Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. We are not meeting the national goal. And we have no way, as people allocating this money, to know where it went, how it was spent, whether it is on paperwork or bureaucracy or administration. We will not have any way to show that it makes a difference in our kids' classrooms, whether it increases test grade scores--which is a goal for everyone--and we will not know whether this is going to make a difference in a child's learning. When we put these teachers in the classrooms, we can follow those kids in those classrooms, and we will know for sure, as the years go by, that these dollars make a difference. We will be able to look at those kids, and we will know.

Mrs. MURRAY. The Senator from Illinois is correct; we will not be able to. If our proposal is second degreed, we will not be able to win my amendment and we will not have any accountability. We will not know a year from now how that money was used; we won't know if it made a difference. We will have no accountability; and, frankly, we will not see class sizes reduced in a way that we want them reduced. We know it is important.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, how much time remains on both sides?

Mrs. MURRAY. The Senator is absolutely correct. I want an up-or-down vote on this amendment. I want the Senate to be held accountable for their vote on this. I want to be assured that we actually have an opportunity to move to do this amendment without rule XVI applying. I went to the appropriations subcommittee hearing the night before last. We could not offer any amendments in committee yesterday, as the Senator from Illinois knows; he was there. We were unable to offer this amendment. It was going to be second degreed. The chairman of the committee pleaded and begged that no amendments be offered, that we do it on the floor. Now we get to the floor. I am going to be second degreed. We will never have a chance for an up-or-down vote and rule XVI may or may not apply. The Senate will never be on record. I want our colleagues to vote. I want us on record. I want the American public to know who wants to make sure that we continue the promise we made, the commitment we made 1 year ago, to reduce class sizes in first, second and third grades.

Mrs. MURRAY. Parliamentary inquiry.

Mrs. MURRAY. I am happy to yield.

Mrs. MURRAY. The Senator is correct.

