Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, as the father of an outstanding public school teacher and as a former State superintendent of my State schools, I rise in strong support of this resolution and I am a proud cosponsor of it as well, which really expresses the sense of this House for the support of America's teachers. I also want to thank all of the teachers who have touched my life through the years and made a difference. Mr. Speaker, what a difference a couple of years can make. Not long ago, this Chamber's majority engaged in teacher-bashing with reckless abandon. Rather than praise teachers as this bipartisan resolution rightly does, until recently, politicians in this Congress routinely took potshots at teachers and bad-mouthed our public schools for partisan gain. So today's resolution is a welcome change from the past. Mr. Speaker, talk really is cheap. Although this resolution is a very nice statement, this Congress needs to do more than talk the talk. We must walk the walk. This Congress must pass the many important legislative initiatives that are bottled up in one committee or another. With our schools bursting at the seams and with our children crowded into trailers, this House must act on common sense school construction legislation, and as our teacher shortage is critical in this country and reaching a crisis proportion, we need to pass legislation for 100,000 teachers.”