Political Quotes

“I rise to speak very briefly--for 10 minutes--on the Better Education for Students and Teachers Act, a bill that was passed out of the Health, Education, and Pensions Committee, a bill that speaks very well to the principles, to the ideals, to the practical application of what President George W. Bush has put forth as his principles for education reform. Let me say at the outset, as most people know, that there is a lot of discussion today about funding. We have a bill with significant reforms that I hope will very soon be brought to the floor. That reform effort, which is terribly important, as we all know, and as both sides of the aisle agree, is being linked in concept, but also in process, to increased funding, as we just heard from my colleague from Massachusetts. I want to quickly provide some perspective about the funding side. While we have been talking a lot about the reform side, and will continue to talk about it, the funding side has been pushed aside.”