Political Quotes

“What gall for the majority to argue today the merits of local governance when just yesterday they trampled on the local rights of Virginians. Are we only principled when it suits our purposes? I rise today in strong opposition to this extraneous legislation. I happen to support national tests, so it is easy for me to oppose this bill. But I would oppose it even if I opposed national testing. Have we already forgotten how painstaking was the compromise that was mapped out before the Labor-HHS appropriations bill could be signed into law? That compromise is good policy. It will give us an opportunity to get the facts before we debate the merits of national testing. The National Academy of Sciences would conduct a series of studies to inform us before we administer any national tests. I think we all want to do the right thing on the national testing issue, we just disagree about what the right thing is. Getting the facts on national testing before we debate whether or not to have tests is a step in the right direction, but this legislation would deny us that opportunity.”