[Pages S5288-S5290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

WINNERS AND LOSERS OF THE CONTRACT

Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I would like to discuss the first
100 days of Congress, and the winners and losers of the Contract With
America.
We have heard a lot from those who would compliment the leaders in
the House for their speedy answers to some of this Nation's most
pressing problems. Many will say that they have made history for their
ability to address so many issues in a mere 100 days. I dare say,
though, that if the Contract With America makes history, it will not be
for its achievements, but for the reckless manner in which critical
issues were considered, issues that have will have a severe negative
impact on the lives of countless Americans.
At the outset, I want to say that we all know that spending must be
reduced. We all know that the deficit must be brought under control.
This is why I supported the balanced budget amendment. But out jobs as
Members of Congress means prioritizing the needs of the American people
within our fiscal constraints. What the Contract With America does is
give the wealthy a higher ranking over working class families and
children in this country.
I can sum up the winners in the last 100 days easily, the super
wealthy and the billionaires. Unfortunately the list of losers is much
longer, children, students, hard working middle-income families, and
the list goes on. The losers are those who would greatly benefit our
investment in the people of this great Nation, quality education for
our children, job training for young people and adults, efforts
calculated to help prepare this Nation for the future.

Winners/Expatriots

Who are some of the winners in the first 100 days? Some of the
winners have been big. The big winners include 24 billionaires who
escape $1.4 billion in income and estate taxes by renouncing their
citizenship, the expatriots who abandon this great land that has helped
them gather their wealth. Democrats tried to close that loophole in the
Finance Committee we were outvoted by the Republican majority.
Our current tax laws are not neutral. To favor those that would
renounce their citizenship over hard working loyal American citizens
who are struggling to get by.
A few dozen ex-patriots take advantage of this loophole in Federal
tax laws by removing their assets beyond the reach of U.S. taxing
jurisdiction just before renouncing their U.S. citizenship, thereby
avoiding taxation of the appropriated value of their assets.
While they enjoyed the benefits of U.S. citizenship--police
protection, roads, schools, national security, and countless of other
Government services--they looked for ways to get around paying their
fair share of taxes.
Although the Senate Finance Committee voted to eliminate this
loophole, the provision was restored in conference. This is nothing
short of astounding. At the same time that Republican leaders in the
House were proposing massive cuts to be placed on the backs of the
children and families of this country, the House Republicans chose to
continue granting massive benefits to billionaires.

Winners/House Tax Package

Among the other winners, are those that would benefit from the House
tax and spending package that has been labeled the crown jewel of the
Contract With America. I fail to see the glitter in this jewel.
Among the tax cuts is a provision which will give families that pay
taxes eligibility for a $500 tax credit for each child under the age of
18, including families earning more than $200,000 a year.
But what this crown jewel does is reverse an original proposal which
would have made the credit partially refundable, meaning that some low-
income working families, who pay no income tax but who do pay
substantial social security and Medicare taxes, could have received the
credit. This version is now nonrefundable. And what that means is that
those earning $200,000 will not be affected, but that the working poor
of this country have once again lost out.

Losers/Opening

And who else loses, well, these tax loopholes and tax breaks are paid
for at the expense of middle Americans who will have to pay more to
send their children to college or to a child care program. These breaks
are also being paid for by the children in this country, thousands of
kids, who are on waiting lists to attend a Head Start Program. For
example, in my hometown of Chicago, only 26 percent of all poor
children qualifying for Head Start are able to attend a program because
of the shortage of slots available.
I would like to take a moment to talk about the many other
educational programs that will suffer as a result of the past 100 days.
I would also like to review, in somewhat greater detail, the
consequences of these ill-considered actions to decimate programs that
invest in this country's future.
Mr. President, it is an understatement to say that it is
vital to the interest of our Nation that we maintain quality public
education for all Americans. Education is not just a private benefit,
but a public good. It is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy and as
a society, we all benefit from a well educated citizenry. What quality
education results in is the means by which we prepare our children to
succeed, to earn a living, participate in the community and give
something back to their communities.

