Political Quotes

“let me continue what our colleague from Massachusetts has been talking about. This issue is going to come up tomorrow and will be debated. There will be a cloture motion. There are two issues the Senator from Massachusetts and the Senator from North Dakota, who has joined us here on the floor, and I care about. The first is we would like the opportunity to be able to offer amendments to this bill. I gather there has been some agreement on a limited number of amendments. But we think, on something as important as education, this may be the only time this year that we get to talk about the educational needs of the 53 million children who attend our primary and secondary schools in this country. First of all, the issue is about choice and giving our colleagues the choice to consider an alternative or alternatives to Senator Coverdell's legislation. Secondly, we believe that the issue is how the American people decide how they want their tax dollars spent. Let me first, if I can, describe what the Coverdell amendment does. The Coverdell amendment is a tax expenditure of $1.6 billion over the next 10 years that would provide, according to the Joint Taxation Committee, a $1.6 billion tax break, providing $37 a year to the families of children who attend private schools and $7 a year to the children who attend public schools.”