John Thune: “today the House passed House Concurrent Resolution 84, which I think is important for a number of reasons. There is no…”

“today the House passed House Concurrent Resolution 84, which I think is important for a number of reasons. There is no higher priority, I believe, than our children's education. I have a third grader and a fifth grader who attend Oscar Howell Elementary, the public school system in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the Sioux Falls School District. The school board election is coming up in June. There are no fewer than 12 people running for one position on the school board, and we will have the opportunity to choose a very qualified member of the school board. I am delighted to have that many people who are interested in seeking and holding that very important position. The concurrent resolution that we passed today in the House was a nonbinding resolution. But, nevertheless, I think is important, for several reasons. It compels the will of this House that special education be funded before any other new education initiatives are funded. That makes basic sense. The special education mandate, IDEA funding, is a Federal mandate and, therefore, should be federally funded. Twenty years ago the Congress committed to fund special ed at 40 percent of the total funding level. We are not even close to that today, not even close. I am pleased that the Republican Congress in the last years has begun moving in that direction. In fact, we have backed up our rhetoric with our action.”