Trent Lott: “across our Nation, courageous teachers and school administrators, parents and Governors, are working to find creative…”

“across our Nation, courageous teachers and school administrators, parents and Governors, are working to find creative ways to ensure that our children receive a world class education. The United States Senate is prepared to promote and support these efforts. Nothing is more important to the future of our Nation that the education of our children. The ideas we propose today are confident reform, rooted in tested principles, parents, teachers and principals, the ones who know our children best, should have the greatest influence on their classrooms. The needs of America's schools differ from community to community, and we help them most when we empower them to make wise choices for the children in their care. Our money, manpower and energy should be primarily devoted to teaching children, not to filing paperwork and fueling bureaucracies. These commonsense proposals have broad appeal. They have received strong bipartisan support. Every Democratic Governor in the country supports this bill. Last year, the President promised he would expand the program we are considering today to all fifty States. The bill passed out of committee by a vote of 17-1 last July, and Secretary Riley strongly supported its enactment at that time. There is no reason why the Senate should not quickly pass the bill sponsored by Senators Frist and Wyden. So the question before the Senate is really quite simple.…”