Bobby Scott

Our Nation continues to make strides in closing achievement gaps, improving graduation rates, increasing minority attainment in higher education, but there's much more work that needs to be done.

The work that was done was cooperative and collaborative and constructive, and I think we ended up with an excellent bill.

Let's be clear that States and localities were given the authority and flexibility but they were not given a waiver.

The Every Student Succeeds Act improves on No Child Left Behind and builds on the progress we have made since Brown in 1954 and ESEA in 1965.

Let's not forget the intent of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act when it was passed in 1965.

In response to the chairman's question where we have given much more power to local and State agencies, we tell them what needs to be done, but we do not tell them how to do it.

I think it is important to note that No Child Left Behind had a cookie cutter response that sometimes worked and sometimes did not.

We do not tell them how to do it, that is local control. If they are not doing it, how do you guarantee they actually get the job done?

We all agree that fulfilling the promise of Every Student Succeeds Act rests on successful implementation that honors Congress' long-standing commitment and intent of the ESEA.

I am proud of the role the House Democrats played in producing a new K-12 education law that I believe will fulfill the ESEA's original promise as a fundamental civil rights law.

I thank the chair for his cooperation and hard work, and I urge our Members to support the bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Could you tell us how much time remains on both sides. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Marchant). The gentleman from Virginia has 12 minutes remaining. The gentleman from Tennessee has 21\1/4\ minutes remaining.

This is a fairly simple amendment that I offer with my Virginia colleague, Randy Forbes. It simply encourages the use of modeling and simulation technology in designing and analyzing federally funded transportation projects so that those…

The return on investment by reduced incarceration, reduced teen pregnancy, reduced remedial education, those reduced costs are a lot more than the cost of the Head Start program.

We have, I think, a consensus that Head Start works, that the long-term benefits are there.

I think we've heard a lot of very good testimony, and I want to thank our witnesses.

We must ensure that we are giving all children a chance to succeed.

Today's hearing focuses on Head Start, a program whose mission is to promote school readiness of young children from low-income families.

I think is not looking at the positive effect that the Affordable Care Act has.

I think the other thing in terms of job creation as I said with the Medicaid numbers, what we see is increased jobs because of some of the changes.

What has happened to the growth in healthcare costs since the passage of ACA?

I want to thank you for your Department's outreach efforts.

Child care ought to be a national priority for America's children and to help grow our economy.

We must invest in quality early learning programs because all children deserve to enter kindergarten with the building blocks to success.

Can you say a word about what the Affordable Care Act does for people with insurance in terms of preexisting conditions and job lock?