Patty Murray: “I join my colleague on this side in urging a ``no'' vote on this bill, simply because, as Senator Wellstone just stated…”

“I join my colleague on this side in urging a ``no'' vote on this bill, simply because, as Senator Wellstone just stated, of our compassion for the thousands of women who will not receive services--victims of domestic violence who won't have housing or counseling or health for their young children; the thousands of people who have diabetes or cancer who will not see the result of research done at NIH because of a 1-percent across-the-board cut; and, the thousands of women and children who depend on Head Start, who depend on our education programs, on the social services that are out there so that those young families can grow and be responsible and contribute back to our economy as strong families in the future. A 1-percent cut doesn't take into account the humanity behind the numbers in this bill. Finally, on the topic of class size reduction, and why this side is so adamant about it, a block grant cannot guarantee that one child will get a better education. Because of the bipartisan work we did last year, today 1.7 million children are getting a better education in a smaller class size that guarantees they will have the ability to read, write, and perform the skills they need to do in order to compete in our complex world. If we continue this program, there will be millions more who are able to learn to read, write, and do better in school. This is a partnership we have with our States and our local school districts.”