Byron Dorgan: “we are on the right subject. The question here is education. But in this great deliberative body, as it is called, we…”

“we are on the right subject. The question here is education. But in this great deliberative body, as it is called, we have some who do not want us to debate the principles of education and ideas that exist, here in the Chamber of the Senate. Let me show a graph, if I might. It will be hard for people to see this, but it describes where we are. We have an education bill on the floor of the Senate. To that education bill is offered an amendment by Senator Gramm, an amendment to the Gramm amendment by Senator Jeffords, then a Jeffords substitute, then a Bingaman amendment, and then the Lott substitute. Then we come in with the Kennedy motion to recommit in order to do the class size amendment. Then we have a Lott amendment to that, followed by a Lott amendment to the Lott amendment. What does all that mean? It is a legislative way of plugging up this system so nothing can happen unless those who run the place want it to happen. It is a legislative mechanism to prevent debate and action on the ideas that we have about education. What are those ideas? The bill on the floor is called Ed-Flex. That is an idea about flexibility. There are other ideas--one we debated last year, reducing class size K-3; 100,000 new teachers who reduce class size, because kids learn better when they are in classes of 15 than if they are in classes of 30 kids. That is common sense. That is an idea, the Kennedy-Murray amendment.…”