Byron Dorgan: “I am going to be opposing the amendment offered by my colleague, Senator Lieberman. He, I know, has thought a great deal…”

“I am going to be opposing the amendment offered by my colleague, Senator Lieberman. He, I know, has thought a great deal about education issues. I admire his commitment to education. But we come at this from slightly different perspectives. I want to speak not so much about the amendment that is before us but a bit more about the underlying issue that brings us to this intersection of the debate on this bill. We know that in this country the education system needs some repair and adjustment. I happen to think many schools in this country perform very well. As I have said before on the floor of this Senate, I go into a lot of classrooms, as do many of my colleagues. I challenge anyone to go into these classrooms and come out of that classroom and say: Gee, that was not a good teacher. I have deep respect and high regard for most of the teachers I have had the opportunity to watch in the classrooms in this country. But there is almost a boast here in the Senate by some that we do not want to have any national aspirations or goals for our education system. I do not know why people do that. Our elementary and secondary education system is run by local school boards and the State legislatures. That is as it should be. No one is proposing that we transfer control of school systems to the federal government. But we are saying that, as a country, as taxpayers, as parents, as a nation, we ought to have some basic goals of what we expect to get out of these schools.”