Bill Clinton: “I rise today both to applaud the chair and minority ranking member of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Committee…”

“I rise today both to applaud the chair and minority ranking member of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Committee for supporting needed investments in school construction-- $925 million for States to make emergency renovations and repairs--and to raise my concerns about the two amendments currently being debated. I applaud the Senators from New Hampshire and Louisiana for focusing the education debate on targeting title I funds to the highest poverty states and school districts. I, however, cannot support my colleagues' amendments. Senator Gregg's amendment is a false choice. It takes needed money away from school construction, adds these funds to the new funds allocated to title I and ensures that they are distributed through the targeted formula. I agree that new title I funds should be distributed to states and school districts through the title I targeted formula, which provides more funding to those States and school districts with the highest child poverty rates and highest number of poor school-age children. But, we cannot support targeting at the expense of repairing our schools in the most urgent need of renovation. You may have heard me tell the story of a fourth grade teacher at the 82-year-old Mechanicville Elementary School, just north of Albany, who was struck in the head by concrete from the ceiling as she was teaching because the school was in such disrepair.”