Jeff Bingaman: “I was particularly impressed and encouraged about his decision to make education the centerpiece of that speech and his…”

“I was particularly impressed and encouraged about his decision to make education the centerpiece of that speech and his decision to make education the first priority of his administration this next 4 years. One aspect of what he talked about in education, I think, is extremely important, and that is standard setting. We have had debates in Congress for many years now about the issue of standards. In fact, I introduced legislation in 1990 to establish national standards in education, and, of course, we are continuing to pursue that through the National Education Goals Panel, which I serve on along with Senator Jeffords. I am persuaded that part of what the American people would like to see in their educational system is higher standards and more accountability.”