Mrs. MURRAY. The Senator is absolutely correct. In fact, we know there is going to be a teacher shortage. We need to make sure young people want to go into a career in education. If we are going to tell them they are going to be in a large class, in a crumbling school, and will not have the support at all levels--local, State, and Federal--we are going to have a hard time recruiting those teachers we drastically need. We do know if we tell our young people that we are going to reduce their class sizes so they can really do the professional job we have asked them to do, and we have a commitment that we are not going to renege on every year, that we believe in this, I believe we will be able to recruit young, great students into the teaching profession, and I think we have a lot of work to do on that. Certainly this is a commitment we need to make. Mr. President, the majority leader has indicated that he is willing to discuss with us a way to move forward on this. At this time, I am happy to yield the floor in order to move to that. Privilege Of The Floor Before I do, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the privilege of the floor be granted to Emma Harris, who is a congressional fellow in the office of Senator Edwards, during the pending Labor-HHS bill.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, the amendment I have sent to the desk corrects a major flaw in the appropriations bill that is currently before the Senate. Last year--1 year ago--in a bipartisan way, Members of the Senate, from both parties, and Members of the House, from both parties, agreed to fund an initiative called Reducing Class Size in the first, second and third grades. This is a commitment we made to hire 30,000 new teachers across the country in the early grades to make sure that these kids learn the basic skills that are so important to them as they begin their education. We did this as a national commitment because we understand that the funds that are directly targeted to the classroom, directly to hire new teachers, directly makes a difference in children's lives, and will mean that we, as Federal partners in providing funds for education will be doing something concrete to make the education of every child in this country better off. It was a bipartisan commitment by both parties. Unfortunately, in the bill that is currently before us, the money that was to be allocated for class size reduction has been put into something called a teacher assistance program that has not been authorized. Unless it has been authorized, the $1.2 billion will be lost. Essentially, what that means is that the newly hired 30,000 teachers who are in their classrooms--one on one, working with young students--at the end of this year will be laid off, if the current bill moves forward as we now have it in front of us. My amendment corrects that flaw. It recommits the Senate, it recommits the Congress to doing what we said was the right thing to do a year ago, and that is reducing class sizes in first, second, and third grades. This idea of reducing class sizes did not come from some bureaucrat in Washington, DC. It came from grassroots organizations across the country, from parents who know that if their child is in a classroom with 30 students throughout the year, they are not going to get the attention they need to have a good education. It came from teachers who told us they were teaching in overcrowded classrooms, with young students coming to them with problems that none of us probably have experienced in our lives but who are in their classrooms, and the teachers do not have the time to deal with those problems when there are 25 or 30 students. As professionals and as educators, they told us that what we could do that would make a difference would be to target money across the country, to add new teachers to lower class sizes which would give them the opportunity to do what they have been educated to do--to teach our young children. This came to us from community leaders who saw the increasing occurrences of violence in youth across their communities, who are saying to us: We want you to do something that makes a difference, that is a reality, where our tax dollars can be held accountable, where we can see a real difference occur because we see too many young people who do not receive any adult attention, who are in overcrowded classrooms, in neighborhoods where no one pays attention to them. They come from families that, for many varied reasons, do not give them the attention they deserve. Reduce class sizes so there is one adult in their lives, in those early grades, who pays attention to them, works with them one on one, and makes a difference. This idea of reducing class sizes came to us from parents and teachers and community leaders who knew that the role of the Federal Government was to be a partner with their State legislature and their local school district to do the right thing for our young students. We did not just pull this out because we imagined it may make a difference. We knew from the studies that have been conducted that reducing class sizes in first, second, and third grades makes a difference. It makes a difference in the learning of our young children. We knew, in fact, that students in smaller classes had significantly higher grades in English, math, and science. This came from a STAR study, a scientific study that took young kids in first, second, and third grades, put them in smaller classes, and then followed them throughout the next 10 years of their education. As they went on, these students, who had been in smaller class sizes to begin with, had significantly higher grades in English, math, and science. They were able to do what all of us want them to do, and that is to learn. So this idea to reduce class size was backed up by science. It was because of studies similar to the STAR study that we knew that putting our Federal resources into hiring teachers was going to have an outcome that actually made a difference in the education and learning of students across this country. It is real and it is there. This is the result of the work we did a year ago. We currently have almost 30,000 teachers now teaching in our classrooms that would not be there if we had not begun this approach a year ago. We need to make sure we follow up on that commitment. How can anyone turn around and now say: Well, what we did a year ago was an empty promise at the end of the year. We got tied up in a budget negotiation. We did not mean it. How do you say to the teacher that I met in Tacoma a week ago--with a class of 15 first graders as a result of what we did--that it was just an empty promise, that we did it on a whim, that we had to do it? We need to say to that teacher: We meant it then and we mean it now. We know that having 15 first graders in your classroom is going to make a difference. We agree with you as a professional, with you as a teacher, when you look me in the eye as a legislator and say: These kids are going to get an education this year. She said to me: I want you to make sure you continue this program so it isn't just a 1-year program, that every child in the first grade in the United States of America knows that they are going to learn to read, that every parent who sends their child to a first grade classroom will have the commitment from us that we are doing something in reality that makes a difference for their classrooms. I know that we are going to be second-degreed. I know another amendment is coming that will block grant these funds and say: Sure, this money is still going to go out to the districts, but that does not touch what parents are asking us to do, that does not touch what teachers are asking us to do. They said: You as a Federal Government, you as our national leaders, have said that reducing class size is a priority and you are behind it. Tell us that is true, and follow through on that commitment. Don't let it get lost in the bureaucracies of block grants. Don't let it get lost in the politics that happen between where you are and where we are. Please make sure that the money stays there for our teachers. This is a program we know works. We know that in a lot of block grants the money gets lost in administration and bureaucracy and paperwork. When we passed this legislation to reduce class size, we did it in a way that makes sure the paperwork is minimal. In fact, it is a one-page form that school districts fill out. It takes an administrator 10 minutes--no bureaucracy involved. That class-size money that we began a year ago--$1.2 billion--gets directed all the way into a classroom. The money doesn't go to bureaucracy and paperwork. It goes to a teacher in a classroom with young kids, giving them time, one on one, to be together and to learn and to be educated. That is what we all want. That is what is important for our country's future. That is what is going to make a difference 15 years from now when those young kids graduate. Instead of being a dropout, instead of having discipline problems, instead of not going on to college, we know from studies we have seen that these children have a much higher rate of being successful. Our economy will be better because these children have had that kind of attention. Our education system will be finally working, and we can sit back--15 years from now, 12 years from now--and take credit for doing something that is real. If we block grant this money and send it out there, none of us can say we made a difference. We won't know. But we do know because it is something that is wanted by parents; it is wanted by teachers; it is wanted by community leaders; it is wanted by grassroots people who are in the classroom working with our young children, and it is part of what we have a responsibility to do at the Federal level. We spend only 1.6 percent of the Federal budget on education. That is appalling. If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to add a block grant fund that adds to what we have done in the past, I am all for it. I want to hear about it. I want to hear what it is targeted for. I want to hear what its purpose is. I want to know it is going to make a difference in education. I am delighted to join in that discussion. But to rob from the Class Size Initiative to add a new program they have developed, I say that is wrong. We know the class size money we put into effect a year ago is in the classrooms and working. We know a year from now we can be held accountable for that. We know there are 1.7 million children today who are in a smaller class size, getting the skills they need and being taught what they need, having an adult pay attention to them and whom we won't be able to look at if this bill follows through and takes away the Class Size Reduction Initiative we began 1 year ago. This is an important commitment. It was an important promise a year ago. It is an important promise today. I hope this Senate will step back and say we have a responsibility as Federal legislators to work with our States, to work with our local governments, to reduce class size, and we are going to ante up our part. We are going to put the resources behind our rhetoric. We are going to put $1.4 billion into class size reduction, keep those 30,000 teachers we have hired, add 8,000 new ones, and, a year from now, know we can look back and say we have made a difference--we have made a tremendous difference. We have told a lot of kids, probably more than 2 million, a year from now, if we do this right, that we care about them; that we want them to have the attention they deserve; we believe their education is important; we believe it is more important than just words and rhetoric and empty promises; we are going to live up to the commitments we have given. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment before us. We have a number of Senators who are going to come and debate this amendment. We will be talking about this for the next several hours. I will retain the remainder of my time at this point and allow the Senator from Washington to send his amendment forward.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senator from California, Mrs. Feinstein, be added as a cosponsor, and I yield 10 minutes to the Senator from California.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent that Ann Ifekwunigwe, a fellow in my office, be given floor privileges during the consideration of this bill.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Wellstone be added as a cosponsor to my amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. I yield to Senator Wellstone 10 minutes.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask for 10 minutes for the Senator from California.

