Political Quotes

“I rise in support of H.R. 800, the Education Flexibility Partnership Demonstration Program, which is a pretty good mouthful. This program is a great example of how States and localities, when given freedom to manage their own affairs, can achieve better results. So far, only 12 States have participated in the Ed-Flex program, and Texas is one of them. In exchange for increased accountability, these States have been granted flexibility in using the Federal education dollars to support locally-designed school improvement programs. It has worked in Texas. We have seen a notable difference in the program. In fact, paperwork has been reduced and, most of all, the results have been positive. Test scores and graduation rates are on the way up, and class sizes are on the way down. Even though I support and plan to vote for the bill, the Ed-Flex bill is not enough. We have other things we should do. One, we need to make sure we have smaller class sizes. We need to make sure our schools are wired for the new millennium.”