Jeff Bingaman: “I also, though, believe we need to be sure the funds we provide at the Federal level get to the students who most need…”

“I also, though, believe we need to be sure the funds we provide at the Federal level get to the students who most need those funds, and to the programs that will benefit disadvantaged students. So I favor that amendment. The amendment I have sent to the desk here and that I will speak on right now relates to what I consider perhaps the most severe problem facing the educational system in this country today--at least in my State, and I believe throughout the country--and that is the problem that too many of our students are leaving school before they graduate from high school. For an awful long time, this was a problem that people sort of ignored, and education policy wonks here in Washington and around the country essentially looked the other way and talked about other aspects of the educational issue. But more and more I have come to believe that this amendment I am offering on behalf of myself and Senators Reid, Levin, Bryan, and Boxer deals with a crucial issue for our young people and for our educational system. We can deal with the dropout problem.”