Tell us about the math test. This is the kind of math test that I think, actually this is the kind of math test that bureaucrats would give to bureaucrats, is that not correct?

We want that 90 cents to go to a local school district, but we want to give them a lot of flexibility as to what they do with it. We do not want to give them 90 cents and then give them a three-ring binder and say, here is how you spend…

I ask the gentleman, how do some of our colleagues describe trying to consolidate programs, get rid of red tape, empower parents and local school boards, and get the money back to the local school?

The real difference here is when you empower local communities and parents, the standards reflect community standards. When you empower bureaucrats here in Washington, you get an agenda from Washington that they are trying to impose on…

We are hearing and we are finding that we feed parental control, we need a focus on basic academics, and we need to get dollars in the classroom.

You bring up a couple of good points. The President has not involved parents, teachers, administrators, governors, as a matter of fact, the President has not even involved Congress. We are going to embark on national testing and it is…

But good news on the direct loan program. Right? We had to shut it down this year because they cannot consolidate the loans. I did not bring it with me, oh, I do have it with me. A letter from 75 college students who want to consolidate…

No, I do not think so. What we have is we have a group of people here in Washington, and you have some other interesting statistics on tests, but the people here in Washington who developed the test that they expect to work in Holland…

I have still yet to hear someone say, it is that new Federal program, or it is this Federal program. The schools that are doing well are typically where a group of parents, administrators, and teachers have taken back their school and…

What we talked about earlier, Mr. Speaker, what happens in this process is, No. 1, our kids go through all kinds of tests already. This is one more layer on top. It is not only the time that is spent on taking the test, but if a school…

What we have found as we have gone across the country is schools, where they are working, where they have done a good job with the children, are those where there is local parental control, not where Washington is dictating the agenda…

We are saying that, as a result of the American taxpayer picking up the tab for the 1996 election, the American taxpayer spent $20 million that the Teamsters organization did not have to spend itself. I do not know what they did with that…

We have been in Arizona, and we also went to Delaware, and the reason I bring up Delaware is, Delaware is the size of one of our congressional districts, all right? So, you know, Delaware said, we want a State test, and what Delaware did…

What has happened, and I thank the gentleman from Indiana for clarifying this. I was right, the Federal Government paid for it. You were more correct because, you know, when we in Washington spend $20 million, it is not our money, it is…

I believe that if the Teamsters election had only been an U.S. election, the result would have been different. But because the American taxpayer picked up the tab for the Canadian election, the result was different, and that is what pushed…

That is because the union dues could not be used directly for the election of Mr. Carey. So they were laundered through campaign organizations with a quid pro quo, you do this for me and I will do this for you. The end result is what do we…

Mr. Chairman, this is not, this amendment does not remove the Federal Government from its proper role of oversight for the activities of private organizations. What this amendment does is it says we will not pay for the transactions that a…

Mr. Chairman, today, I want to talk about what the Hoekstra block grant amendment would do. What we are focusing on here is moving the emphasis on where decisionmaking is in education from Washington to our children. This is a step toward…

Mr. Chairman, as I indicated at the beginning, this is the start of a larger debate of redefining how we help our children. As I have indicated, as we have gone around the country, we have seen wonderful things. We have seen wonderful…

It went on to say that the decree embodies the consent of the Union defendants to governmental supervision, not the consent of Congress. The consent decree states that the Federal Government has the option of running the Teamsters election…

this is a core, gut issue. As a father, I can only echo the thoughts of the gentleman from Oklahoma who spoke earlier tonight, that it is embarrassing and disappointing that this Congress will insert itself between a parent and a child…

tonight I come to the floor to celebrate the accomplishments that this House, in a bipartisan way, working along with the other body and working with the President, have accomplished really working over a period of the last 6 months, but…

Just in closing, I think the gentleman is right, the exciting days are in front of us. We will get to a surplus budget. When we get there, we will have a whole new range of options, debates and issues and new directions that we can talk…

I think it is good news, the amount of progress we have made. I came in 1993. We were looking at $260 billion deficits as far as the eye could see. We were looking at increasing taxes. We were looking at proposals that said to stimulate…

Sure. The gentleman is exactly right. I worked for a Fortune 500 company before I came here in 1993. The company bought health insurance for me and my family. It was tax deductible. If I would have been an entrepreneur, I could not have…