Political Quotes

“we have been waiting all year to get details of a proposed budget, and we have been forced to vote on crucial issues such as a tax cut without seeing the budget. Now we are being forced to vote on a budget on which we have had no input and only have gotten access to because of human error. This type of process is unfair and extremely heavy-handed. President Bush promised the American people he would be the education President. He campaigned on a slogan of, ``Leave no child behind.'' When he gave his State of the Union address, he stated, ``Education is my top priority, and by supporting this budget you will make it yours as well.'' Yet this budget has no substantial new funding for education. The President's ostensible commitment to education, like his ostensible commitment to bipartisanship, is a hoax. He took $288 billion over the next 10 years out of the budget for education. This amount had bipartisan support in the Senate, yet the conference agreement eliminates 98 percent of that increased funding. This measly 2 percent increase amounts to a mere $13 per student per year. The balanced budget the Democrats offered and that Republicans unanimously rejected called for a $112 billion increase in education funding over 10 years. This funding would have provided for class size reductions, school renovation, teacher recruitment, increased funds for special education, expansion of Pell grants and additional funds for Head Start.”