Cord Byrd: “at some future time, I may support what this amendment is trying to accomplish. I think that we should have more…”

“at some future time, I may support what this amendment is trying to accomplish. I think that we should have more accountability by the states. I also believe that we may need to reevaluate how Title I funds are used in the states. That being said, I do not think that this amendment is the proper way to tie funding to achievement. I represent a low-income state where Title I funds make up $76.5 million of the money spent on education. By threatening to freeze funding until the schools improve, I fear we may be taking away the very tools necessary to achieve the improvement that we all seek both in our schools and our students. I like what the Senator is saying, but I am going to vote against his amendment at this time. Basically, I have not heard enough of this debate. And this is one thing that is wrong. Let me underline that. This is one thing that is wrong with the stacking of the amendments. I have already stated my opposition to the stacking of the amendments. Sometimes there is justification for stacking votes, and sometimes I will not object to it. But in the future, I am going to object more than I have in the past. It is demeaning to the Senator who offers the amendment. It is demeaning to the amendment itself to be limited to 2 minutes before we vote on it. And it is demeaning to the Senate. When it comes to stacking votes so as to allow Senators to be away on a Monday or be away on Fridays, I am going to be hard to get along with in that regard.”