from other sources; authorize the Commissioner of Education to advance certain sums, to be matched by the States, to State schoolfinancing agencies to help assure payment of obligations issued by them to finance the construction of school facilities for use and ultimate ownership by local educational agencies, the total of such advances amounting to no more than $6 billion over a 4-year period; and grant assurance against Federal interference in State school systems.

I know that your committee is in the best position to suggest, on the basis of your earlier studies and statistical evidence in your possession, how much assistance should be authorized. For that reason, I will not touch upon this particular subject at this time. The entire House will, at a later date, have the opportunity to study your committee's recommendations, the reasons for them, and to make the final decision.

At this time, however, I would like to make two suggestions: First, that, in the course of your deliberations on this legislation, your committee consider not only the issue of aid to school construction but also the feasibility, and advisability, of providing more ample opportunity to students who are able and willing to continue their education, but who are prevented from doing this because of financial problems. I believe that the National Defense Education Act of 1958 represented a constructive step in that direction. That law, however, is largely limited to those segments in the field of education which are particularly related to our national defense. I believe that a more general approach is advisable, and I want to recommend this suggestion to your committee's careful consideration.

Second, I would suggest that the assistance to education, which will be recommended by your committee, be made available to all children without discrimination.

The prime purpose of compulsory education laws which prevail in our country is social; that is, it is for the benefit of the State and the Nation. The American people believe that educated children are better able to found a home and raise a family, to cooperate with others in community enterprises, to conform to American ideals of living, to participate intelligently in our democratic processes, and, generally, to be an asset and not a burden to the community. It is for these reasons that our laws require that all children attend school for a number of years.

At the same time, while our laws say that children must be educated, they do not say where they must fulfill this civic and State obligation. Our laws wisely permit parents to select the schools to which they will send their children.

And, therefore, our American school system includes much more than just our public schools. In addition to our public schools, our school system includes many other educational institutions in which our children are able to fulfill the obligation which the law places upon them-the obligation to attend school for a given number of years, and to receive the basic training which our governments consider proper and necessary.

Consequently, in enacting any legislation on this subject, we should make certain that it aids all children in fulfilling their civic and State obligation. To my mind, any departure from this principle will dis

criminate against some children. Such discrimination will be manifestly unfair and un-American.

I want to thank your committee again for this opportunity to express my views. It is my sincere hope that legislation embodying the suggestions which I have voiced, and providing such assistance to education as is necessary, will be reported speedily by your committee. Mr. BAILEY. The Chair notes that tomorrow the committee will have as witnesses the Honorable George A. Kasem, Mr. Clarence Mitchell, representing the National Association of Colored People, and the Honorable Ralph J. Rivers, Member of Congress from Alaska.

The committee will stand in recess now until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

(Thereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene at 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 3, 1959.)

SCHOOL SUPPORT ACT OF 1959

TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 1959

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR,

Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to recess, in room 429, House Office Building, Hon. Cleveland M. Bailey (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Representatives Bailey, Udall, Brademas, Frelinghuysen, and Lafore.

Staff members present: Fred C. Hussey, clerk, full committee; Melvin W. Sneed, minority clerk; Russell C. Derrickson, investigator, full committee; and Robert E. McCord, clerk, subcommittee.

Mr. BAILEY. The subcommittee will be in order.

Our first witness today will be the Honorable George A. Kasem, Member of Congress from the State of California.

Mr. Kasem, you may identify yourself to the reporter and proceed with your testimony.

STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE A. KASEM, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Mr. KASEM. I am Representative George A. Kasem, 25th District, California.

Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for the special consideration that you have given me this morning; as I have said to Mr. Frelinghuysen, I did not come so much to enlighten the committee as I came to plead.

My district is unique. Yet at the same time it is representative. It is unique to the extent of a peculiar development since the Second World War. Our migratory process in the United States has been going on largely because of the extent of it in our district.

In 1950 we had a population of 360,000 when the 25th Congressional District, which comprises the eastern part of Los Angeles County, was set up.

Now, 8 years later, we have a population of 800,000 and we are growing at the rate of approximately 400 a day.

Our principal product used to be citrus products, oranges and lemons, but our principal product now is children.

Our area is composed very largely of suburbs to the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The center of our district is about 19 miles from downtown Los Angeles. We have some industry, of course, but not large and extensive plants that pay a great deal of tax.

The tax structure on our homes is becoming unbearable in the sense that it becomes economically unfeasible to buy a home.

