Political Quotes

“I rise in opposition to the amendment to strike provisions in title II of H.R. 6 which would improve local schools' access to library materials, technology hardware, computer software, and planning materials. The Library Media Program contained under title II is a bipartisan initiative that addresses the appalling needs of our Nation's school libraries. The national average copyright date of a book in school libraries is 1965. Not only does this date pre-date the break up of the Soviet Union, this is prior to a manned spacecraft landing on the Moon. In fact, numerous schools have library books that were published before their senior class was even born. Unfortunately, given severe State and local budget constraints, local decisionmakers are often forced to sacrifice school libraries for other academic programs. We can not allow this to continue. In addition, the amendment targets the Educational Technology Program. This provision is designed to provide seed money that will leverage resources from State and local governments, private industry, and foundation grants to assist schools in planning and acquiring education technology. Having an education technology component in H.R. 6 is crucial. If we expect our Nation to advance in a global, high technology economy, our children must be active participants at an early stage.”