James M. Jeffords: “In answer, I say that the Senator is right, absolutely right. What we need to do is to get this country in a position…”

“In answer, I say that the Senator is right, absolutely right. What we need to do is to get this country in a position where the Governors have the flexibility to assist us as we move forward. I would point out that what we have done also as a fallback in that sense is, with second-degree amendments, to point out that the best thing we can do right now for the Governors and the Nation is to fully fund IDEA, which is the largest expense that local schools have in doing what is constitutionally required; that is, to provide a child with an appropriate and free education. A recent Supreme Court decision just the other day points out how important that is now, where, under the 1988 Americans with Disabilities Act, the schools are now responsible to ensure that health care, which is necessary in order to allow the child to be able to obtain the maximum they can, is to be paid for by local governments. Now, we promised to pay 40 percent of that bill when it was passed. I was on the committee, so I feel a little personally responsible. We said we would pay 40 percent. If you look at the chart behind me here, you can see that we are far from doing that. The total cost now--and that is going to go up significantly with the Supreme Court decision-- is $40.5 billion a year. The Federal Government, in order to take up its share, which would obviously be around $10 billion--well over $10 billion, right. But we are far from that. Right now we are still $11 billion short”