Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be the Secretary of Education. This is not a position I take lightly. I have never opposed the confirmation of a nominee for Secretary of Education. I also have never seen the intensity of opposition to a nominee for this position as we have witnessed with Mrs. DeVos. Thousands of Rhode Islanders--educators, parents, community leaders-- have written or called to express their dismay that a person with Mrs. DeVos's record and background would be chosen to lead the Department of Education. What I have seen and heard about Mrs. DeVos leads me to agree with my constituents--she is uniquely unsuited and unqualified for this critical position. The U.S. Secretary of Education oversees the Federal Government's role in ensuring educational equity in our public schools regardless of family income, race, ethnicity, language, or disability. Mrs. DeVos's work has been in the opposite direction. She has dedicated her time, political capital, and personal fortune to creating private sector alternatives to public education. She has also fought to shield those alternatives from the same standards and accountability that apply to public schools. For example, she spent a reported $1.45 million to reward or punish Michigan legislators as part of her effort to kill an accountability plan that would have included charter schools.…”