Political Quotes

“as a Senator from a State with an excellent records of accomplishment at the secondary education level, but a discouraging low rate of participation in higher education, I am extremely pleased to rise in support of the conference report on the higher education act amendments of 1998. Mr. President, I have had no higher priority than bringing this important legislation to completion this year. I am very proud of the record of Maine's primary and secondary schools. We have one of the lowest high school dropout rates in the country, and we rank in the top third of the Nation for residents over 25 years old with high school diplomas. More important, the academic achievement of our schools is impressive. Education Week's ``Quality Counts'' assessment found that the performance of Maine's students in mathematics, science, and reading was at the very top of the Nation. Unfortunately, Mr. President, there is one dark cloud in this otherwise very bright and sunny picture, and that is the low rate of participation in higher education by Maine's high school graduates. That low rate results not from a lack of interest or lack of ability, but rather from a lack of opportunity. The legislation we are considering today holds the key for young people of limited means to get through a door that, often for financial reasons, would otherwise remain closed to them.”