Political Quotes

“I have been listening with a great deal of interest as my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have expressed their views on education. I particularly commend my neighbor and colleague from Kansas and my good friend from Idaho for their very perceptive comments about education. As I listen to the debate back and forth, it is clear we have two very different approaches to education being championed. On the one side, we have trust of local schools; on the other side, we have mistrust. On one side, we advocate local control; on the other side, they advocate Federal control. On our side, we say that parents, schools, teachers, and school boards know best. On the other side, they say Washington knows best. For me it is not a tough choice. This is not rocket science: trust, local control, parents, schools know best. There is no question in my mind. I come to the Senate floor today to say--and I have said it before and I will say it again--I spent my adult career working with parents, teachers, and school boards in Missouri. I have watched them work. I have watched their education decisions. I spent the last 13 years in this body watching Congress debate issues and watching the Federal bureaucracy administer programs. When it comes to wasting money, it is not even close. It is not a contest. It is a good thing that local schools do not operate as does the Federal Government because local schools could not afford to.”