Kevin Roberts: “I rise to talk about the bill we have before us today. We in the Senate have a unique opportunity long overdue and a…”

“I rise to talk about the bill we have before us today. We in the Senate have a unique opportunity long overdue and a responsibility to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The acronym is ESEA. This legislation is long overdue. It is vital for our children and their future that we get it right when addressing education policy. The consequences will be seen for years to come. I would like to acknowledge and especially commend the work of Chairman Lamar Alexander and Ranking Member Patty Murray, who worked so hard to get us to this point. This is something rather unique in the Senate. We are coming together. We are percolating with regards to important bills. This is a tremendously important bill. Due to their bipartisan leadership, the Every Child Achieves Act was approved back in April by the HELP Committee, of which I am a proud member, 22 to 0. I was very proud to vote yes. Let me repeat that. It passed 22 to 0. Because of that hard work, led by Senators Alexander and Murray, we are currently debating ESEA in the Senate for the first time since 2001. That is 14 years--14 years--that we have not had a reauthorization bill come to the Senate floor, and there is a lot of hope that it will pass. This is a prime example of what is possible when the Senate functions as it should and committees are actually able to legislate.…”