Robert Torricelli: “Mr. President, I have been discouraged at times about, not simply the issue of education in America but about the…”

“Mr. President, I have been discouraged at times about, not simply the issue of education in America but about the willingness in public policy to deal with these fundamental problems. The fact that so many Senators have given so much time, commitment, and energy to dealing with this problem is one of the most encouraging things I have seen in years. Perhaps the Nation is getting ready, in a fundamental way, to deal with our educational problems. It is none too soon, perhaps, because we all recognize the same thing: America's educational problems point like a dagger at the heart of our national prosperity--indeed, one day even our national security. America cannot long endure with this standard of living without dealing in a major way, on a grand scale, with our persistent, almost endemic problems of education. Indeed, there are a plethora of problems. Who would believe, under these economic and budgetary circumstances, that a great nation would allow its future leaders, the engines of its future economy, to attend classes in trailers, hallways, or gymnasiums? Mr. President, 2,400 schools need to be built in the next 2 years to relieve overcrowding and accommodate rising enrollments--2,400.”