Political Quotes

“I rise this evening in support of my amendment that sends a very clear message to States that if they choose to withdraw from Common Core, there will be no penalty whatsoever from the Federal Government. As a New York State Senator, I introduced legislation with New York State Assemblymen Al Graf and Ed Ra that would stop Common Core in New York. In New York, we have these Common Core standards set nationally, tests created by the State, curriculum set by the local school districts, and no one is talking to each other; teachers not only teaching to the test, but they are teaching to the wrong test because they are not given the tools they need to know what the test is even going to look like. And for any government Kool Aid-drinking bureaucrat who is listening to this and disagreeing with what I have to say, you are not listening to those parents and educators and students who are pleading with passion exactly what I am saying, begging for a positive change that will improve the quality of education in America's classrooms. The most common argument I received in opposition to my bill was that if New York State withdrew from Common Core, that somehow the Federal Government was going to punish New York State with hundreds of millions of dollars lost--some even said billions of dollars. This amendment is the most important action that this Congress can take to diffuse those claims and allow States to withdraw without punishment.…”