losers/education and the workforce

Education is also the vehicle to understanding the technology that
has reshaped our workplace. This country is experiencing a new era in
economic competition. If we are to succeed and retain our
competitiveness into the 21st century, there must be a renewed
commitment to education in this country.
The results of a failed commitment to our educational system will
have direct ramifications on this country's work force--the private
sector--and this country's economy. Every day, businesses across this
country are trying to cope with the fact that a great percentage of the
work force is functionally illiterate. Every day, thousands of
Americans are being told that they do not qualify for jobs because they
lack a high school diploma, or a college degree.
Mr. President, our continued commitment to education will mean jobs
for the American people.
Nonetheless, as other leaders of our countries continue to recognize
the increasing importance of education, many in this country continue--
and I am sorry to say, many Members of Congress--continue to wear
blinders.
[[Page S5289]] We must not retreat from this commitment.

house rescissions bill

The rescissions bill sent to this chamber by the U.S. House of
Representatives would cut $1.7 billion from the 1995 Department of
Education budget. It enacted this legislation would cut: $481 million
from the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program; $261 million from
vocational education and literacy programs; $186 million from the Goals
2000 program; $113 million from chapter 1, and $50 million from
bilingual education programs.
The House has also recommended rescinding critical funding for
programs which advance our Nation's education technology
infrastructure, which I will also address. These cuts include:
$30 million from the Educational Technology Program, a program which
promotes equal access for all elementary and secondary students to the
educational opportunities made available through advances in
technology.
$10 million from the Star Schools--a program designed to improve
instruction in math, science, foreign languages, and other subjects
through telecommunications technologies. It also supports eligible
telecommunications partnerships organized on a statewide or multistate
basis to develop and acquire telecommunications equipment,
instructional programming, and technical assistance.
$2.7 million from the Ready to Learn Program, the first national goal
which states that all children should start school ready to learn. The
program helps local school districts meet this goal by supporting the
development and distribution of educational television programming for
preschool children.

gao report

Mr. President, last year, I asked the GAO to conduct a nationwide
study on the condition of our Nation's public school facilities.
Earlier this week, I elaborated on the second of those reports--
released this week by GAO--which focuses on our Nation's education
technology infrastructure needs. I would like to just briefly comment
on this critical subject again.
This GAO report concludes that our Nation's public schools are not
designed or sufficiently equipped to prepare our children for the 21st
century. More specifically, the GAO report found that more than half of
our Nation's schools lack six or more of the technology elements
necessary to reform the way teachers teach and students learn
including: computers; printers; modems; cable tv; laser disc players;
VCR's, and TVs.
In fact, the GAO report found that even more of our Nation's schools
do not have the education infrastructure necessary to support these
important audio, video, and data systems. More importantly, this second
GAO report confirmed our worst fears, the availability of education
technology in our Nation's public schools is directly correlated with
community type, the percentage of minority students, and the percentage
of economically disadvantaged students.
Mr. President, this is simply unacceptable and the proposed cuts to
educational programs are also simply unacceptable. There is no reason
why our Nation's children should not have equal access to the best
education technology resources available.

education infrastructure

Let me mention briefly the first GAO report, released in February, on
the state of school facilities. This report found that our Nation's
public schools need $112 billion to restore their facilities to
``good'' overall condition.
And what is the Republican response to our Nation's schoolchildren? I
am sorry to report that the House rescissions bill would also slash
funding for all new education initiatives, including the education
infrastructure act which I introduced last April to help local school
boards improve the physical conditions of our schools and ensure the
health and safety of their students.

education cuts impact on illinois

While the Senate bill does restore some of the educational funding,
it is not enough. The cuts are still deep and will have a great impact
on children throughout this country. I would like to use my State of
Illinois as an example. Some of the Senate-recommended cuts will result
in the following loss to the children in Illinois alone: Disadvantaged
Students Program, (Title I): -$3.4 million; Safe & DrugFree Schools:
-$4.3 million; Goals 2000: -$2.4 million.
Higher education

