Another important element in the bill is the maintenance of effort provision which was briefly discussed in your earlier comments. This provision for a formula of maintenance of effort with which you are familiar, and I shall not take time now to review, would seem to us very effectively to guarantee that the State and local governments will not shirk their duties, and will actually have incentive for increasing their efforts, and also that the poor States which really need money will not be penalized as some kind of matching fund basis might penalize them.

The National Education Association heartily endorses S. 2 and urges its enactment by the Congress. The association believes that the measures included in this bill represent the minimum steps required to strengthen public education at this time. The Federal support for education provided in S. 2 is urgently needed to provide more nearly adequate financing of school systems, and thus, by removing the strictures of grossly inadequate budgets, to strengthen State and local control of schools. Such support, we believe, is essential to maintain the Nation's security, welfare, and economic growth for which the Congress is directly responsible. In fact, we believe that shared responsibility-local, State, and National-in financing education in our democracy is essential to its continued existence. We feel it is tragic if we should continue to have generations going through our classrooms who are ill equipped to meet the increased responsibilities of today.

In the period when facts are changing from year to year, when life becomes so increasingly complex that we cannot prepare a child just for today or tomorrow, but we must try to prepare him for a tomorrow we cannot even anticipate, we must build into our children a security in their belief in democracy, in themselves, and in each other. Unless we have able teachers throughout our educational systems in sufficient quantities where the children are we cannot possibly survive. Thank you very much.

Senator MURRAY. Thank you very much for a very able statement. I am sure it will be read over with great care by the committee. We thank you for the suggestions you offer.

Senator Yarborough has just arrived. He was absent because he was attending another meeting. I am sure he is greatly interested in this matter. Do you care to make any remarks, Senator Yarborough?

Senator YARBOROUGH. Mr. Chairman, this has been a most interesting statement. I read the earlier part and had the privilege of hearing the concluding remarks. Of course, we know that this 140,000 classroom shortage in America is a serious deterrent to proper edua bill to stimulate the use of television in education in this country. I am hopeful that progress can be made in this session toward improving the educational facilities of America. As our distinguished chairman, Senator Murray, has just said, we have just been voting on a bill to stimulate the use of television in education in this country. We are working also on provisions for veterans' education in college. This bill attacks the problem at the secondary level for elementary and high schools. I think that the problem of education must be tackled at different levels-college level, secondary school level,

through the use of television, and every facet of American education. We need to step up our program. We need to increase its efficiency. We need to give the American youth the best possible education that the human race affords anywhere on the globe. I have enjoyed this fine statement here. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator MURRAY. Are there any other comments?

Senator COOPER. Mr. Chairman, I would like to congratulate the witness on her fine statement. Not only does it state facts, but it indicates also her own thinking and knowledge of this subject. I am glad that she has emphasized the need of classroom construction. I may say I am particularly glad that you have emphasized the need for better salaries for teachers, because I think they should have the opportunity to advance their educational qualifications.

I think it is also important that the country indicate to the teachers their place and value in our society-rather belatedly after the scientific developments of the last 2 years to understand the importance of science to our national defense. I don't know that we still realize that science and knowledge is the fruit of our educational system. I hope that we will take action in this session.

Senator MURRAY. I am sorry, but we have to abruptly stop this hearing this morning. There is a live quorum call in the Senate. Otherwise there would be a number of other questions presented.

Dr. STOUT. Senator Murray, I shall be available for call this week if you would like to call me back. Thank you for your courteous reception. I am sure we are concerned with the same problem and want a solution.

Senator MURRAY. Thank you.

(Thereupon at 11:30 a.m., the subcommittee recessed, to reconvene Thursday, February 5, 1959, at 10 a.m.)

FEDERAL GRANTS TO STATES FOR ELEMENTARY AND

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1959

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION OF THE

COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10:30 a.m., in room 4232, New Senate Office Building, Senator James E. Murray (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Senators Murray (presiding), Hill, Yarborough, Case, and Javits.

