Political Quotes

“I certainly want to commend Chairman Obey and the ranking member, Mr. Walsh, and their staffs for their dedicated work on this very important appropriations bill. I sincerely appreciate their efforts. Madam Chairman, literacy skills are the cornerstone of our education system. I think that we can all agree that students who struggle with reading face challenges in all subject areas in school. Unfortunately, children of parents who themselves have difficulty reading English are even more likely to perform at low literacy levels. For this reason, my predecessor, the Honorable Bill Goodling, former Republican chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, established the Even Start Family Literacy Program. Even Start is the only Federal education program that teaches literacy skills to both parents and their children. Through this program parents receive the necessary skills to become a teacher to their children and to improve their lives. Even Start serves the most economically and educationally disadvantaged population in the country.”