Chris Dodd: “I adhere to the admonition that Thomas Jefferson gave almost 200 years ago: Any nation that expects to be ignorant and…”

“I adhere to the admonition that Thomas Jefferson gave almost 200 years ago: Any nation that expects to be ignorant and free expects what never was and never possibly can be. As important as education was to the development of the 19th century, it certainly is just as important now a few days into the 21st century. No issue will be more important for the development and continued success of our own country than to have a very successful educational system in our Nation. My concern is we have $1.2 billion in this program. If I have $1.2 billion for special ed, it does not even remotely get close to the 40 percent we promised our States we would give them for special education. We need $15.8 billion to get to 40 percent level.”