Political Quotes

“to all of my colleagues, it is interesting when I hear and all of us in this debate about Federal versus local. Let us just deal with the facts for one moment. Ninety-four cents of every dollar raised and spent for public education is raised and spent at the local level. Virtually all the policy setting authority for all of our schools across the country, in my district in Memphis and in districts all across this country, is done at the State and local level. If we want to point fingers or blame people, we have to blame locals for our problem. But I am not in the business of blaming. What my local school districts suggest they want, Democrats, Republicans, conservatives and liberals, big government people and little government people, are actual solutions. They want help. They have problems because kids are learning in trailer homes in my colleagues' districts and in our districts all across the country. They have problems because they have kids learning in closets and bathrooms in schools all across this country. Now, we can sit here and pretend that this debate is meaningful and useful about Federal or local, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. Reality is that there are kids that are not learning, there are kids that are caught in bathrooms and closets and trailer homes all across this country, because we would rather debate whether it is a local or Federal problem. This is an American problem.”