Lynn N. Rivers: “Clement Atlee once said, ``Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people…”

“Clement Atlee once said, ``Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people from talking.'' I agree. Mr. Speaker, it is time to stop talking about special education funding. It is time to do something. In 1972, the Federal Government did the right thing by enacting a national guarantee for education for special needs children. Before this action, far too many handicapped children never saw the inside of a schoolhouse. As someone who served on a local board of education for nearly a decade, I know the positive impact of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But as someone who struggled to pass local school district budgets, I also know that the Federal Government has never come close to funding at the promised level of 40 percent. In fact, it has been mentioned before, we barely reached 12 percent. In fact, the National Association of State Boards of Education point out that underfunding since the day the bill was passed totals $146 billion that was promised to local public schools over the last 22 years that was never delivered upon. Schools need real help, not rhetorical soothing, real help. This proposal, the one we have before us, will not do anything. It is a sense of Congress, an opinion without the force of law. A sense of Congress will not pay teachers' salaries. It will not buy textbooks. It will not put school buses on the street.”