United States Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D - Hawaii) joined a bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress, business leaders, educators, and educational associations in calling for a $5 billion increase in the federal investment in education for fiscal year 2000. The 15 percent boost in education spending would benefit programs and initiatives like Impact Aid, IDEA, TRIO, Pell Grants, Safe and Drug Free Schools, vocational education, Title I, libraries, Even Start, and after-school programs, to name a few. Senator Akaka spoke at a Capitol Hill rally organized by the Committee for Education Funding.

REMARKS OF SENATOR AKAKA
Committee for Education Rally

Aloha and thank you to the Committee on Education Funding for organizing this rally to call for increases in education funding. The importance of investing in education cannot be understated.

I know what it's like to lead a classroom, run a school and work within the administration of a state's school system. I have seen first-hand the effects of many of our education programs, and I can tell you that the investment in these programs must increase if we as a country are to continue to hold our position in the world. If we care about giving our children and children's children the best chance at success in life, if we want to ensure a well-educated citizenry, we must support a robust state-federal partnership for education.

This is why I believe it is a shame that the FY2000 Budget Resolution, which I opposed, cuts education funding by $200 million below last year's levels. These are the largest education cuts in history. Title I funds for the disadvantaged are seeing a cut of about $1 billion from FY1999, Pell Grants at nearly that much, special education at $640 million, Head Start at $559 million, vocational education at $139 million, and TRIO at $72 million.

At the same time, we are seeing tremendous challenges to our education systems that are before us now and will continue to confront us in the future. For example, elementary and secondary student enrollment will keep on growing and setting records, projected to reach 54.4 million by the school year starting in 2006. This will mean that there will be 8.4 million more children in school systems since 1989, when K through 12 enrollment was 46 million students. Our schools will need two million new elementary and secondary teachers over the next decade to accommodate this growth in student population. America's schools are already dealing with problems stemming from over-large classes. In addition, our classrooms are still in need of repair, renovation and modernization.

It is imperative that we make education one of our highest budget priorities. The Committee on Education Funding recommends an increase of at least $5 billion or 15 percent, which I strongly support. Our country cannot afford to abandon its commitment to education and must work to increase educational access, quality and opportunity for all young Americans.

I would like to commend the Committee on Education Funding, a coalition of nearly 90 member organizations encompassing an impressive range of interests in education. I also thank my colleagues for joining me in focusing public attention on the critical need for an increased investment in education. Thank you very much.