Committee staff members present: Stewart E. McClure, chief clerk; William G. Reidy, Frederick R. Blackwell, and Raymond Hurley, professional staff members.

Senator MURRAY. The subcommittee will come to order, please. Our witness this morning is Dr. Walter W. Heller, chairman of the Department of Economics, University of Minnesota. Dr. Heller is a widely known and highly respected economist. I know he can give us some good answers concerning the effects of the legislation here proposed.

Dr. Heller, it is good to have you with us. You may proceed in your own manner. The members of the committee may have some questions to ask you as you proceed with your statement.

STATEMENT OF DR. WALTER W. HELLER, CHAIRMAN, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, AND ECONOMIC CONSULTANT TO THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Dr. HELLER. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I may at the outset introduce Mrs. Jean Flanigan of the NEA Research Division, who has helped in the preparation of the statistical material in this statement, and who will assist in answering technical questions that may arise.

May I also ask the subcommittee's permission to enter into the record the statement that will be read this morning.

Senator MURRAY. You wish to have that incorporated in the record? Dr. HELLER. If I may.

Senator MURRAY. It will be inserted at this point in your testimony.

69

(The statement referred to follows:)

EDUCATION AS A NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Statement of Dr. Walter W. Heller, Chairman, Department of Economics, University of Minnesota and Economic Consultant to the National Education Association

I. INTRODUCTION

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, in appearing before you today on the role of the Federal Government in the support of public elementary and secondary education, I wish to speak primarily as an economist. Without in any sense neglecting education's abiding human and moral values, without slighting its critical importance as a basic ingredient of democracy, without ignoring the heated political controversies over Federal control and interference, one may still conclude that the key issues in the debate over Federal support for schools in the space age are increasingly economic in nature:

(a) Are we investing enough in public education in the light of—

1. The rich rewards it offers in economic growth and military superiority? 2. The existing deficiencies in teachers' salaries and school buildings? (b) Can our economy afford the greatly expanded financial effort required to realize the full potential of public education as a contributor not only to human betterment but also to economic growth and military power?

(c) Once the dimensions of our total effort have been determined, how should the costs be shared? The answer to this question will depend

1. On the nature of the objectives being served; that is, to what extent is public education an instrument of national economic and defense policy in addition to its traditional functions?

2. On the role of the Federal Government as a fiscal transfer agent for the States in an interdependent economy; that is, to what extent should educational support for poorer States be drawn from wealthier States?

3. On whether the State and local governments have the necessary taxable capacity to finance the required level and quality of education; that is, will our total investment in education be large enough without Federal support? This statement will take up each of these issues in the order listed, and will conclude with a consideration of the fears of Federal control, Federal deficits, and inflation which seem to be playing so large a role in thwarting efforts to obtain Federal participation in public school financing.

II. OUR INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION

To determine whether we should allocate more of our national resources to public education requires a careful consideration of the returns that education offers on our investment. These returns fall into four general categories:

(a) Increased capacity to enjoy the fruits of our labors, to open the way to individual self-fulfillment and an improved quality of life.

(b) Creation, through human knowledge and understanding, of the informed and responsible citizenry which is the keystone of a free democratic society. (c) Development of the human resources which lie at the base of an expanding economy and material abundance.

(d) Creation of the skills, technological competence, and comprehension which are the ultimate source of military security and world leadership in an age of missiles, satellites, and cold war.

Russia's sensational advances in science, highlighted by its successes in space exploration, have brought education's contributions to economic and military strength to the forefront of our national thinking. But our national shortage of developed brain power was only underscored, not created, by the need to match Soviet advances. This shortage is basically a product of our "explosive rate of technological change and the increasing complexity of our social organization. Not only are the tasks that must be performed to keep our society functioning ever more intricate and demanding, they are constantly changing in character. As a result, we are experiencing a great variety of shortages of human resources in fields requiring high competence and extended training. We are having to be