Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am honored to endorse the conference report on S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act. We have certainly come a long way since we were on the floor debating H.R. 5, the Student Success Act, earlier this year. I had sincere objections to much that was found in H.R. 5, but thanks to the commitment to work together to try to fashion a decent bill with Chairman Kline and our counterparts in the Senate, Senator Alexander and Senator Murray, along with the many long nights from our respective staffs, we found a way to produce a conference report that balances the desire for more localized decisionmaking with the need for Federal oversight to ensure equity for underserved students. This conference report is the embodiment of what we can do when we work together in Washington--a workable compromise that does not force either side to desert its core beliefs. Mr. Speaker, the modern Federal role in elementary and secondary education began with the promise in Brown v. Board of Education when a unanimous Supreme Court held that, in 1954, ``it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education'' and that ``such an opportunity is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.'' Yet, despite the Brown decision, our education system has remained fundamentally unequal.…”