The local taxes that are necessary to support schools in our district, and about 50 percent of our property tax budget goes to the support of schools, has had a tremendous deterrent effect on our growth which we felt very keenly during this last recession and on the real estate market in general.

I think it relates directly to this burden of construction of schools and supplying school facilities, the principal cost of which is faculty. It is for that reason I have introduced H.R. 3864, which is the identical bill to H.R. 22 or the so-called Murray-Metcalf bill which I am heartily in support of.

I have reviewed the bill. I cannot devise a superior formulaperhaps this committee can-for Federal assistance to local areas.

As far as the State of California as a whole is concerned, this problem that I have related to you of population growth is a problem that your State as a whole enjoys, or suffers, whichever way you want to put it, but it is one we must cope with.

California is a rich State. It is growing economically as well as it is populationwise. It will make a great contribution and is making great contributions to the Federal coffers.

The amount that it will extract from the Federal coffers from such a bill as this will probably just about equal its contribution.

Or, at least, if there is any difference it will not be such that will cause great concern one way or the other.

However, at the present state of our finances the State is going to be hard put to give any substantial assistance to the local communities that really need it, such as our own.

As I told you before, I did not expect that I was going to be able to enlighten you very much. I came largely to plead, to focus your attention on this particular situation which I do not think is uncommon. There are other areas in the United States which have the same situation.

Mr. BAILEY. Mr. Kasem, you spoke of the local tax for the support of local schools being extremely high. Do you have any statistics showing the rate of taxation for school purposes in the several school districts?

Mr. KASEM. I shall be happy to supply statistics of that nature. I did not bring any with me.

Mr. BAILEY. Would you care to file some additional data on that particular angle of the situation so that it could be included in connection with your testimony?

Mr. KASEM. I would like very much, Mr. Chairman, to have that opportunity.

Mr. BAILEY. It may go in the printed record of the hearing.

The chairman was head of a committee that went to California 9 years ago, in 1950, in connection with the impact school legislation. At that time, some of those districts in Los Angeles County, some of the school districts, were paying somewhere around $33 or $34 on every thousand assessed valuation of property.

I am just curious to know what the figures are today, whether that has been going upward or whether it has been stationary, or whether it has been reduced.

Thirty-four dollars on a thousand dollars of assessed valuation is confiscatory. It would not be too many years until you pay in, in taxes, the value of your property.

Mr. KASEM. I cannot offer you any precise figures, but I can give you a very good educated guess.

Mr. BAILEY. I am asking for some down-to-earth figures.

Mr. KASEM. My present estimate is that that has presently doubled. I realize when I make such a statement as that I will look silly if the figures do not back me up, but I am confident that the figures will back me up.

Mr. BAILEY. If there is no objection, the committee will accept some additional data on that angle of your presentation.

Mr. KASEM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

(Data referred to will be filed with the clerk, Subcommittee on General Education, and available for reference, when furnished.)

Mr. KASEM. The only further observation that I have to make is the urgency of the situation, because of the fact that we are unable to expect greater help from the State government due to the financial situation that it is presently confronted with; and our new Governor, Pat Brown, is giving immediate attention to this problem. We have tapped every source of revenue that you can imagine.

We have a personal income tax; we have a sales tax; we have gasoline taxes that exceed anything in the country, I believe, and still because of this growth problem, because of our desire to maintain the quality and standards of the California educational system of which we are immensely proud, we have made every effort that is within the realm of reality and even beyond.

Because this is to a very large extent in our opinion a national problem and we are becoming a depository of immense human and extremely valuable sources to this country with these children and we want to do right by them, we need the assistance of the Federal Government in due course.

We will certainly pay our share, or more, but the mechanical problems of the distribution of the financing are too much for us at present. I appreciate very much your giving me this time.

Mr. BAILEY. Before you leave, Mr. Frelinghuysen will probably have some questions.

Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Kasem, I have been very much interested in your testimony. I want to assure you that other members from California have told us about the very serious educational problems in the State. So we do appreciate the predicament your congressional district has with respect to educating your own children.

I have a couple of questions. One is: What do you think is the most serious financial problem in your district, the fact that you do not have enough classrooms, or the fact that you are not paying your teachers enough?

Mr. KASEM. The fact that we do not have enough classrooms. I speak somewhat from personal experience. My wife happened to be a secondary school teacher in our district. The pay scale is one of the better in the United States. Even though it is one of the better when we start comparing it with other trades and professions, and the education and time spent in acquiring the ability to be a good teacher and meeting the State's qualifications alone, it is not by any means a fancy pay.