Political Quotes

“I rise today to demand that the Congress and the President stop passing the buck on education reform to our States and local communities. Last week the House Committee on Rules held a hearing to consider the issue of unfunded mandates. As I have noted on several occasions on the House floor, the Bush administration's $20 billion cut to the No Child Left Behind Act has created a massive unfunded Federal mandate. As the former superintendent of my State's public schools, I know firsthand that unfunded mandates will cause real pain at the local level. I believe the Federal Government must live up to its obligation to fund education reform. It is simply wrong to pass a piece of legislation that says we are going to give you all that money to Leave No Child Left Behind and then leave the money behind, while still forcing schools to achieve new standards. I have introduced legislation that requires full funding of the No Child Left Behind Act, and I urge my colleagues to join me in stopping the Federal practice of passing the buck to States and local communities.”