Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, we get called back here every week to name post offices and to even fund unwanted aircraft carriers, but when it comes time for us to confront education head on we begin to fiddle, Mr. Chairman. We send money from the Federal Government to build roads, to build highways. I am always fascinated when I hear my colleagues on the other side suggest that this is a local issue, this is local control. They did not complain when the home builders came before us recently asking that local land disputes be decided in Federal courts. Neither did I. I supported it. They do not come complaining that building prisons is a local issue when those at the local level say we need more money to throw criminals in jail, which I support. But when it comes time to build schools, to provide children with an opportunity to learn in a safe and clean and learner-friendly environment, they begin to buckle, they begin to flinch. They begin to point fingers and suggest that it is not our responsibility. Name me a prison in America, Mr. Chairman, that closes early, as 30 of my schools do during the summertime because they have no air conditioning. There is not one. I would hope my colleagues on the other side could do better by our kids. We ought to be thankful they cannot write campaign checks like the gunmakers, the insurance industry, and the pharmaceutical industry.”