Political Quotes

“It really boils down to this whole theme of a change, a change in the Washington approach to education, from kindergarten through 12th grade. That is very much what I believe the underlying bill is all about. We recognize that 35 years and $125 billion later, we have failed to accomplish the original goal of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. We have not met that goal, that is we have not reduced the achievement gap between the served and underserved, or the advantaged and disadvantaged, and we want to accomplish that, working together in a bipartisan way, under the leadership of President Bush and the principles he has laid out. An important element of the President's plan is flexibility based on local identification of the problems and challenges facing schools today, coupled with strong accountability--accountability for the taxpayer dollars that are being invested, accountability in exchange for the freedom that we, through this legislation, will give local schools, teachers, school districts, communities and States in return for measurable results. As I mentioned, we must cut the red tape and get rid of the overly prescriptive regulations, which we know have not worked.”