Judd Gregg: “let me begin by saying I congratulate the Senator from Connecticut for bringing forward an amendment that has a lot of…”

“let me begin by saying I congratulate the Senator from Connecticut for bringing forward an amendment that has a lot of interesting, creative ideas, ideas that are attractive to myself and other Members on the other side of the aisle that find attractive the proposals presented; and the accountability proposals and the idea we should allow local communities and States to have more flexibility in the management of the funds which come from the Federal Government, with an expectation they produce a better level of achievement for their students. These are ideas which we think make sense. We have some reservations about some proposals within the amendment, but I hope we can work over time with the Senator from Connecticut and his cosponsors on his side of the aisle to evolve a bipartisan package. I think there is significant opportunity for that. I congratulate the Senator for his efforts. The amendment that was set aside, offered by Senator Lott, is called the Teachers' Bill of Rights. That amendment involves four items: First, a commitment that allows, under the underlying bill, S. 2, to make sure we use the dollars of the Teacher Empowerment Act, which is $2 billion, to hire high-quality teachers, teachers who have the qualifications to teach the subjects they are supposed to be teaching.”