Political Quotes

“just last week, on May 8, 2001, the Senate overwhelmingly passed an amendment that I offered to the education bill currently on the floor. This amendment, which passed by a vote of 95-3, stated: The Senate should pass legislation providing elementary and secondary level educators with additional tax relief in recognition of the many out of pocket, unreimbursed expenses educators incur to improve the education of our Nation's students. At that time, both Senator Collins and I were pursuing the same goal, obtaining much needed tax relief for our teachers. However, despite sharing the same goal, we each had our own bill and each had our own approach towards achieving this shared goal. Senator Collins has truly been a leader on this issue. I commend her for her work in highlighting this issue and for her tireless efforts to improve education in this country. I am so glad that Senator Collins and I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss teacher tax relief legislation in greater detail. As a result of these discussions, we have joined forces and agreed on an approach to achieve our shared goal. Today, I am honored to be joining Senator Collins in introducing the Teacher Tax Relief Act.”