Virginia Foxx: “I was going to remark on the fact that our colleague from Colorado has given us some levity, but it has been so long…”

“I was going to remark on the fact that our colleague from Colorado has given us some levity, but it has been so long since the levity occurred, I am not sure anybody would remember it. However, I do think it is important to point out that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle continually tell us how our legislation falls short of the ideal that they would like to see. I would like to remind our colleagues that, for 2 years, the Democrats were in control of the House and the Senate. Two years, they had the House and the Senate and the White House. If they had been so interested in reauthorizing this legislation and lots of other legislation that they criticize us about, they should have brought that ideal legislation forward at that time and passed it. {time} 1400 I would also like to point out, despite what our colleague says about no hearings on this bill, that since we returned to the majority in the House in 2011, we have held 20 hearings on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The committee considered five reauthorization bills in four markups in the 112th Congress, in addition to a markup and the favorably reporting of H.R. 5 in 2013 and again this month. With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my colleague from Georgia (Mr. Allen).”