I think that trying to engage on that one issue gives us an opportunity to really make a difference.

I do not know whether they really mean that. The point of these regulations is that we believe that they need that to offer more access to their people.

Ultimately the more that we engage them at the economic level, it tends to then change the country in ways that were unanticipatable by the political leaders of that country.

Cuba is not going to change overnight.

Over the years, there has been clearly an isolation from our country that Cuba has had to live with.

So the quicker we can move them in that direction, the quicker their whole society changes.

I think the more that we have American tourists down there, the more that we have cultural exchanges...

Our national debt exceeds $17 trillion. Annual budget deficits of several hundred billion dollars per year are driving up the national debt at a fast clip.

We need to remember what was happening before NCLB was put into effect. The reality was that the act is named what it's named because there was a whole cohort of kids, millions of them, who were being left behind.

I also want to recognize and thank our witnesses from the National Science Foundation (NSF), NEON, and the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for their time and expertise.

I think there was a natural political dynamic that played out, in which these kids just didn't get represented.

we want to have this discussion so that, you know, every dollar we are putting towards this important effort is going to the vital research that we need

Thank you Chairman Loudermilk, for convening this hearing, and let me congratulate you on your chairmanship and on your first hearing on this very important topic.

The independent audit findings and other information about management of the NEON project show some taxpayer funds that were intended to support scientific research were diverted to problematic activities.

I also want to thank the panel, particularly for your positive comments regarding the benefits of having children vaccinated for measles.

Most educators in my State of Connecticut would love this concept of flexibility, the idea that Washington should just send a chunk of money down to the States and let them decide what to do with it.

Regardless of the terminology, we've got to figure out some way to have accountability.

I think we should aim higher than that.