Judd Gregg: “first, let me begin by speaking a little bit about the underlying bill and congratulating the chairman of the committee…”

“first, let me begin by speaking a little bit about the underlying bill and congratulating the chairman of the committee, Senator Jeffords, and the Presiding Officer for their extraordinary work in developing this bill. The Senator from Tennessee, the Senator from Vermont, and the Senator from Iowa, of course, have been involved in this issue for years and years and have worked very hard together, as have a number of Members of the Senate and House. It has been acknowledged that Senator Lott, through his excellent representation and his chief of staff, David Hoppe, has done an extraordinary amount of lifting to make sure that this process has come to closure. It was not an easy one. Meetings went on for dramatic lengths of time. There were complications, controversial issues which people had vested interests in which were very deep and intensely felt. The fact that a final product was reached, and an agreement has been brought before the Senate, reflects the genuine effort of a lot of very good people. It is a product which will benefit many children in this country as it goes forward and represents a new day for special education. It is really not a reauthorization of the special education bill but basically a new bill, a new approach, in many ways. It should be looked on as such. I got involved in special education a long time ago, in fact, before I was even able to vote.…”