Chris Dodd: “I am glad our colleague from Tennessee has remained. People may assume I am fulfilling some collegial courtesy to extend…”

“I am glad our colleague from Tennessee has remained. People may assume I am fulfilling some collegial courtesy to extend comments about the experiences of the members of the committee, but as Senator Enzi has just said, we are very fortunate to have Lamar Alexander as a Member of this body and as a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The Senator from Wyoming touched on the experiences that Senator Alexander has had, except one, and that was as a Presidential candidate. He spoke eloquently, throughout those months in which he sought the highest office in the land, about the importance of education. So, we are fortunate to have him on our Committee. I can't tell the Chairman of the Committee how much I look forward to working with him as well. I am optimistic about the work we can do on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. I will support the nomination of Margaret Spellings as Secretary of Education. The mission of the Department of Education is 'to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence for all Americans.' If we succeed in making our education system as good as it can be, there is no national priority that will not benefit. If we do not succeed, we leave things to chance. So I believe that the Secretary of Education is one of the most, if not the most, important positions in the President's Cabinet.”