Political Quotes

“this amendment would shift $55 million from the Goals 2000 Program to the IDEA Program. I think a lot has been said about both programs. I understand that there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to try to bring several issues to resolution. I would like for someone, maybe the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey], to detail what the agreement is, or the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter]. But until we get to that point, let me make a couple of observations about how I feel as an individual Congressman, and I think that feeling is shared by many in this body. A little bit of history about Goals 2000: It started in the Bush administration with an effort to try to set standards to make us competitive with the Japanese and Germans and other international competitors by having national goals to achieve in education. Unfortunately, every good idea that starts in Washington winds up somewhere a little different than you wanted it to be. We found that when we try to implement national standards, no matter how noble they are, that the people who implement them have a different view of how the world should work. I would just make this observation, the Department of Education is in the hands of folks I consider more liberal, more on the liberal side of the House. One day that will probably change, as politics is subject to change.”