Paul Coverdell

School construction and renovation is traditionally the responsibility of local and State governments. It traditionally has been and it still is. The Robb amendment, in effect, has the effect of raising taxes by $4.2 billion over 5 years…

I will be very brief. The Senator from Virginia and I have an honorable disagreement about how the Federal Government ought to respond to being a better partner in education. But the one issue that I would take some exception to and would…

the bipartisan education savings account which was passed in March and had been threatened by a veto from the President makes education more affordable for millions of Americans. I might say, during that debate of our proposal to empower…

My point is that a core component of new democracy in the world occurred right in our hemisphere. There was a marvelous achievement--to survive the institutions that make democracy work have to be put in place, and we have not done a good…

I will suggest that we must reinvigorate our partnerships in this hemisphere as we begin a new century. If we work to nurture the political and the economic relationships among the nations of the Western Hemisphere, I am convinced that the…

Mr. President, first I thank the Senator from Texas for her perseverance in pursuing relief of the marriage tax penalty on so many millions of Americans. I have several general comments to make about this proposal at this time. Again…

it is interesting that so much of our labor law dates back to the mid-1930s. H.R. 5 is a measure that deals with modernizing attitudes about work habits and workers and bringing them into the new century. It was in 1935, during the Great…

I think we are making headway on this. The implication that the education savings account is a vehicle for people who drive around in limousines is inaccurate. The Joint Tax Committee has found the education savings accounts would be used…

I will show the Senator the data. We all see private schools that stand out. That is what forms the image. I am saying when you look at all the private schools across the country, you come up with a lot of people who do not have many…

I have offered a substitute that I think embraces the spirit of the amendment of the Senator from California. The main differences are three. It is a little broader in scope. It acknowledges the problem of weapons in schools. It deals with…

The demographics in parochial schools and private schools--and we studied this very closely--are within 10 percent, the same as demographics in public schools. Parochial schools, for example, in New York, have identical demographics as the…

Let me say that every year since the Republicans gained the majority we have worked to increase the maximum Pell grant. For more than 7 years, the Pell grant maximum fluctuated between $2,300 and $2,400. Last year, the President's budget…

Anybody who predicts the legislative process is probably the same person who gets his own attorney.

I want to speak briefly to the Bingaman amendment. First, I associate myself with the remarks of the Senator from Delaware. The Senator talked about the train that could and the train that will, but it will not if we adopt the Bingaman…

Yes. So two-thirds plus of this, in my judgment--we can disagree--is going exactly where we want it to go. If I might add one other point, unlike the IRA we have already passed, and unlike any other IRA, this account allows sponsors. We do…

I am most appreciative of the extended effort on the part of the Senator from New Jersey, who brings a very powerful perspective to this debate. The Senator from Connecticut is correct that we are constantly confronted with choices. I…

I do not know where he is getting the data. Let me respond in this way. The means test is identical to the one both the President and the Congress used for the higher education IRA. There is no difference. We all celebrated that IRA…

Maybe it is just a disagreement between the two of us about what constitutes wealth. I do not consider families, middle-income, earning $75,000 or less, as wealthy people. Maybe the Senator from Illinois or some other analysis does, but I…

No. What I am saying is that we broaden it from $500 to $2,000. So an account can be opened for up to $2,000, whereas now it is limited to $500, A; and, B, if they chose, they could use a withdrawal somewhere through kindergarten through…

In a word, the amendment offered by Senator Dodd basically removes the education savings accounts provision. It would make that moot. It is premised on the statement we have all heard many times that special education which was passed in…

Why should we do that? This is a classic example: Let's tell them what is important to them. You think it is important it only be for college. I think it ought to be up to the family to decide where and when they have a special need. Maybe…

I agree with the attempts to fund special education for all the reasons the Senator enumerates. But I do not find them mutually exclusive. I do not think we have to take this bipartisan education savings account legislation and throw it in…

I said that 30 percent of these accounts, as was the case with the account we have already passed, would inure to their benefit, which is not bad.

First of all, the means test--and it is means tested as to who can participate in this, and I probably wouldn't have done it that way, but that is the politics of the day--is identical to the college account we have set, which means 70…

No one can certify that this is going to affect property taxes whatsoever. In fact, the doubling of IDEA, if you can find a jurisdiction that took this and lowered the property tax--I think you should listen--isn't what happened. I don't…