Date: 2002-10-10
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. It isg really incredibly unfortunate. and when we see that the gentleman from Florida and the gentleman from Wisconsin . the gentleman from Georgia and myself. we are arguing over education. and given the chance. all four of us would increase this years education budget as it should properly be increased. as it is called for under Leave No Child Behind. and we would be able to deal with the Senate and get an increase for Americas schoolchildren. but we are prevented from doing that because the Republican leadership will not let that bill come to the floor. The gentleman from Georgia says we cannot do that because we do not have a budget. We just passed a Military Construction bill without a budget. We just passed a Defense appropriations bill without a budget. We sent the Interior bill to the Senate without a budget. For 200 years we did not have a budget in this country. but this Committee on Appropriations. they fought the Second World War. they fought the Korean War. they fought the Depression. they launched a great society. they created Medicare. they created Social Security. and we did not have a budget. but we built America. All of a sudden today we feel because we do not have a budget we cannot take care of the needs of Americas schoolchildren. of Americas teachers. of our school districts. because we do not have a budget. It is just a phony argument. The fact of the matter is. the Republican leadership does not want to bring to the floor the Education budget as it is being insisted on being brought to the floor by the most right wing element of the Republican Caucus because it is an insufficient number for Education. They do not want to admit it before the election. The States have cut $9 billion because of the economy from the Education budget. The least we can do is uphold the Federal role in that effort. but we are told we cannot do it because we do not have a budget. and yet we are going to have a $50 billion tax cut bill out here next week. We do not need a budget to do that. The American public ought to be getting terribly tired of this argument. I know the Members of Congress are getting terribly tired of it. because most of us on both sides of the aisle would like to do our work. finish up. go home. see if we can get our option renewed for another 2 years with the public and get on about the publics business. but that is being thwarted here. The terrible thing is here it is not the punishment of us. it is not the punishment of the President or the Committee on Appropriations or any other committee in this Congress. It is starting to punish the schoolchildren of this country. Because this is not the money that we need to carry out the reforms that we have insisted upon as a Congress on a bipartisan basis to change the educational experience of the poorest children in this country. but that cannot be done without this money. School districts and States all over this country are engaging in the most dramatic reforms of the education systems at the local level in the la~t 30 years. and we told them we would give them the money to help them do that. and this budget does not do that. In 1 years time we have broken faith. This was a 12year contract with the school districts of this country. and in the first year. in the first year. the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives and the Presidents budget have broken faith with those school districts. with those school board members. with those parents and with those children. Give us the Health and Education appropriations bill so we can vote on it up or down. Let us go.