Thomas Foley: “I am the proud son of an educator, a public school teacher and a public school principal. So I have grown up in a home…”

“I am the proud son of an educator, a public school teacher and a public school principal. So I have grown up in a home where education came first, and dealing in the public setting, public education was vitally important. So I suggest, as we look at the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999, capably brought to this floor by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Goodling), we see an issue now that can give local schools, local officials, the tools they need to educate our students. We know the Federal Government contributes less than 7 percent to our overall budget for schools, but it is our responsibility here in this Chamber to ensure that this funding has the greatest possible impact, and Ed-Flex, this bill, does just that. By handing control back to local educators, Ed-Flex gives schools the flexibility to navigate the mire of federally imposed and often conflicting program requirements.”