Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I would like to read briefly from that letter: It is our determination that the exclusion of [the cap] could result in…”

“I would like to read briefly from that letter: It is our determination that the exclusion of [the cap] could result in an additional cost of at least $44 million to the District of Columbia Public Schools in FY 2002. . . . It is our collective opinion that the result of such an expenditure will seriously and adversely affect our ability to provide education materials, textbooks, and operational support to the students, teachers, and staff of the DC schools. This will, as a consequence, further jeopardize the opportunity of our children to receive a quality education. I urge my colleagues to vote for this amendment. It is a reasonable cap. We are not trying to starve lawyers. We want legitimate lawyers to be able to earn a living. But $150 an hour is quite a legitimate amount to spend. I think if anyone has the legitimate interests of the school district at heart, they will listen to the superintendent of schools and the president of the school board to let them do what they believe they need to do to improve the education in the schools. And they do not want to spend this money on lawyer's fees. They are doing the best they can.”