Political Quotes

“25 years ago, the United States Congress made a commitment to pay each school in America 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure for every special education student it enrolled--Washington promised it would help our local communities meet the cost of educating students with special needs. Unfortunately, the Federal Government has failed to meet this obligation, creating an unfunded mandate that must be borne by every state and community in America. For the current school year the average per pupil expenditure is $6,000, yet we have appropriated only $702 per student only 11.7% of the cost--slightly more than one fourth of out promise. To meet the Federal commitment, the budget resolution should assume an expenditure of $15.8 billion for this year. I commend Senator Domenici and the Budget Committee for recognizing the importance of this commitment and for providing a $1 billion increase in fiscal year 2001. But this is not enough, and we must do more--we must embark on a short path to full funding. We have the resources to do it, and the amendment before the Senate starts us on our journey to full funding.”