John Kline

I am very sensitive to the 5-minute clock, and so I want to pursue a line of questioning sort of quickly here.

I am concerned. I don't think that got to the issue I was trying to get to.

Thank you, Madam Chair, for being here. It is nice to see you.

We are concerned about how much money is going in them and is it being spent not only wisely but is it being abused?

We need their participation--their full, informed participation in American society.

Oh, yes it is. Oh, yes it is. By every measure it is worth it.

I hope that we will be able to work out a long-term bipartisan support for student loan activity.

But I think members ought to understand that, you know, in the case of Common Core standards and assessments, this was a creation of the Governors; this wasn't a creation of the federal government.

Many states have taken the bait, but a lot of the students and parents are really not very happy with this.

I don't see anything in the Constitution that really deals with education.

I have always been kind of a states' rights guy and I believe that the top quality of education really is affected at the state level, and more specifically, by the local school districts.

I want to see that money invested in kids who are being successful.

But if we invest in high-quality early childhood education--today less than 3 in 10 of our children have access to high-quality pre-K, and then we wonder why we have achievement gaps.

The administration has brought forward a very, very big new proposal.

In K-12, ESEA flexibility has provided crucial space for innovation and system-wide improvement.

Central to that effort is keeping interest rates low on student loans.

Together we can choose another path and make smart, strategic, long-term investments.

Those cuts would multiply the damage of sequestration, which continues to hurt low-income and special needs students.

I am convinced it is investing in high-quality early childhood education--in preschool.

President Obama recognizes education as an investment and not an expense.

For each of the past 2 years Republicans have released budgets filled with giveaways to the wealthiest Americans at the expense of educating our nation's children.

I appreciate that, like Republicans, the president has acknowledged the value of moving student loan interest rates back to a market-based system.

Unfortunately, the Republican budget negatively impacts students by making it harder to go to college and harder to pay off debt.

This year isn't any different. In March, Republicans put forth a budget that not only keeps in place the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration, but actually calls for even more draconian cuts in education programs across the country.

I recognize the importance of freeing states and school districts from the law's outdated metrics and regulations.