Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, the bill before the House today does not have the full scope of provisions which I and other Democrats have sought during the several months which we have worked on this legislation. The conference report on H.R. 800 does, however, make much-needed improvements to the existing Ed-Flex demonstration program in the areas of accountability and targeting of resources, and because of this will receive my support today. The existing Ed-Flex demonstration program is found by GAO to require little accountability for increased student achievement. The gentleman from California (Mr. Miller) and I offered an amendment, both in committee and on the floor, which attempted to address these concerns. While this amendment was not adopted, the legislation's provision requiring the Secretary to judge the specificity and measurability of a State's educational goals and strengthen reporting requirements, including the requirement to provide reliable and accurate data on student performance, are improvements over the existing demonstration program that will provide us with the information we need to truly analyze the link between flexibility and student performance.”