Chuck Schumer: “Mr. President, I do not profess to be an expert on the bill that my good friend, the Senator from Georgia, has…”

“Mr. President, I do not profess to be an expert on the bill that my good friend, the Senator from Georgia, has introduced. I came on the floor because it seems to me that education is not only the No. 1 issue that most Americans feel is important, but it is the No. 1 issue that is facing the future of our country. We have a huge number of different problems in education. We have overcrowded classrooms. My children attend the public schools in New York City, I am proud to say. I am proud to say they are getting a good education. When my daughter was in kindergarten, she had to share that kindergarten room with another class. We have a desperate shortage of classrooms. We have a desperate shortage of teachers coming forward. The average age of a teacher in America is 50 years or older. Every year we are going to need more and more teachers in our schools. We have a desperate shortage of standards. All too often people graduate from course work and can't carry the load. In an economy where education and knowledge seem to be so important, we don't have any good Federal ideas on what to do.”