Political Quotes

“I rise to speak briefly this morning on an issue about which we have heard a lot in the last few days and in which a number of us have participated diligently over the last several months. The subject is education, kindergarten through 12th grade, a period of time which, as we all know, in large part determines how successful one is later in life--how well equipped one is to deal with challenges in an increasingly challenging world. This important issue has caused many of us to reflect over the last several years on what has been accomplished in the last 35 years with Federal intervention in education. What we have found, for the most part, is that in spite of major expenditures by the Federal government--a small fraction of what is spent across the country but a huge and growing investment, to the tune, in just one program, title I, of about $120 billion focused on disadvantaged children--the results have been disappointing. They have been disappointing to Republicans, Independents, and Democrats. They are disappointing because through careful study, through careful documentation, people have come to realize that we have not succeeded. By practically every single measurement, the results have been flat.”