Chris Dodd: “I rise to commend Senator Lieberman and the others--Senators Bayh, Graham, Lincoln, Landrieu, Bryan, Kohl, Robb, and…”

“I rise to commend Senator Lieberman and the others--Senators Bayh, Graham, Lincoln, Landrieu, Bryan, Kohl, Robb, and Breaux--who have offered this amendment. I want to commend them on their commitment and their ideas in working toward the goal before all of us today-- accelerating the pace of reform in our schools. We have worked hard together on this issue for months, and in some cases, for years. Senator Lieberman and I are fortunate to come from the same state, Connecticut, which is a national leader in school reform and student achievement and a constant source of ideas for both of us--so we have worked together on this issue for some time. And contrary to what some may have heard, there is significant agreement among all of us about the direction of federal education policy. Our agreements are many and significant. First and foremost, we all agree the status quo is not good enough for our schools, our children, our nation, or for us.”