District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2004-Resumed

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004—RESUMED

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the pending business.

The legislative clerk read as follows:

A bill (H.R. 2765) making appropriations for the government of the District of Columbia and other activities chargeable in whole or in part against the revenues of said District for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and for other purposes.

Pending:

DeWine/Landrieu amendment No. 1783 in the nature of a substitute.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.

Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, in just a moment my colleague and friend from California will be offering an amendment. Before she does that, I again thank her for her contribution to this bill.

When this bill was being marked up in the Appropriations Committee, she came to Senator Stevens, the chairman, Senator Gregg, myself, and the other members of the committee and said she believed the bill could be improved—specifically, the section having to do with the scholarships for the children in the District of Columbia.

She made some suggestions. Quite frankly, as I told her on the phone later, I was just sorry I had not come up with those ideas because, frankly, she significantly improved the bill. So I wish to publicly again thank her for the suggestions she made. We incorporated those suggestions, those ideas, into the bill in the committee.

She said: We want to make sure this bill is constitutional. She had some ideas in regard to that. We incorporated them into the bill. She also said: "Let's make sure the mayor—who has been such a strong advocate for the scholarship program, the mayor of the District of Columbia—let's make sure he is intricately involved in this program, the designing of the program, the running of the program; let's make sure he is tied into this program, and that we can, in fact, do that." We made those changes as well.

Third, she said: "Let's make sure there is accountability so we can measure the results." We made some changes to accomplish that as well.

The amendment she will offer and describe in a moment builds on the changes that we have already made but goes further and breaks new ground and perfects the bill even further. I am anxious to hear her description of the amendment. I have taken a look at it. It is an excellent amendment.

I yield the floor and anxiously await her amendment.

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Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from California for a wonderful speech, but, more important than that, for her commitment to the children of the District of Columbia. Her position on this issue is so typical of her career and what I have seen her do during the time I have been in the Senate, during the time I have served with her. That is, she does not necessarily take the conventional position. She studies issues. She goes out and looks at the issue. She goes out and sees what the issues are and tries to understand them. As she says, she listens to the street. She listens to the people. She finds out what is going on, and that clearly is what she has done in this particular case.

Again, as I have said on this floor before, I applaud her. I applaud her for her contribution to this bill. This is a better bill than it would have been but for the Senator from California. I thank her for her contribution.

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Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, my friend and colleague from Illinois has once again demonstrated why he is known as certainly one of the best, if not the best, debater in the Senate. He does an absolutely excellent job. I always enjoy debating with him. I thank him for his contribution to this debate. I know we will have the opportunity to continue to debate in the days ahead.

My colleague from California, Senator Feinstein, will, in a moment, talk about her amendment and will respond to Senator Durbin's comments about her amendment. But I would like to make a couple of comments first about Senator Durbin's comments.

My colleague from Illinois talked about where this plan came from. I talked earlier about the fact that it is a three-pronged program. That is what I like about it. I happen to like the fact that a third of the money goes to the public schools, a third of the money goes to the charter schools, and a third of the money goes to this new voucher program.

Somehow, my colleague seems to know—I don't know how, but he seems to know how this program started. Somehow he seems to know in his wisdom that this program was some sort of bargain deal. The House Republicans came to the Mayor and said: Mayor, here's the deal.

It is a funny thing. The Mayor, under the rules of the Senate, cannot come down here and speak. But if someone would happen to ask the Mayor, not on the floor—you can't do that; that is against the rules, but if someone someday would happen to ask the Mayor what the truth is, what the Mayor would say is that is not true, and this was the Mayor's idea; that the Mayor and his people said they wanted. This is the program we want. We want a balanced program because what we want is a choice for the children and the families of the District of Columbia. We want a balanced program.

Yes, we want more assistance for the public schools—and the Mayor has a consistent record of trying to get more money for the public schools of the District of Columbia, and he is not bashful about that. He should not be bashful about it. And he is proud about it. Yes, he wants more money to create more charter schools. Everyone who will vote on this bill needs to understand when the issue comes, when Senator Durbin tries to strike the money, what you will be striking is $13 million which will create more charter schools, four or five more charter schools in the District of Columbia. Everyone needs to understand that.

The Mayor is proud of the fact that the District of Columbia has created more charter schools. I must say my colleague,
Senator Landrieu, has been integrally involved in creating those charter schools. It is something she cares passionately about.

 Mr. DURBIN. Will my colleague yield for a question?

 Mr. DeWINE. If I may finish the thought and then I will yield.

The Mayor also said: I want more money for my public schools. I want to continue to improve them. I want more money for the charter schools. We are proud of what we are doing in that area. And third, I want to create the voucher program.
So let's clear that up. If anyone has any doubt about it, ask the Mayor. Go to the source. What the Mayor will say is: It was my idea. I am the one who had the idea. My people put the program together. We requested it. This is what we want.

I will be more than happy to yield, not the floor, but for the purpose of conversation with my colleague

Mr. DURBIN. I thank my colleague from Ohio.

I would like to ask through the Chair, I certainly will be ready to yield whenever he would like to ask me a question because
I think this is an important part of the debate, but I ask my colleague if he is aware of two things. First, the amendment I am going to offer will take the $13 million out of the school voucher program and divide it equally among the public and charter schools. The money goes back into public and charter schools, so they will end up with about $20 million each, instead of $13 million.

Mr. DeWINE. In response, I have not seen the amendment of my colleague.

