Congressional Budget for Fiscal Year 2004

Mr. REED. Mr. President, the choice before us is very clear: Are we going to devote $8.9 billion to tax cuts, most of them favoring the very rich, or are we going to devote $8.9 billion to the children and the schools of America? The choice is much more clear since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed because we made significant commitments to improve the quality of education in the United States while imposing significant responsibilities on the schools. The schools are expecting this money. The suggestion that there is a lot of money in the pipeline is interesting, but I would be shocked because that suggests the Department of Education is inept in getting money that is there to the schools that desperately need it.

There are 10,000 identified failing schools in this country. There are scores of children being taught by teachers without a college degree in their primary field of instruction. All of that needs remediation, help, and resources, but instead the budget before us provides billions in tax cuts when our schools desperately need that money.

It is not a question of what we did last year, it is a question of what we will do this year. It is a question of whether we will meet the needs of the American students and whether we will keep the promises of the No Child Left Behind Act. We are not keeping those promises in the budget that is presented to us by the Budget Committee. We should keep those promises, and by doing so, we will do something I believe every American wants more than tax cuts that favor very wealthy Americans. We want to see every child in this country have a decent education, succeed, contribute, and be part of this great country. That is what the Murray amendment does.

The choice before us is clear, compelling, emphatic: Put the money with the schools and the children, and our economy will be better, and our schools and students will be better. We can afford it because if we do not commit the funding to the children, it will go to tax cuts primarily to upper income Americans.