Bob Filner: “Mr. Chairman, America's children could once again become the innocent victims of shortsighted proposals to cut education…”

“Mr. Chairman, America's children could once again become the innocent victims of shortsighted proposals to cut education programs. The American people remember last year, when the majority unleashed an all-out assault on title I, Head Start, Goals 2000, bilingual and immigrant education, student loans, and a host of other valuable programs. Well, here we go again. We have an education budget for 1997 that looks a lot like last year's proposal. Many of the cuts that appeared in their 1996 budget proposal have been given starring roles in 1997. The plan for 1997 falls more than $2.8 billion short of President Clinton's request. Proponents of the plan claim that they are merely freezing education funding at last year's levels, yet their proposal would cut the Federal education budget by $644 million from last year. At the same time, 1 million additional children who rely on these programs will be enrolled in America's schools by the fall of 1997. California's K-12 enrollment is expected to be 350,000 higher in 1997 than it was 2 years previously. Considering this growth, the majority's plan grossly underfunds education programs. The level of underfunding in my home State of California is staggering: Total funding for education in California falls $328 million short of what is needed. Goals 2000 is underfunded by nearly $55 million. Title I--more than $66 million below what is needed.”