David Obey: “I congratulate both of them because of their concern in this issue and their leadership in trying to get Congress to…”

“I congratulate both of them because of their concern in this issue and their leadership in trying to get Congress to face this issue. I, for one, do not feel that the Federal Government can become a major funding source for construction in the education area, but I do think there is a constructive role the Federal Government could play in the construction area. I note that the Senate has added some funding for a version of school construction in their committee bill, and I would hope that we could work out some way to use that action as an opportunity to find a constructive and well-defined role for the Congress and the Federal Government to play in helping a very narrow band of school districts around the country who do not have the financial capability to move ahead with construction so that they might get out of that box. I want to make sure that whatever initiative we proceed with is targeted at urban poverty and rural poverty alike.”