Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to support the passage of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act. I commend Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray, and their counterparts in the House, Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Scott, for their commitment to finding common ground and a path forward on this critical legislation. When President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law 50 years ago, he noted that ``from our very beginnings as a nation, we have felt a fierce commitment to the ideal of education for everyone. It fixed itself into our democratic creed.'' Yet many communities today across the Nation, including my home State of Rhode Island, are still wrestling with how to address large achievement gaps based on wealth, race, ethnicity, and disability status. Underlying the achievement gaps we see are gaps in opportunity. We need to ensure our students have access to critical resources for learning, strong teachers, counselors, and principals, a well-balanced program of study that includes arts, humanities, and environmental education, and safe, healthy schools equipped with libraries, technology, and science labs. We also need to support and promote greater parental engagement. These are the issues I have focused on for many years, and I am very pleased that the Every Student Succeeds Act makes important improvements in all of these areas.…”