Rubén Hinojosa: “back in July this body unfortunately rejected a motion to instruct conferees on the FY 2001 Labor/HHS/ Education…”

“back in July this body unfortunately rejected a motion to instruct conferees on the FY 2001 Labor/HHS/ Education appropriations bill--a motion that insisted on more education funding and dedicated funding for class size reduction and school renovation. Personally, I couldn't believe this motion to instruct failed. I say this because as parents all across America know, our nation's schools are overcrowded. Children in Texas returned to school in August, and I can tell you that over the past several weeks I have heard again and again from parents talking about the need to address the challenge of overcrowded schools. Total public and private elementary and secondary school enrollment has continued to rise, from 52.8 million in 1999 to a projected all-time record of 53.0 million this fall. These numbers are projected to rise for most of the century. The point I simply want to make today is that as the United States embraces these new generations and new arrivals to our schools, we must be prepared to be able to provide a quality education to all students. We must help communities nationwide modernize their schools and we must support class size reduction so that America's children are in an environment where they can realize their full potential. These are smart investments--investments that merit broad bipartisan support.”