Mrs. MURRAY. Thank you, Mr. President. I think one of the great things about the class size initiative that is so important to remember is that this money goes directly to the classrooms, with no bureaucracy and one piece of paper. There is essentially no paperwork. This money is allocated directly. There is no bureaucracy and no administration cost. This money goes to the teachers in our classrooms. That is what so many of us believe is the right way to spend our Federal dollars. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators Durbin, Torricelli, Mikulski, John Kerry, Boxer, Sarbanes, and Johnson be added as cosponsors.

Mrs. MURRAY. I will be happy to yield 1 minute.

Mrs. MURRAY. I am happy to yield 5 minutes.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are coming to the end of this debate. Everybody needs to step back and remember why we are here, and that is that 1 year ago, in a bipartisan manner, both Houses--the Senate and the House--agreed to work toward funding 100,000 new teachers in the early grades, first through third grades. Everybody took credit a year ago. In fact, I have a copy of the Republican Policy Committee, ``Accomplishments During the 105th Congress.'' This is what they put out, and right on the second page, they take credit for the 30,000 new teachers we funded with the $1.2 billion. They take credit and say: This is one of their accomplishments. They say: This omnibus FY 1999 funding bill provides $1.2 billion in additional educational funds, funds controlled 100 percent at the local level-- Despite the rhetoric you have heard today-- to recruit, hire, train, and test teachers. This provision-- They said a year ago-- is a major first step toward returning to local school officials the ability to make the educational decisions for our children, rather than the bureaucrats in Washington. I did not say that; our Republican colleagues said that a year ago when they passed the $1.2 billion with us to reduce class sizes. In the past year, we have put 30,000 new teachers into our classrooms. Why was that an initiative that we all felt was important? Because we know it makes a difference. We know that students in smaller class sizes enroll in more college-bound courses, they have higher grade point averages, they have fewer discipline problems, and they have lower drop-out rates. The commitment we began last year is making a difference for our students, it is making a difference in our classrooms, and it will make a difference for our economy and for this country's future. It is a program that is working. I ask my colleagues: Why have so many people opposed it today when 1 year ago they said it was a major accomplishment in turning money back to local school districts? Why are they opposing it? Perhaps they do not want any Federal involvement in our education. I disagree. The Federal Government is a partner. They are a partner with our State and local governments, with our teachers, our students, our families. We made a commitment a year ago, and we are about to renege on that right now. If my amendment is not agreed to, and a year from now 30,000 teachers get their pink slips and we have students, 1.7 million children, who are returned to larger classrooms, everyone in this Congress will have failed to do the right thing for our children. The Class Size Reduction Initiative was the right thing to do a year ago. Everyone said so. It is still the right thing to do today. It is a commitment we have made to the families in this country that, yes, we will live up to what their expectations are of us, that education is a priority, that we are willing to put our money behind our rhetoric. My colleague from Washington, Senator Gorton, has offered an alternative, and I say to my Republican colleagues, if they want to introduce a new block grant program and tell us what it is, perhaps we will be willing to help them. But we are not willing to take 30,000 teachers out of our classrooms, and we are not willing to say to the families in this country that we are not with you in making sure that every child in this country, no matter who they are or where they come from, will learn. We are willing to do our part. I urge my colleagues to support the Murray amendment and oppose the Gorton amendment and do the right thing for children and families in this country.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to add Senator Akaka as a cosponsor to my amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. The Senator is correct.

Mrs. MURRAY. The Senator is absolutely correct. That is what the bill before us does.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent Senator Levin be added as a cosponsor.

Mrs. MURRAY. I yield such time as he may use to the Senator from Massachusetts.