children, where you have the highest numbers of teachers who have not gotten their degrees. You have to admire these people anyway; they are teaching in difficult circumstances, and the best information we have is many of them want to continue teaching in these underserved areas if they will have an opportunity to get a degree and enhance their education. But does the Senator know that there will be 18,000 fewer teachers who will be trained this year over last year because we have failed to provide the resources? I ask the Senator what possible sense that makes as well.

Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator is quite correct. First of all, the general estimate at this time is that the budget deficits for States across the country is somewhere between $48 and $50 billion. The general rule of thumb is about a third of that is education cuts. That is being reflected in higher fees or tuition. In my State, it is higher fees. That just means the fees will go directly to that particular school. If it were tuition, it would go into the State education funds. As far as the student is concerned and the families, they are still paying it out of their pocket. It is an increase in taxes. It is an increase in taxes effectively. It is money they will have to pay so that this administration can give tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals. We are interested in its impact in terms of education. What we are seeing is that there is an increasing number of young people of talent, ability, desire, individuals who can contribute to this Nation, to make it a stronger Nation, who can add to the economy, add to the essence of the elements of a democracy, who are being effectively shut out. The best estimate we have is that there will be 100,000 young people with this budget who would otherwise be eligible who will be excluded if we do nothing at all. I don't see how that reflects what the administration has suggested; that is, education is their most important priority.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I wish to thank our distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Byrd, and Senator Stevens for this amendment, which is so very important to tens of thousands of airline industry employees across the country. This amendment will restore the integrity of the loan guarantee fund we established in the Air Transportation and System Stabilization Act of 2001, and ensure that airlines suffering from the continued effects of September 11 will be able to remain strong and competitive. I greatly appreciate the efforts of Senator Byrd and Stevens to put the U.S. Senate on record with this issue as the fiscal year 2002 emergency supplemental appropriations bill moves to conference with the House of Representatives. Their leadership is so very important, because the House bill has a provision that would cripple the loan guarantee fund, a provision that may well bankrupt more than one major U.S. air carrier. I also want to recognize the thousands of airline industry workers who made their voices heard on this issue over the Memorial Day recess. These workers united in a most impressive way to lobby on behalf of their companies. I found their commitment inspiring, and I want to congratulate them on this great victory they have won on the Senate floor today.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, this week, East Timor became the first new nation of the 21st century. This breathtaking milestone is the culmination of a long and violent road to independence for the East Timorese people. Portugal ruled East Timor for over 400 years before pulling out in August 1975. East Timor was independent for just four months before it was invaded by Indonesia in December that year. The U.N. General Assembly and Security Council strongly condemned the invasion and never recognized Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. After two decades of unrest, former Indonesian President B.J. Habibie finally agreed to a referendum in January 1999. In August that year, the people of East Timor voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Indonesia, and they did so at great personal risk. Before, during, and after the vote, the Indonesian military and anti-independence militia groups killed more than a thousand people and displaced thousands more, hoping to intimidate the independence movement. Although the militias succeeded in destroying seventy percent of East Timor's infrastructure, they failed to derail East Timor's desire for freedom. Ninety-eight percent of the Timorese population turned out to vote on Election Day. The people of East Timor subsequently elected a Constitutional Assembly and, on April 14, 2002, they elected Xanana Gusmao as their first President. As East Timor at long last takes its rightful place in the international family of nations, it is a time of great hopes. But it is also a time of great challenges. East Timor is rebuilding itself from ashes following 24 years of Indonesian rule, and her people have substantial economic needs. According to the United Nations Development Program, East Timor is the poorest country in Asia and one of the 20 poorest nations in the world. Almost half of East Timor's population lives on less than 55 cents a day and nearly 60 percent are illiterate. The unemployment rate is 80 percent. The most pressing needs are the problems of poverty and economic growth and the building of solid democratic institutions that can deal with the challenges East Timor will face. Our country must show the East Timorese that we will support the efforts of the world's newest democracy. It is a unique opportunity to do it correctly from the start. America's embassy in Dili is up and running, but it is being run by a Charge d'Affairs. To show maximum support and ensure that our commitment to assisting East Timor is strong, an Ambassador to East Timor should be nominated immediately. The Peace Corps Director is already based in Dili, and the first group of volunteers should be in East Timor in June. To ensure that the Peace Corps will succeed in providing appropriate health and education assistance, we must ensure that the Peace Corps in East Timor receive the financial resources it needs. Our Nation can also assist East Timor on the road to economic development by promoting trade in promising industries. The administration should introduce the tools and programs to facilitate trade and investment in East Timor--such as the Generalized System of Preferences--soon. East Timor is also developing its armed forces. Australia and Portugal are leading the effort in providing training for the new military. The U.S. and other regional countries are providing some technical assistance. To help professionalize the army and promote human rights, the United States should provide excess defense materials and international military education and training. Additionally, America should keep our peacekeepers in the international force in East Timor until the UN determines that its mission is complete. The U.S. should also maintain the humanitarian assistance through the U.S. Group in East Timor, USGET, with regularly scheduled ship visits that have played a vital role in rebuilding schools and orphanages and providing basic health care. Finally, the United States must reiterate its interest in ensuring that members of the Indonesian military are held accountable for the 1999 atrocities in East Timor. The East Timorese need to know not only that their concerns have been heard, but also that the United States is committed to upholding high standards of democracy and justice. The people of East Timor have chosen democracy. This is an important opportunity for the United States to ensure that the East Timorese people are part of one of the world's great success stories. We have seen the risks of failed states in places like Afghanistan and Somalia. Failure in East Timor cannot be an option.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, finally, again, I thank my colleague, Senator Gregg, and Senator Frist, Senator Collins, and all of our Members for their cooperation and their help. I urge our colleagues to vote in favor of the conference report.

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator is correct.