May 18, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6945

TRIBUTE TO MOUNTAIN CITY

CARE CENTER

∑ Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I rise

today to recognize this week as Nursing Home Week in Tennessee, and to

commend one of the finest nursing

homes in east Tennessee for its excellent staff and the generous care it provides its residents—the Mountain City

Care Center in Mountain City, TN.

Nursing homes in Tennessee are reviewed each year in a Tennessee State

survey, with the results highlighting

each center’s strengths and weaknesses. Just 2 years ago, Mountain City

Care Center was widely recognized as

one of the worst facilities in east Tennessee, and it was almost forced to

close. After receiving poor State survey results, the staff and new management of the facility immediately began

retraining and hiring new care providers. Within 90 days, the State found

that significant changes were being

made, and Mountain City Care Center’s

surveys, as well as public opinion about

the facility, have been improving ever

since.

Just 2 weeks ago, the care center received its best inspection yet in the annual surveys, and it is widely recognized as one of the most improved, progressive nursing homes in east Tennessee. Mountain City Care Center

even sponsors school projects, Johnson

County Little League, sports programs,

Rotary Club, American Red Cross, and

other community programs.

Mr. President, I would like to thank

the Tennesseans who were involved in

turning around Mountain City Care

Center and turning it into one of the

best facilities in the State. Without

their hard work and dedication to quality care, elderly residents in Mountain

City would not receive the attention

and care that they deserve.

f∑

MUSICALYMPICS

∑ Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, earlier

this week an article in the Science

Times section of the New York Times

explored what it called ‘‘the mystery of

music.’’ Scientists are attempting to

find how and where the sense and art of

music arise in the brain. It is a search

in which much remains to be discovered, but it has already produced fascinating results, including the possibility that, even as it provides the child

with a constructive source of pleasure

and reward, early musical training

may also enhance the ability to think

and reason in terms of time and space.

That possibility suggests, in turn, the

significant role that music and musical

education play in achieving the fundamental goals of our educational system.

That suggestion lends a special emphasis to an innovative musical program inaugurated this spring at three

Los Angeles-area high schools. This

program, I believe, serves as an excellent model for improving education

through the cooperation of the private

and public sectors.

‘‘Musicalympics,’’ an artistic competition for high schools, was conceived by David Griffin, a Warner

Brothers Records representative. Griffin enlisted the interest of Warner

Brothers Records chairman, Danny

Goldberg, who signed the record company on as the Musicalympics’ founding benefactor, the first, Griffin hopes,

of other corporate sponsors to follow.

Similarly, he hopes to see this year’s

inaugural competition among the three

high schools extended to other schools

in the future. The thoughtful design of

the competition and the solid professional backing it is receiving make its

prospects good, I believe, on both

counts.

Each school participating in

Musicalympics has created a team of

student songwriters, musicians,

choreographers, dancers, costume designers, set designers and production

personnel such as television camera operators, lighting designers and recording engineers to pursue the creation of

a musical performance from the writing of an original song to the final television production. Each school has

been given a small cash stipend to underwrite expenses, and production professionals have guided the students in

mastering technical production details.

Professional Musicalympics television crews have visited each school

periodically to videotape students preparing their productions. David Griffin

is producing and directing a television

documentary special which showcases

the competition, which will end in a

complete television performance of

each school’s production. The competition is being judged by Griffin, a Warner Records artist and other television

professionals. The documentary will

premiere early next month and the

winning school will be announced before each school’s participating students and invited guests, sponsors, contributors and other key supporters.

Each participating student will receive

a videotape of the finished television

program, and all three participating

schools will receive cash prizes, or musical instruments and recording equipment.

Mr. President, the Musicalympics directly addresses a number of educational dimensions which concern the

Nation today. In the first place, it offers an opportunity for interested students to participate directly in the creation of an original artistic performance; it provides those students with

an intimate, personal perspective on

the origin and nature of a production

in one of the performing arts which are

a chief feature of our culture. It helps

these students develop the practical,

hands-on skills that make such performances possible. It combines the resources of the private and public sectors to achieve a worthwhile goal few

schools could manage on their own. It

provides for both the participating students and their schools the challenge

and the reward of disciplined teamwork

focused on a constructive conclusion.

And, finally, it takes broad theoretical

and practical advantage of the fundamental, universal, and characteristically human creation and appreciation of music.

Mr. President, I commend the founders and supporters of Musicalympics.

This is a program that deserves scrutiny, encouragement and support.

f ∑

IN SUPPORT OF THE NEA

∑ Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise

today to express my concerns about

proposals in the House of Representatives that would abolish the National

Endowment for the Arts. Support for

the arts and humanities is the hallmark of a civilized society and since

our nation’s founding, the arts have

held a respected place in our country.

The National Endowment for the

Arts and the National Endowment for

the Humanities were created 30 years

ago with the passage of the National

Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965. This act was conceived fundamentally to maintain intellectual freedom and preserve American culture for future generations.

Since its inception, the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities

have become the principal funding organizations for many of our national

museums, historical sights, and cultural institutions.

While we are currently facing a time

of serious budgetary constraints, it is

important for us to remember how

small our investment in the arts really

is. If you look at other civilized countries, they do far more from the public

treasury in helping support the arts

and humanities than we do in this

country. Currently, the United States

spends 64 cents per American per year,

the equivalent of 2 postage stamps. In

light of the tremendous return on investment in the arts and humanities,

proposals to terminate funding for the

Endowments seem shortsighted.

Federal support for the arts and humanities constitutes only five to ten

percent of the total funding for the

arts in this nation. This small investment functions as a catalyst to draw

into the arts very significant amounts

of money from the state and local levels as well as from private sources.

A grant from the NEA or NEH gives

a tremendous boost to organizations

such as symphonies and museums by

assisting them in fundraising efforts in

their own communities. Organizations

all across the State of Maryland—from

Baltimore’s Museum of Art to Hagerstown’s Maryland Symphony Orchestra—have all been able to use their

NEA grant awards to leverage muchneeded funding from their own communities. In fact, $1 endowment attracts

$11 for the arts from States and local

governments, regional and local art

agencies, foundations and corporations,

and businesses and individuals.

All of these contributions recognize

the tremendous return on an investment in the arts. The arts have