Trent Lott: “soon we will vote on passing H.R. 1--the Better Education for Students and Teachers, BEST, Act. As everyone knows…”

“soon we will vote on passing H.R. 1--the Better Education for Students and Teachers, BEST, Act. As everyone knows, President Bush campaigned last year with a promise to do all that he could in the realm of education so that we as a nation would ``Leave No Child Behind.'' The Republican majorities in the Senate and the House responded to the President's focus on comprehensive education reform by putting it at the top of the agenda in both chambers. The first bills introduced in both the Senate and the House--S. 1 and H.R. 1--were both named the Better Education for Students and Teachers Act. It is the conference report to that legislation that we are about to vote on, pass, and send to the President for him to sign into law as he promised. President Bush recognizes that with almost 70 percent of our fourth graders who are unable to read at even a basic level, our children were and are at risk of being unable to compete in an increasingly complex job market. We all recognize that the ability to read the English language with fluency and comprehension is essential if individuals, old and young, are to reach their full potential in any field of endeavor. As the saying goes: Reading Is Fundamental. And again, as President Bush has said, none of our children should be left behind because they can't read.”