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Calendar No. 286

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 187

To express the sense of the Senate regarding education funding.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 24, 1999

Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. HARKIN, and Mrs. MURRAY)

submitted the following resolution; which was ordered to be placed on the

calendar

RESOLUTION

To express the sense of the Senate regarding education

funding.

Whereas the American people know that a strong public education system is vital to our Nation’s future and they

overwhelmingly support increasing the Federal investment in education;

Whereas the funding level for the Subcommittee on Labor,

Health and Human Services, and Education of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate has been reduced

to pay for other programs;

Whereas the current allocation for the Subcommittee on

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education of
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SRES 187 PCS

the Committee on Appropriations is 17 percent below fiscal year 1999 levels;

Whereas the 17 percent reduction in Head Start will result

in 142,000 children not being served;

Whereas the 17 percent reduction will cost school districts

the funds for 5,246 newly hired teachers;

Whereas the 17 percent reduction will deprive 50,000 students of access to after-school and summer school programs;

Whereas the 17 percent reduction in funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) will make it

far more difficult for States to provide an appropriate

education for students with disabilities by reducing funding by more than $880,000,000;

Whereas the 17 percent reduction will deprive 2,100,000 children in high-poverty communities of educational services

to help them do well in school and master the basics;

Whereas the 17 percent reduction will result in 1,000 fewer

school districts receiving support for their initiatives to

integrate technology into their classrooms;

Whereas the 17 percent reduction will deny nearly 200,000

disadvantaged and middle-income students access to

counseling and educational support to help them succeed

in college;

Whereas the 17 percent reduction will reduce funds provided

to schools to improve school safety by nearly

$100,000,000;

Whereas the 17 percent reduction will cause 100,000 students to lose their Federal Pell Grant awards;
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SRES 187 PCS

Whereas no action has been taken in the Senate on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and

Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,

2000; and

Whereas there are only 4 legislative work days left before the

end of fiscal year 2000: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—

2 (1) the Senate should increase the Federal in3 vestment in education, including providing—

4 (A) $1,400,000,000 for the second year of

5 the initiative to reduce class sizes in early

6 grades by hiring 100,000 qualified teachers;

7 (B) an increase in support for programs

8 that recruit, train, and provide professional de9 velopment for, teachers;

10 (C) $600,000,000 for after-school pro11 grams, thereby tripling the current investment;

12 (D) an increase, not a decrease, in funding

13 for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Com14 munities Act of 1994;

15 (E) an increase in funding for part A of

16 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 for children from disadvan18 taged backgrounds, and an increase in funding

19 for reading and literacy grants under part C of

20 title II of such Act;
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SRES 187 PCS

1 (F) an increase, not a decrease, in funding

2 for the Individuals with Disabilities Education

3 Act;

4 (G) funding for a larger maximum Federal

5 Pell Grant award for college students, and an

6 increase in funding for mentoring and other

7 need-based programs;

8 (H) an increase, not a decrease, in funds

9 available to help schools use technology effec10 tively in the classroom and narrow the tech11 nology gap; and

12 (I) at least $3,700,000,000 in Federal re13 sources to help communities leverage funds to

14 modernize public school facilities; and

15 (2) the Senate should stay within the discre16 tionary spending caps and avoid using the resources

17 of the social security program by finding discre18 tionary spending offsets that do not jeopardize im19 portant investments in other key programs within

20 the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Labor,

21 Health and Human Services, and Education of the

22 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

Calendar No. 286

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 187

RESOLUTION

To express the sense of the Senate regarding

education funding.

SEPTEMBER 24, 1999

Ordered to be placed on the calendar