Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of S. 943, the Johnson-O'Malley Supplemental Indian Education Program Modernization Act. The abysmal conditions and status of education attainment and achievement of American Indian children and students continues. This educational gap for American Indian students continues to lag behind all other students in this country. This bill would require the Department of the Interior to annually update the count of American Indian and Alaska Native students so the Department can more accurately distribute Johnson-O'Malley funds which supplement Indian education. The bill would also require grantees to report how funds are being used, helping to ensure Federal dollars support Native students' education. The Federal Government has a responsibility to provide parity in resources to Native education. Currently, the Department is prevented from updating the count because of an effort, from over 20 years ago, to cut spending through the use of block grants. Congress, at the time, determined one way to reduce funding for Indian education was to freeze efforts to count the number of Native students. As a result, the Department of the Interior continues to use the 1994 number of 272,000 Native students, even though it is estimated, based on Census reports, that there are now more than 750,000 Native students.…”