Political Quotes

“I want to further describe something that the gentlelady from Texas mentioned in her remarks, that this continuing resolution would expand the Federal definition of ``highly qualified teacher'' to include a wider range of teachers, including those who are alternatively certified. This is particularly important for programs where the data shows they are effective, like Teach For America that help improve student outcomes, particularly among our most at-risk students. This definition would support greater local district control and flexibility to help ensure that good teachers are in public school classrooms. This was, from a policy perspective, largely agreed upon by Democrats and Republicans in policy circles around the definition of highly qualified. But a court recently said that previous language was unable to be interpreted in this way. So, Madam Speaker, we are using this continuing resolution to ensure that these good teachers can stay in the classrooms and that programs like Teach For America can confidently move forward instead of losing their ability to teach midway through the school year. Madam Speaker, tonight we are on the brink of a government shutdown if we fail to pass this CR, and we shouldn't let our partisan bickering between 99 cents or $1 or $1.01 grind the entire economy of this Nation to a halt, allowing drug cartels carte blanche on the border, and making sure that grandma can't visit the kids in Topeka.”