Mr. DURBIN. I thank him for acknowledging that.

Second, I ask my friend and colleague from Ohio if he is aware the Executive Office of the President released a Statement of Administration Policy on September 24. In reference to this particular program it said as follows:

The administration is pleased the committee bill puts $13 million for the President's School Choice Incentive Fund Initiative. .    .    .

It doesn't refer to Mayor Williams' School Choice Incentive Fund Initiative.

Mr. DeWINE. In respond to my colleague, we all like to take credit for many things. I am sure the President is taking credit for this. I am sure I will probably take credit for it, too, if it passes. There will be many fathers and mothers of this program.

All I know is what the Mayor will tell us. The Mayor will say this is a program he put together.

What I would emphasize to my colleague is that this is a program that the Mayor says is a balanced program.

I will quote from a letter the Mayor has sent to me. I ask unanimous consent to have this letter printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

Washington, DC, September 11, 2003

Hon. Mike DeWine,

Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, Washington, DC.

DEAR CHAIRMAN DEWINE: Thank you for your leadership on the District of Columbia's FY 2004 Appropriations bill. By any measure, it is a great bill for the city. In particular, I am grateful for your support for the District of Columbia School Improvement Initiative, which will help us advance the important school reform efforts underway. Certainly, the private school scholarship element has generated significant debate, and I hope that I have made the case to your colleagues that its passage is consonant with home rule and will strengthen our public education system.

I, along with the Chair of the District Council's Education Committee, Kevin Chavous, and the School Board President, Peggy Cooper Cafritz, believe that we must continue to do everything possible to strengthen our nation's public schools. This is why, in addition to a private school scholarship program, we have insisted on strong federal financial support for both the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and the public charter schools.

Since becoming Mayor, I have overseen an increase in the public education budget by more than 50 percent. This demonstrates my commitment to public schools as tremendously important institutions in our city. This increase has allowed our charter school movement to expand to 40 schools and has permitted us to launch the Transformation Schools Initiative in 15 DC public schools, which we hope will revitalize our lowest-performing schools. After consulting with education officials, however, I have concluded that these aggressive reforms, while promising, will take years to reach most of our children. So, as these foundations expand and improve, I think it is prudent to look to the assets provided by our private schools, at least for a limited period of time.

The proposed scholarship initiative will not drain resources from our public school system. I have agreed to hold the public schools harmless from any loss of local funding arising from students' enrollments in private schools through the federally funded scholarship program. Moreover, because Title I funding is based largely on census data, we do not anticipate that DC will lose significant federal funding as a result of this program. Thus, under the scholarship initiative, our public schools will receive the same amount of funds as they otherwise would have, in order to educate fewer students.

Since our city began to debate the issue of expanded school choice, there has been speculation that this initiative will have an impact far beyond the borders of Washington, DC. Some say that what we do in the District will affect national education policy and the likelihood of pilot programs in other cities. For me, however, the issue of vouchers is more localized.

This initiative was designed by District leadership for District residents and is not being imposed on the District from outside, as some would have you believe. As mayor, I am trying to make the best choices for the residents of this city, and without a state government to which, under normal circumstances, I would make this request. In this regard, I believe it is appropriate for the federal government to act on behalf of the nation's capital when the local mayor and school board president seek assistance.

You have been a strong supporter of the District of Columbia and of our aspirations for self-government. Our city continues to improve in many ways. I hope we can count on affirmative action from the Senate in support of the School Choice Improvement Initiative and the entire FY 2004 District of Columbia Appropriations bill.

Again, I thank you for the extraordinary leadership and commitment you have shown toward the District. I look forward to continuing to work closely with you in taking the necessary actions to support the District of Columbia.

Sincerely,

ANTHONY A. WILLIAMS,        
Mayor.

Mr. DeWINE. This is a letter dated September 11, 2003, to me as chairman of the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, a two-page letter from Mayor Williams to me.

I would like to quote a part of this letter to my colleagues. This is the third paragraph:

Since becoming Mayor, I have overseen an increase in the public education budget by more than 50 percent. This demonstrates my commitment to public schools as tremendously important institutions in our city. This increase has allowed our charter school movement to expand to 40 schools and has permitted us to launch the Transformation Schools
Initiative in 15 DC public schools, which we hope will revitalize our lowest-performing schools. After consulting with education officials, however, I have concluded that these aggressive reforms, while promising, will take years to reach most of our children. So, as these foundations expand and improve, I think it is prudent to look to the assets provided by our private schools, at least for a limited period of time.

What the Mayor clearly is saying is that as we improve our public schools, as we have the charter schools, we need another alternative for some of our students.

Let me quote again, if I could, from the letter:

The proposed scholarship initiative will not drain resources from our public school system. I have agreed to hold the public schools harmless from any loss of local funding arising from students' enrollments in private schools through the federally funded scholarship program. Moreover, because Title I funding is based largely on census data, we do not anticipate that DC will lose significant federal funding as a result of this program. Thus, under the scholarship initiative, our public schools will receive the same amount of funds as they otherwise would have, in order to educate fewer students.

Let me quote another part of the letter:

This initiative was designed by District leadership for District residents and is not being imposed on the District from outside, as some would have you believe. As mayor, I am trying to make the best choices for the residents of this city.
.    .    . In this regard, I believe it is appropriate for the federal government to act on behalf of the nation's capital when the local mayor and school board president seek assistance.

At this point, before I yield to my colleague, I ask for the yeas and nays.