Jack Reed: “I, too, am concerned that we are moving forward on legislation that has not yet been finalized. Technically, we voted…”

“I, too, am concerned that we are moving forward on legislation that has not yet been finalized. Technically, we voted this morning to proceed to S. 1, this piece of legislation. But we recognize and understand that this piece of legislation, the committee print, has already been overtaken by events and negotiations, and that what we will ultimately be confronted with on the floor is still being written. When there are so many important and outstanding issues that have yet to be resolved, it is, indeed, premature and, I think, unfortunate that we would begin this debate. S. 1, the committee bill, was carefully and thoughtfully considered in committee, and it represents accommodation between the administration's proposal and the ideas of the committee members in both Republican and Democrat caucuses. I hoped it would come to the floor as the vehicle by which we could discuss educational reform in the United States. But as I indicated, this has been overtaken. The few hundred or so pages, for all practical purposes, are irrelevant.”