The contract's attack on education does not stop at the grade school
and high school levels. College students and middle-income American
families will also pay a higher price.
For example, the proposed elimination of four higher education
programs--supplemental educational opportunity grants, Federal work
study, Perkins loans, and the State student incentive grants, along
with the elimination of the ``in-school interest forgiveness exemptions
on student loans''--will increase the cost of college for American
families by $20 billion over the next 5 years.
Eliminating the subsidy on school interest forgiveness alone would
mean the following for middle-American families: 4.5 million current
borrowers will accrue interest on their loans while they are still in
school; a student who borrows $17,125 over 4 years would owe $3,150 or
more and have his or her monthly payments increased by more than 18
percent and, in my State of Illinois, the number of students who will
pay more for student loans will increase by 198,053.

AmeriCorps

The contract's attack on young people continues. Republican attempts
in the House to gut the AmeriCorps Program would eliminate
opportunities for thousands of students to serve their country while
earning money for their own education. A promise that has been made to
these thousands of young Americans; the communities they serve; the
charitable groups they serve with; and, the partners who share the
costs of the National Service program, will be broken. Thousands of
working families who depend on the promise of college scholarships for
service, will lose this valuable financial assistance.
The House rescission on AmeriCorps will mean that the almost 700
projected number of students who could take part in the program in
fiscal year 1995 will be rejected.
Mr. President, I would like to use City Year Chicago--the model
program that AmeriCorps is based on--as an example of some of the
outstanding and desperately need work that is being done by students in
the Chicago area. Some of the community service work includes: The
Alter Group Team--Members work with Bethel New Life, a community
development corporation in the Garfield Park neighborhood, a low-income
area in Chicago. Projects include designing and piloting a computer-
literacy program for adults and assisting in the renovation of both a
hospital, which will become senior housing and a school, which will
become transitional housing for battered women.
The First Chicago/Harris/LaSalle/Northern Trust Team--Members are
running a teaching assistant program at the Brian Piccolo Elementary
School in West Humboldt Park, a public elementary school serving
approximately 966 African-American and Latino students. Each team
member works as a teaching assistant in a classroom, tutoring children
with special needs, assisting in bilingual classes, or helping to
implement special art or education programs.
Mr. President, these are just two examples of what's being done under
the AmeriCorps Program after only 6 full months of operation. I would
like to submit for the Record, a complete list of the AmeriCorps
Community Service Programs underway in Chicago, and ask unanimous
consent that the list be printed in the Record following my statement.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See exhibit 1.)
Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Across this country, more than 20,000 AmeriCorps
members have begun to serve their neighbors; children, the elderly,
students, and persons with AIDS.
AmeriCorps members have taught or tutored more than 9,000 pre-school,
elementary, and junior high school students in basic educational
skills. They have launched after-school and summer tutoring programs
for more than 4,600 kids. And they have organized hundreds of community
service projects, cleaning up neighborhoods and providing food for the
elderly.
[[Page S5290]] Closing

In closing, I want to make clear what I am for and what I am not for.
As I stated at the start of my remarks, a lot of what the spending
process includes is prioritizing. By providing the needed and long
overdue support for educational programs, job training programs, and
programs for children, we invest in this country's future. Cutting
these opportunities is clearly in the wrong direction. We must not
retrench on our commitments to young people and American families.
Mr. President, before the celebrating of the contract and the first
100 days begins, the American people need to understand who's been
invited to this party. If you are a billionaire, or part of the small
percentage of the superwealthy elite in this country, your invitation
has been signed, sealed, and delivered.
For the rest of American people--the children, students, or hard-
working, middle-income Americans--I dare say, your invitation has been
lost in the mail.
Exhibit 1

City Year Chicago--Community Service Update--as of March 1995

The Alter Group Team

The Alter Group Team is working with Bethel New Life, a
Community Development Corporation in the Garfield Park
neighborhood. In the mornings, the Alter Group Team members
participate in a variety of group and individual projects
under the direction of Bethel New Life staff. Corps members
are designing and piloting a computer-literacy program for
adults; organizing community improvement and gardening
projects; helping to organize a volunteer week and other
community events; and assisting in the renovation of both a
hospital which will become senior housing and a school which
will become transitional housing for battered women. In the
afternoons, the team members tutor students in the after
school program in Bethel's affiliate elementary school.

