Bill Barrett: “Mr. Chairman, the President wants voluntary tests identifying individuals, schools and States as meeting or failing…”

“Mr. Chairman, the President wants voluntary tests identifying individuals, schools and States as meeting or failing voluntary education standards. His education plan calls for voluntary tax credits to build more schools. He is also volunteering the Federal Government to hire 100,000 teachers. Sounds to me like the era of big government is still alive and well over at the White House. Mr. Chairman, are we to volunteer ourselves to the nationalization of our education system? Will Uncle Sam test, set standards, build the schools and hire the teachers? If so, we might as well tell our State legislatures, boards of education and local school boards to go home, Uncle Sam has taken charge. H.R. 2846 brings sanity to the process. It tells the administration that Congress will live up to the deal we made in the last appropriations bill but, most importantly, the bill maintains the right of people's Representatives to settle the question of education testing. Support H.R. 2846 and preserve the rights of Congress.”