George Miller: “I think those negotiations have been intense because, as the gentleman from New Jersey just said, we believe this is one…”

“I think those negotiations have been intense because, as the gentleman from New Jersey just said, we believe this is one of the most important subjects that we confront as members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and that is our ability to improve the outcomes for our young children in school to learn to read so that they can read to learn for the rest of their lives. As so many have already said here today, we are not doing a very good job in that effort. I think this legislation starts to turn us around in that. In terms of the emphasis that it places on the professional development of teachers, it is clear that we have got to have competent, capable teachers in that classroom, spending time with those children to help them learn to read.”