Lisa Murkowski

I think it is an important part of the discussion.

Chairman Bingaman, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Members of the Committee, good morning.

I would venture to say that I am probably not going to have any communities in Alaska either that are going to be the targeted communities.

In the focus on electrification, I think just about all of you at one point in time have discussed the need to reduce our emissions.

I want to follow up with a question that Senator Isakson was pursuing and that is the existing statutes, the existing laws that are in place to go after these bad guys because I think we would all agree this is what we are trying to do.

What makes you think that this is going to make the difference?

There are consequences if you are that bad guy that has really abused this system.

While these are just a few of the positive effects of the No Child Left Behind Act, there have been problems.

My bill, the 'School Accountability Improvements Act' is meant to address six issues that are of particular concern in Alaska and in other states around the nation.

How am I going to get another principal to go out to Savoonga if he or she knows that they are going to have no housing?

As we look to reauthorization of the ESEA, one of those that has come from that is a focus on cultural and language-related curriculum.

Education is a fundamental right, and we must do better for our Native youth.

I have introduced a bill, Mr. Chairman. It is called the School Accountability Improvement Act.

Because of NCLB, there is more national attention being paid to ensuring that schools, districts, and states are held accountable for the achievement of students with disabilities, those who are economically disadvantaged, and minority…

I appreciate that, a beautiful quote. I am going to have to get that from you. But as it relates to how we deal with these schools where it is very difficult to get the teachers and the staff, I would hope that you would work with us in…

The concern that I have is that under these four models, firing the principal and at least 50 percent of the teachers is required as that first step in this turnaround process.

I rise today to introduce the 'School Accountability Improvements Act.'

It really goes to the core of what makes our native students so successful in achieving their educational success.

But what about instituting some minimum training standards?

I want to make sure that you have had an opportunity to at least review that.

That is why I have asked the President to immediately reconsider the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.

We cannot allow this to be repeated to those people in the Gulf of Mexico, to those families that you represent.

We should be anything but satisfied.

I think will be helpful and would hope that this Committee would consider.

These new figures demonstrate that this spill can now be as much as 3 times larger than the Exxon Valdez accident.