Political Quotes

“Like the previous amendment offered by my colleague from Washington, Senator Gorton, this is a very reasonable amendment. It simply requires the courts, when they make an award under IDEA, to take into consideration what impact that award will have on all of the students in the district or in the particular classrooms. For example, we have cases where a $1,000 IDEA program or plan, educational plan costs $13,000 or $14,000 in legal fees. There are millions of dollars in legal fees spent in all 50 States, all over America, that are taken out of the classroom. These are dollars that you cannot use for teachers, you cannot use for computers, you cannot use for textbooks or, frankly, for infrastructure or schools or buildings. The issue here is whether or not you want to have these dollars go to the students or go to the lawyers. That is the simple issue. This is a very reasonable amendment. There is nothing unreasonable about it. I think the process here where we say we cannot amend a bill to strengthen it, to make a better bill is a bad process and one for which I wish we had not set the precedent.”