Political Quotes

On the recordSeptember 29, 1999
I was startled--I think the Senator from Washington, as a former classroom teacher, was surprised as well--when a successful program to reduce class size that put thousands of teachers in classrooms across America was not funded in this legislation. In my home State of Illinois, we will lose up to 1,200 teachers; nationwide, 29,000 teachers. It strikes me as not only odd but maybe a little bit embarrassing that we are saying to the American people as we start this new century, the first thing we will do for education----
Said by
Dick Durbin
Democratic · Illinois

Editor's note · Context

Discussing the lack of funding for a program to reduce class sizes in an appropriations bill.

Share

More from Dick Durbin

Aug 18, 2026

It was the largest class action settlement against the federal government in the history of our nation.

durbin.senate.gov
Aug 22, 2026

Today’s announcement means that we can see that growth sooner rather than later.

duckworth.senate.gov
Aug 21, 2026

Timely access to blood can be the difference between life and death, especially in a medical emergency.

durbin.senate.gov
Aug 26, 2026

The President is dead set on attacking Americans’ right to vote and undermining our democracy by making baseless claims about ‘rigged’ elections, demanding unreasonable voter registration requirements, restricting mail-in voting, and…

durbin.senate.gov

Other voices in this conversation