On the recordApril 2, 1998
We promised the school districts of this country that if they would abide by the rules we set for taking care of disabled children in school, we would foot 40 percent of the bill. We cried tears galore around here about unfunded mandates to the cities and the States and the counties, and we took care of it. Here is the biggest unfunded mandate of all. We promised the school districts of this country 40 percent for disabled children, and so far, after 23 years, we are giving them 9 percent. You get a double whammy. You get a chance to fulfill that mandate and, No. 2, take care of a totally unjustified tax break we give the mining companies. We give them Federal lands for $2.50 an acre, they mine the gold and silver off of it, and we pay them to take it, a 15 percent depletion allowance. So I would take that depletion allowance and give it to disabled children.
Source
govinfo.gov