The First Chicago/Harris/LaSalle/Northern Trust Bank Team

The Bank Team is running a City Year in Schools Program at
the Brian Piccolo Elementary School in West Humboldt Park, a
public elementary school serving approximately 966 African-
American and Latino students. Each team member works as a
teaching assistant in a classroom, tutoring children with
special needs, assisting in bilingual classes, or helping to
implement special art or physical education programs. Corps
members also act as role models for the young students by
establishing an environment of common goals and values and
promoting the City Year values of team work and inclusivity.
When the school day is finished, the team continues working
on a project designed to improve students' self-image and
enliven the school environment through the creation of
inspirational banners.

the amoco team

The Amoco Team also works in partnership with an elementary
school: the John Spry Community School in Little Village.
Spry is a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school with
approximately 1,300 students. By working individually in
classrooms as teaching assistants, City Year corps members
are helping to give students the confidence to excel
academically. They lead small groups in math and reading,
work closely with troubled students and teach lessons in
English as a Second Language and art. The Team also
participates in such special programs as the celebration of
Young Readers Day, for which corps members rotated classrooms
and read to over 700 children. The creation of perfect
attendance and honor roll certificates for the entire school,
and the renovation and reorganization of the Spry School
Library for reopening can also be credited to the team
members. The Amoco Team is currently working on a violence
prevention curriculum, which the team will take to classrooms
throughout the school.

the ronald mcdonald children's charities team

The Ronald McDonald Children's Charities Team is helping to
run an after school club at the Chicago Youth Centers-Lower
North in Cabrini Green for over 100 children. The team's
service is focused on expanding the curriculum offered at the
youth center and strengthening the educational components of
the program. The team members not only tutor the young
children in the program, but create and run after school
clubs such as Arts and Crafts, No-Bake Cooking, Tumbling,
Volleyball/Softball, Basketball, and Chorus. Along with their
work with the After School Club, the team is succeeding in
changing the face of the Youth Center. The team has painted
most of the building's interior surface, repaired the outside
fence, created a mural in the gymnasium, and completed many
other physical service projects at the Center. When not at
the Center, the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities Team
works in partnership with Careers for Youth and Uptown
Habitat for Humanity on the West side. They are painting and
installing light fixtures in a two-flat apartment building,
so that a family can move in this Spring.

the digital equipment corporation team

The Digital Equipment Corporation Team runs an after school
club for approximately 80 children at the Price School in the
Grand Boulevard community through Chicago's Youth and Family
Resource Center. Under the supervision of the Digital Team,
the children study and work on their homework for two hours
tech day. Corps members give the special attention and
individual tutoring that is often difficult for teachers to
provide in a classroom context. Following completion of their
homework, the children can participate in one of the Digital
Team's After School Clubs: ``An Exploration of Culture;''
Art; Rap Session (a discussion group); Dance; Music; Reading
and Writing Workshop; and Athletics. The Team also works with
Habitat for Humanity/Careers for Youth doing renovation and
carpentry for low cost housing on the West Side. In addition,
Team members work with the Chicago Historical Society's
Neighborhoods; Keepers of Culture Exhibition, a project
created to collect, interpret and exhibit the histories of
four Chicago neighborhoods. The entire Digital Team is also
being trained as AIDS Counselors, and this Spring will begin
doing AIDS/HIV outreach in the Little Village community.

(Mr. FAIRCLOTH assumed the chair.)

____________________