Sue Myrick: “Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Committee on Rules met and granted a structured rule for H.R. 2211, Ready to Teach Act of…”

“Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Committee on Rules met and granted a structured rule for H.R. 2211, Ready to Teach Act of 2003. This is a very fair rule. We made five out of the eight amendments offered in order, and four of them are Democrat amendments. The Ready to Teach Act seeks to meet the call of the No Child Left Behind Act to place a highly qualified teacher in every classroom. It makes improvements to the Higher Education Act that will increase the quality of our Nation's teacher preparation programs. I would like to commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) for his work on the Ready to Teach Act. I would also like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert); the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce; and the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), ranking member, for their continuing efforts to improve all aspects of our country's higher education system. As we work to place highly qualified teachers in education classrooms across the Nation, I am particularly pleased that this legislation allows for innovative programs that provide alternative options to the traditional teacher training programs.”