Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I rise today to talk about education. I appreciate my colleague from Wyoming talking about it. I saw Senator Frist…”

“I rise today to talk about education. I appreciate my colleague from Wyoming talking about it. I saw Senator Frist earlier today discussing the President's education plan and certainly the congressional education plan. I think they are very close. What I think is so important is the emphasis that is being placed on quality public education. Thomas Jefferson said, from the very beginning of our Republic, that public education would be the foundation for democracy. That really set us apart from all the other countries in the world because at that time only the most elite were educated. It was only the children of dukes and duchesses around the world; it was only the elite who could afford private schools around the world. But that wasn't the foundation of America. The foundation for America was that every child would receive a quality public education so that child could reach his or her full potential and, of course, contribute to the great Nation that would become the United States of America. Mr. President, it has been proven time and time again that the creativity that comes from having every child in our country educated has put us in the forefront of technology, of space exploration, of medical research, of quality health care. It goes on and on and on. In the last 10 to 15 years in our country, we have lost the battle that every child would receive a quality public education. Today, this week, this year, Congress and the President are saying: No more.…”