Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise in support of the Every Student Succeeds Act--the bill to reauthorization the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. We have only one goal in mind: to give all our children the best possible education. The challenge has been to figure out the right role for the Federal Government to do that. This bill, which will replace No Child Left Behind, moves away from rigid standardized tests and respects the vital work our teachers do every day. I strongly support those changes. However, I voted against this bill when it was first approved by the Senate a few months ago because I felt it lacked even the minimum safeguards necessary to ensure that States would use Federal funds effectively to support teachers and students. I was deeply concerned that without stronger accountability, billions of dollars in taxpayer money would not actually reach those schools and those students who needed them the most. Unlike the bill initially approved by the Senate, the proposal before us has significantly enhanced those safeguards. I argued that it was essential that billions of dollars a year of Federal funding must be accompanied by some minimum expectations for what States are going to do with that money. One of those expectations must be that States target their efforts toward schools that are most in need of improvement and resources.…”