Jack Reed: “I thank Senator Frist, Senator Kennedy, and Senator Jeffords. I commend Senator Lieberman and his colleagues for…”

“I thank Senator Frist, Senator Kennedy, and Senator Jeffords. I commend Senator Lieberman and his colleagues for presenting a very thoughtful and principled alternative to discuss today. There are elements in this legislation which I support enthusiastically, and then there are other elements I do not accept and have great questions about. But the proposal of Senator Lieberman along with colleagues underscores some critical points. First of all, they underscore that the approach of S. 2--simply transferring money with very limited and ambiguous accountability provisions of the State--is not the way to reform accountability. Also, they recognized there is a legitimate State and local partnership that could be maintained and should be maintained, particularly in the context of title I. They are also advocating a greater investment in education. That is something I know I agree with and I know many, if not all, of my colleagues on the Democratic side passionately agree with. Also, they advocate greater targeting of these funds into those low-income schools that need more assistance and, in fact, represent probably the best example why unconstrained State and local policy sometimes leads to bad outcomes. If you look at the funding and the performance of schools in urban areas and low-income rural areas, you will see the combination of the property tax and local policies will lead to results, to outcomes we do not want.”