Joe Cunningham: “I commend my colleagues from both sides of the aisle. Special education is a very critical and very difficult issue to…”

“I commend my colleagues from both sides of the aisle. Special education is a very critical and very difficult issue to deal with, both with the schools and the parent groups themselves. I would tell the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moore) that Alan Bursin is the Superintendent of San Diego City Schools, and the number one issue and number one problem for him is the cottage organization of lawyers that have browbeaten the schools and take the money out of it. I capped lawyer fees in the D.C. committee. In one year we saved $12 million. That is here in Washington, D.C. That is $12 million that went into special education, went to help teachers, went into buy technology, instead of going into lawyers' pockets. That is an area we can work together to enhance this. At no time have we ever financed or appropriated 40 percent of the total dollars. You know what it would cost. It is a political issue, but it is difficult. We went from 6 up to 18, almost 19 percent currently, and we need to put more in there. Another issue that we have in California, Governor Davis has taken our IDEA money and is spending the State money and using the Federal money to drive the engine. Instead of an enhanced program, it is lower. It is an area we can work strongly together in that I think all of us are dedicated toward, but it is difficult.”