Chuck Schumer: “I wish to say a few words as we embark on debating ESEA. I hope not to be very long. First, I am glad we are debating…”

“I wish to say a few words as we embark on debating ESEA. I hope not to be very long. First, I am glad we are debating this bill, because education is such an important issue to America as we move into the 21st century. We have moved into an economy that is based on ideas. Alan Greenspan put it best. He said that high value is added no longer by moving things--when you make a car with moving things, such as putting in a carburetor here or brakes there-- but, rather, by thinking things. All the new technology, such as the Internet, information systems, allow an idea to be transported quickly and inexpensively, which gives ideas so much more power. In that kind of society, we can't afford to have an educational system that is even second. As we all know, our education system, at least elementary and secondary, isn't even in the top 10. If we want to stay the leading economic power of the world, which I think we all do, we have to make our educational system better. In the past, the Federal Government has stayed away from education. I argue that there is a national imperative for us to be more involved, not to dictate to the localities what they have to do--that has been a mistake this Government has entered into far too much in the past--but certainly to help and aid in education. I note that education in America is funded by the property tax, by and large. That is the least popular tax in America, and it puts a real cap on what can be done.”