Jeff Bingaman: “I wish to speak against the Gorton amendment. I think the Gorton amendment fails to recognize the immense amount of work…”

“I wish to speak against the Gorton amendment. I think the Gorton amendment fails to recognize the immense amount of work that has gone into trying to put this country on a road to having and pursuing higher national standards, higher standards in education throughout the country. This is work that has primarily been done by the Governors of this country. I will point out that it began in Charlottesville, when President Bush was there with our 50 Governors some 5 years ago. Today, the National Education Goals Panel is made up primarily of Governors. There are eight Governors on this panel, there are two administration representatives, and there are four representatives from Congress. But clearly the Governors are those who set up the National Education Goals Panel. They are the ones who have led the way for this country to pursue national education goals and standards. The amendment of Senator Gorton, in my view, would be an insult, if we were to pass this amendment, given the current state of deliberations by the National Governors and by the National Education Goals Panel on national standards.”