Political Quotes

“let me add my voice to those who have already spoken in commending the chairman of the committee, Senator Kennedy, and the ranking Republican on the committee, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, for their leadership, and John Boehner, the chairman of the House committee, along with George Miller of California, the ranking Democrat. They have been the four principals responsible in the last few months for putting this proposal together. The adjectives describing the contributions of my friend and colleague from Massachusetts are merited, considering the amount of time and effort he has put into this product. Later in my remarks, I will acknowledge the key staff people who have put in tireless hours--forgoing weekends, evenings, and vacations--to try to reach compromises on some of the thorniest issues of this legislation. I thank Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont. Senator Jeffords began the process as our Senate Education Committee chairperson. He has fought hard for his entire career in public life on behalf of education and certainly made a significant contribution to this bill, particularly in one area he cares about especially deeply, special education. I gather Senator Jeffords may not vote for the conference report at the end of the day because of his deep disappointment over the fact that we did not include mandatory spending for special education. I share his concern. Full-funding for special education gained broad support in this body.…”