Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I have listened to Senator Durbin's arguments on his amendment, and I have to say I am pleased that he is withdrawing…”

“I have listened to Senator Durbin's arguments on his amendment, and I have to say I am pleased that he is withdrawing the amendment, because I think his amendment is absolutely flat wrong. Let's talk about what would give kids a chance in the District of Columbia. A better education system would give kids a better chance in the District of Columbia. We are funding health care for children in this District with the Federal programs that are available throughout our country. We are providing better support for education--well, we are not providing it; in fact, I think the District is providing it, and I think they are doing a good job. They are saying that charter schools should be given a chance, that if a child cannot be given a good public education in this system and that child chooses to go to a charter school, they will have an equal allocation of resources as if they were going to a public school--which a charter school is. So the District is addressing education, because they want their kids to have a chance.”