The idea behind the 'Education Accountability Act,' which I will send to Congress next month, is to say after, now more than 15 years of education research and efforts... it is time for the Federal Government to invest in those things which Governors and school districts... have proved are critical for raising student achievement.

This is not an accident.

No matter what it takes, we must find those responsible for these evil acts and see that justice is done.

We are determined to get answers and justice.

We ought to be ashamed of ourselves if we mess it up.

The buck stops here.

The way to improve education for all our children is to increase standards, accountability, and choice within the public schools.

Our first goal was to bring the perpetrators of Pan Am 103 murders to justice.

This is unacceptable.

The IRS should be above reproach.

It is unacceptable for us to continue to tolerate a system under the guise of local control or State responsibility or anything else that hides from the clear light of day to do better.

I'm not ashamed of the fact that I did the best I could within the present system.

The answer is to put competition, change, excellence, accountability back into the public school system, not to take limited funds away from it.

Anyone who is involved in politics must accept responsibility for this problem and take responsibility to repair it.

This Federal effort must continue until all those responsible are brought to justice and no more fires burn.

Now, folks, I have done all I can do.

We have done that for 4 years, and you don't have to guess anymore.

This issue has been swept under the rug for too long.