Eagle Forum
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Nearly all Republican Missouri State Legislators signed a joint
letter to Speaker Newt Gingrich opposing H.R. 1617, known as the
CAREERS bill, which would expand and make permanent the
School-to-Work Act passed by Congress in 1994. The text of the
letter follows:
Dear Speaker Gingrich and Missouri Republican Delegation: We, the undersigned Republican members of the Missouri House of Representatives, are very concerned about the broad scope of H.R. 1617 and the resulting effect on the nationžs educational system, in particular the system in our state. The bill centralizes unprecedented powers at the federal level. It requires that "The nationžs labor market information system shall be planned, administered, overseen, and evaluated by a cooperative governance structure involving the Federal Government and the States." The education issue is the premier issue in our state right now as our Democrat Governor in 1993 passed a sweeping bill which gave unprecedented, broad powers to unaccountable bureaucrats. These powers included the ability to write "standards" and create assessment testing which would be the basis of all our childrenžs education. Legislators have NO oversight or binding authority over the development or approval of these items. To further our concerns and problems, H.R. 1617 supersedes state laws and further takes us, the local elected officials of the people of this state, out of the process of education. Specifically, H.R. 1617 on page 74 of CAREERS (the "final" version) amends out the state legislature, replacing it with "the Governor of a state shall . . ." Let us please explain the practical effect of this change on us and the people we serve: in Missouri, the Democrat Governor instructed his bureaucrats to make application for Goals 2000 monies by defining a whole system of laws and procedures that we would put in place in order to get the money. Most legislators are only now, for the first time, even seeing what he is binding us and our children to. In brief, our objections to Goals 2000, and to H.R. 1617 as it incorporates word-for-word many sections of Goals 2000, include the removal of local control from education and the centralization of power to the federal government including the need for approval from the Departments of Labor and Education for a statežs proposal for grant money. The terms used in the acts are of concern as they refer to items such as a "skill certificate" which children would be required to earn and which employers would be encouraged to require as a condition of employment. Finally, a myriad of new agencies, departments, and programs are created under both acts, and it appears a large centralized, nationwide data collection system will be put in place. Our Governoržs state grant request alludes to the idea that Missouri will change child age labor laws in order to get kids working early in vocational trades and that we will establish transportation to get students to these employment places. Because many members of the Missouri House have been keeping a close eye on this issue, the Republican Missouri House members were able to ferret out $10 million in our statežs current proposed budget which we discovered is being stashed away to implement the statežs Goals 2000 policy, per the authority given to the Governor under H.R. 1617. This money was hidden in $5 million increments in two different budgets and was labeled "vocational education." Only under intense questioning were we able to learn that these monies were being earmarked to implement the Governoržs proposal, that we havenžt approved, per the legislation you wrote. This practice -- the practice of avoiding the Legislature -- is unacceptable and flies in the face of the contention of local control of education. In addition, in a time when the administration of our schools is the defining isse between the parties in this state, we would respectfully request that you reconsider H.R. 1617. As a Minority party just six seats from gaining majority, we need the latitude to effect change when we control the House. We also need some legislative powers so that we, as a minority, can keep a check on the Democrat Governor of this state. Please revise the federal education law to repeal Goals 2000. Thank you for your attention to this matter and your consideration of this request. With best regards, |
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Rep. Mark L. Richardson - Republican Floor Leader
Rep. Charlie Shields -
Rep. Don Lograsso -
Rep. Delbert Scott -
Rep. Jim Froelker -
Rep. Todd Akin
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Rep. Bill Foster
Rep. Bonnie Sue Cooper Rep. John Loudon Rep. Marilyn Edwards Rep. Gary Burton Rep. Bill Linton Rep. Mike Gibbons Rep. Harriet Brown Rep. Norma Champion Rep. Patricia Secrest Rep. Jim Graham Rep. Phil Wannemacher Rep. Chuch Wooten Rep. Chuck Surface Rep. Catherine Enz Rep. Don Summers Rep. Sam Gaskill Rep. Jim Howerton Rep. Gary Marble Rep. Rex Barnett Rep. Paul Sombart Rep. Paul Wieland Rep. Bill Hand Rep. Carl Hendrickson Rep. Dale Whiteside Rep. Matt Boatright Rep. Mark Elliot Rep. Ed Hartzler Rep. David Levin Rep. Estel Robirds Rep. Charlie Ballard Rep. Doyle Childers Rep. Chuck Gross Rep. Carl Vogel Rep. Mary Lou Sallee Rep. Fred Pouche |
