Earl Blumenauer: “Twenty years ago, Congress made a law and a commitment. The law was to extend equal education opportunity for all…”

“Twenty years ago, Congress made a law and a commitment. The law was to extend equal education opportunity for all children. The commitment was to provide 40 percent funding to meet this goal. We have no reason to put off fulfilling this commitment for yet another decade. Nearly every State is facing serious financial difficulty, few as serious as my State of Oregon. We need help as never before. Yet we are told full funding is not realistic at this point. Yet we have the President and leadership of his party proposing a half trillion dollars in additional tax cuts for those who need help the least. Whatever dubious economic benefits claimed are clearly minuscule compared with investing in our communities and meeting the commitments to our schools and our children. But without providing full funding, the bill ought to be rejected until we do what we know is right and what is clearly within our power. I for one would be embarrassed to go home to a State that is stressed like many of my colleagues, giving cover for those who would avoid meeting this long-standing commitment for another decade.”