Tom Harkin: “Perhaps the biggest part of this bill in terms of where we ought to focus our energies and our attention is in the area…”

“Perhaps the biggest part of this bill in terms of where we ought to focus our energies and our attention is in the area of education. We know that without a good education, our hopes for the future of this country are much dimmer if we do not provide a class 1, world class education for all of our kids. Our future will be bleak indeed if in fact we start leaving some kids behind. Thus, when the President talked a couple years ago about his proposal to leave no child behind, that sounded like something we could support and move ahead on because we do not want to, nor can we afford to, leave any children behind. Now that we are here this week after Labor Day, it is back to school time. Back to school time means one thing: More claims from President Bush that he is serious about leaving no child behind. When the President signed the No Child Left Behind Act nearly 2 years ago, he promised to give schools the money they need to improve. He said: We are going to spend more money, more resources, but they will be directed at methods that work.”