Donald M. Payne: “I want to thank my colleagues, Congressman Horsford of Nevada and Congressman Jeffries of New York, for anchoring…”

“I want to thank my colleagues, Congressman Horsford of Nevada and Congressman Jeffries of New York, for anchoring tonight's CBC Special Order on improving access to quality education. The recession, the economy, violence and gun control, the security of our Nation, these are the pressing issues being debated across this great Nation today. However, efforts to address the issues are being undermined by our Nation's educational deficit. John F. Kennedy said that ``our progress as a Nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.'' True to this statement are struggles that we face as a Nation because of our divestment in our human mind and potential. In the past, the U.S. led the world in several categories, including college graduates and innovation. Unfortunately, there has been a rapid decline in our ranking in these areas that directly correlates to the strength of this Nation. Among these things, the U.S. has dropped considerably in academic rankings, compared to other developed nations. About 33 percent of our Nation's fourth-grade students are proficient readers. Nearly 7,000 students drop out of high school daily, and about a third of first-year American college students are required to take at least one remedial course. Globally, our rankings have fallen of our students in reading to 14th; in science, to 17th; and in mathematics, to 25th. Despite these daunting statistics, the U.S.…”