Ted Kennedy

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am going to support this amendment as an amendment on the reauthorization of the Head Start bill. Currently, we are providing loan forgiveness now for elementary and secondary teachers when they go into underserved areas. We also had an offset on that. This amendment does not have an offset. We ought to have an offset. It ought to be on the Head Start bill. Also, we are trying to keep only germane amendments in this bill. This is not germane. We have 100 amendments which are not germane, many of which I will agree with. But on this particular occasion, I hope this will not be accepted.

Mr. KENNEDY. Could we have order, Mr. President? We have another amendment now that we intend to vote on. There is a brief moment or two of explanation, and I think the Members should have the opportunity to listen to the proponents of it. Could we have order?

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I regret that I will have to oppose the amendment by Senator Dayton. I agree with the intent--to fully fund IDEA as quickly as possible--but it does it too quickly and undermines the Hagel-Harkin amendment that was already passed on this bill. The Hagel-Harkin amendment provides the full funding in 6 years. That is a reasonable yet ambitious timeframe, and it has bipartisan support. I commend Senator Dayton for his dedication to provide full funding, but I don't think it can be done in 2 years, so I will oppose the amendment in order to preserve the bipartisan commitment to fully fund IDEA in 6 years as passed in the Hagel-Harkin amendment.

Mr. KENNEDY. I would like to then give 1 minute of my time to the Senator from Minnesota.

Mr. KENNEDY. I would like to reserve 30 seconds of the time and have 2 and a half minutes for the Senator from Minnesota.

Mr. KENNEDY. As I understand it, we have 3 minutes; is that correct?

Mr. KENNEDY

Mr. KENNEDY. It is 5 minutes.

Mr. KENNEDY. Could I renew my request he be given 2 minutes? That is too short a time?

Mr. KENNEDY. We ask for 2 minutes for the proponent, the author of the amendment to be able to address the Senate prior to the vote. I ask for 2 minutes.

Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. How long did that vote take, Mr. President? May we have order, Mr. President.

Mr. KENNEDY. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. KENNEDY. I think Senator Harkin has the floor.

Mr. KENNEDY. It is my understanding that school districts all across this country that have relied on these funds, and have planned accordingly under the assumption that they would receive these funds, but will now not receive such funds. Is the Senator from Wyoming saying these funds will be snatched back from local communities all over the Nation that have budgeted for it, that have received assurances of it? Is the Senator proposing to grab that money back to re-allocate its sum through a new formula? Is the Senator prepared to tell every school district planning to receive these funds in the next few weeks that their planning is for nought? Is that the purpose of the Senator's amendment? Because it seems that this would be the effect.

Mr. KENNEDY. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. KENNEDY. I agree with the Senator that the appropriations process will determine the amount we will have for resources. If it is not authorizing, a point of order is made. As I understand it, this amendment authorizes 20 percent of existing Federal funds. The only construction funds of which I am aware are funds made available through BIA, impact aid, and defense. If we are referring to 20 percent of those funds--that is what it says in here-- equal to 20 percent, then 20 percent is the authorization level. That amount equals $20 million. That is the authorization. I understand further that half of that goes to loans and grants. I withhold further comment. I think this is a pale, pale substitute for the Harkin amendment. At an appropriate time after the Senator from Iowa makes a comment about it, I would like to have 4 or 5 minutes to add my support for the Harkin amendment.

Mr. KENNEDY. I don't know whether the Senator from Wyoming can tell us whether we have interpreted the amendment correctly. I invite him to correct us if we are incorrect. As I understand it, this amendment would equal only 20 percent of the total amount of funds that will be appropriated for such fiscal year. We anticipate that next year, outside of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, impact aid and military schools, that such an amount is less than a million dollars. And this amendment proposes 20 percent of that amount for school construction. Am I correct, I inquire of the Senator?

Mr. KENNEDY. For school construction. We are talking about an amount that is less than $100 million. And here we have a proposal to authorize 20 percent of that amount. That totals approximately $20 million. Do we understand that? I respect my colleague from Wyoming, and he knows he is my friend, but it is a hoax to suggest that this is a program to help local schools. We are only talking about $20 million; $10 million for grants, and $10 million for loans. This is the amount that would be available under the restrictions that the Senator from Wyoming has outlined. We are calling this a construction program. I ask my colleague and friend, does he believe that when Senators vote for the Enzi amendment, they will be able to claim that their vote is a vote for school construction? They will have voted against the Harkin amendment that helps local communities in the neediest areas of the nation, both rural and urban, repair and renovate crumbling schools. Instead, they will say, ``oh, no, we prefer the Enzi amendment that provides $20 million--$10 million in grants, and $10 million in loans.'' I ask the Senator from Iowa whether he reads this amendment the same way?

Mr. KENNEDY. It says ``set-aside of Federal funds.'' It reads: In General--Notwithstanding any other provisions of law. . .there shall be made available to carry out this section for each fiscal year, an amount equal to 20 percent of the total amount of Federal funds appropriated for such fiscal year for Federal programs to provide assistance for school construction, renovation, or repair. The Harkin amendment, of course, expires this year. As such, the only funds that I am aware of will be the DOD and the BIA funds and impact aid.

Mr. KENNEDY. We have only had this amendment for a brief period of time. However, in reviewing this amendment, I have noticed that on page 13 it refers to the set-aside of Federal funds. This is the only reference in the amendment to the authorization of funds. If the Senator has a copy----

Mr. KENNEDY. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. KENNEDY. Reserving the right to object, I would like to just say a quick word on that amendment. I think we are prepared actually to accept it if the Senator wants to press it. I would like to take just 1 minute on this amendment. I thank the Senator for raising this issue. Today there are approximately 800,000 migrant children in the nation. They are all going to become citizens of our country. By and large, they have placed an enormous burden on local communities. Years ago, the Federal Government provided help and assistance to families when they resettled in a local community for up to 18 months. There were resources available to schools. All of that has been cut back. We are back to about 4 months now. So basically, the Federal Government has abdicated its support for local communities. There are a number of people, for example, the Cambodians, who came to this country and were settled by religious groups in different parts of the country. We found--which was their choice--there were major groupings of Cambodians in Lowell, MA. We have a higher Cambodian population in Lowell, MA, than in Phnom Penh. They placed an enormous initial burden on the school community because of the destruction by Pol Pot of all of the information, all of the books. They did not have any training. The burden fell on a blue- collar community to try to respond to the kinds of challenges which, for these children, were overwhelming. But they did it. And they deserve great credit for it. Now, if you look at the various schools up in Lowell, half of the valedictorians from the high school will be the sons and daughters of these extraordinary, resourceful people. I think the Senator has put his finger on an important need. Finally, last year, when we were considering the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, there was no additional assistance included in that legislation for migrant, homeless, or immigrant students. There is additional assistance in this legislation. I would not support this bill if it did not provide for these students because they number over 1.5 million children. It would have been a great mistake not to increase support for these students in this bill. The Senator has recognized a very important need. He is presenting this so there will be local options. Communities will be able to use these resources. I thank him for raising it. I am very hopeful we can accept the amendment.

Mr. KENNEDY. I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendments Nos. 377 And No. 429 Withdrawn

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I think we are ready to accept the amendment. We know of no other speakers. I hope we can at this time.