a child born there. In this connection we should like to point out that several States which until recently have regarded their educational standards as far above the average are presently watching these standards decline in the direction of the levels of educationally underprivileged States as increased tax burdens develop from area unemployment, as older buildings deteriorate and have to be remodeled or abandoned as fire hazards, or as population shifts and increases in school-age enrollments make existing accommodations grossly inadequate. We are also gratified that there is growing acceptance in Congress of the fact that greater financial aid to local school districts must be forthcoming. But we regret that proposed financial assistance from the Federal Government to the States is constantly referred to as deficit spending. Certainly the time has come in an era which calls for better and better trained and educated citizens to consider appropriation of adequate amounts of money for education as a normal expenditure. Because there is no end in sight to the constantly expanding nature of the problem, we believe the most effective manner of helping States to assume their traditional role of responsibility for the administration of their educational programs is through provision of Federal funds on a matching or flat-grant basis. We urge enactment of enabling legislation. In closing we would like to express our appreciation for the privilege of appearing before this subcommittee and to express our recognition of the seriousness and the devotion with which the committee approaches the study of these problems. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. BAILEY. May I, as chairman of the subcommittee express my sincere thanks to you for this very excellent presentation of the position of your organization of university women. The frankness of your statement is refreshing. You are in this fight for better schools and for better opportunity for the Nation's two greatest assets, our boys and girls. You are not asking any quarter or giving any, and I admire you for your position. Over the years it has been my privelege to attempt to do something to improve our school program throughout the Nation. As early as 1950, I was attempting to put Senator Taft's bill, approved by the other Body, through the House. I failed by a tie vote in the House Committee on Education and Labor to report this legislation. Later on, I turned my attention to school construction and lost two bills on the floor of the House, one by a margin of 24, and the last attempt was killed by a margin of 5 votes. I am pleased to note that the position of your group is the same as or pretty much in keeping with the proposal that we not only take care of classroom shortage, but that we take care, as well, of the situation as regards teachers' salaries. At this time, while you have not indicated it as such, I take it that your feeling is that the so-called Metcalf-Murray bill might come nearer meeting the situation than the proposal as offered by the administration. Miss HEINIG. Yes, I think we would favor that. Mr. BAILEY. It has been demonstrated in hearings over the past few days that the administration's proposal is somewhat cumbersome, in that it would require several States to change their constitutional structures in order to accept and participate in Federal matching funds. It would require considerable legislation on the part of their legislatures and unfortunately, at this time the legislatures are just about finishing up their work. I think in my home State they are finishing this week. That means that in a lot of States there will not be any sessions of your legislatures for 2 years; so that the delay would make the legislation impracticable, in that we could not get any relief within a reasonable period of time. I note that your organization is quite active. You said that you had units of your organization in 49 States. So you are really on the ball. Miss HEINIG. We have three in Alaska, and have had for a long time, when it was a Territory. Mr. BAILEY. You had it organized when it was a Territory? I was glad to see you point out that when we talk about spending money for other purposes, there is no question that in connection with taking care of the situation in our educational program they talk about deficit spending. The last time the construction bill was before the House, I presented data on 184 contracts that the Federal Government had with universities and colleges and educational groups in this country to carry on educational activities abroad. Many of those programs that are right now in existence are doing the very things that we are asking to make money available for at the present time, and there is never any question asked about deficit spending. Miss HEINIG. It gives us a good precedent to do the same kind of spending for our own children. Mr. BAILEY. At least, if we have money to spend for that purpose abroad, certainly we can see that here at home we pay equal attention at least to our own problem in the field of education, as well as trying to educate the rest of the world. Mr. Brademas, do you have any questions you would like to ask? Mr. BRADEMAS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Although, Miss Heinig, I am one of the newer committee members to whom you refer, I am nevertheless aware of the American Association of University Women because of their splendid work in their local branch in South Bend., Ind., in the district I have the privilege of representing. And I do want to join with the chairman in commending you for this first-class statement on the need for Federal assistance to education. I take it, as the chairman indicated, that your organization is not opposed to the use by the States of Federal grants envisioned in the Murray-Metcalf bill for improving teachers salaries, should the State so desire. Is this correct? Miss HEINIG. Yes. We have made more of a study of the need for school construction, and I would say that we are more solidly behind school construction, but we are also in favor of Federal grants for teachers' salaries. Mr. BRADEMAS. You refer in your statement to an opinion poll that the AAUW conducted. Miss HEINIG. Yes. Mr. BRADEMAS. Can you give us any indication of the sentiment in that poll on the matter of Federal aid? Miss HEINIG. Well, the opinion poll was in response to the legislative item that we have, which is voted on by convention, convention of our members. And the item reads that we stand to "support Federal aid under conditions safeguarding state control to tax-supported elementary and secondary schools which are under public supervision and control." And it is under that item that we act, and it is under that item that our members responded to this opinion poll. They are responding to that generalized statement. Mr. BRADEMAS. Yes. Was there much opposition? I note that a majority of your members are in favor of some Federal assistance. Miss HEINIG. Of the branches that participated, 573, we had 466 branches, or 81 percent, that voted to support this item. Mr. BRADEMAS. That is a pretty good margin, Mr. Chairman. Mr. BAILEY. I might add to what the gentleman has said there that I think there is a field available for your organization to work on some of these other groups who are not quite as liberal on educational matters in their thinking as your group. It appears to me that some of the organizations, the League of Women Voters and a few others, are on the opposite side of this question. Mr. McCord, do we have a brief from the League of Women Voters? Mr. McCORD. No, Mr. Chairman. We had testimony from the General Federation of Women's Clubs in favor. We have not heard from the League of Women Voters. Miss HEINIG. The federation is a new group that has been recruited to this cause, is it not? Mr. BAILEY. Yes, the Federation of Women's Clubs. Mr. BRADEMAS. Álthough, Mr. Chairman, I do not know the official position of the league on this matter, I can tell you that members of the League of Women Voters in my district have expressed to me their support of Federal assistance to education. Miss HEINIG. Perhaps it is that the league does not have an outright Federal aid item in their program for this 3-year period, so they do not take active testimony. It was my impression that the league was in favor of Federal aid, Mrs. Bell. Can you bring that out? Mrs. BELL (Allison Bell, legislative associate). At least I have been supplying them with quite a bit of educational material about what is going on in education. They have no item in their program, as Miss Heinig says, but they have been displaying a good deal of interest and have been asking me about it in connection with the other work that we do together. Mr. BRADEMAS. I might also make this observation, Mr. Chairman, with respect to the comment of Miss Heinig on the use of the phrase "deficit spending." Is there any point to the suggestion that we might be wiser, especially with respect to education, to use the word "invest" rather than "spend"? Because in the American mind, the word "spend" indicates using up scarce resources, while the word "invest" indicates that one expects to reap some dividends; and education is certainly a field where the word "invest" is a better one than "spend." Miss HEINIG. I think that is an excellent point to make. Mr. BAILEY. Again let the Chair say we appreciate very much your appearance. We regret that some of the people scheduled to appear were not present. Tomorrow the witnesses will be the National Farmers Union, the American Association of School Administrators, and the United Auto Workers groups. The committee will stand adjourned until 10 o'clock tomorrow. Thank you, ladies, for being present, and for your interest in this legislation. (Whereupon, at 10:38 a.m., the committee recessed, to reconvene at 10 a.m., March 10, 1959.) |