Chris Dodd: “I think it is valuable for us to pay attention to our colleagues who bring their life experiences to this Chamber and…”

“I think it is valuable for us to pay attention to our colleagues who bring their life experiences to this Chamber and can help us be better enlightened about what is needed. We certainly listen to our fellow colleague from Tennessee, a good doctor, when he talks about health care issues. We listen to other Members who were part of the private sector and add a significant contribution to the debate. It is a fortunate moment, indeed, that we have an educator, an elementary and secondary schoolteacher who was involved in early education, in our midst. I thank her for her efforts not only today but over the years on education issues. I also commend the author of this amendment, our colleague from New Mexico, Senator Bingaman, and the other cosponsors of this proposal. It has already been pointed out but it is worth repeating: There are roughly 55 million children, from Maine to California, every day getting up to go to school. Of that 55 million who went off to school today, 50 million of them walked through the doors of a public school. Our primary obligation is, obviously, to these students in public schools.”