Political Quotes

“I rise is strong opposition to the Boehner amendment. This amendment is all advised and ill conceived. It would eliminate the entire Rural, and Urban, Education title in this bill. I cannot impress upon the membership of this body how important this title is to rural and urban areas, of this country. I was an original cosponsor of Mr. William's bill, upon which this program was based. I was very pleased to see it incorporated into H.R. 6. The facts about rural America overwhelmingly support the need for this assistance: academic performance of rural students is lower than average, poverty among rural school age students is increasing, schools continue to operate in decrepit facilities, there is no capital with which to make improvements, and additional money is needed to address these needs. Rural schools have the same, if not greater, needs than their suburban counterparts. High costs are coupled with an inability to leverage revenue to fund needed programs. Add to that geographic isolation and teacher recruitment obstacles, and rural students are most certainly at a disadvantage. In nearly every meeting on education I have with constituents, without fail I hear about the need for technology assistance for out schools if we are to keep them competitive. They need access to innovative education and they need access to financial assistance if our students are to be able to excel.”