David Obey: “I react to the gentleman's numbers with a touch of humor because the argument he makes is similar to the child who kills…”

“I react to the gentleman's numbers with a touch of humor because the argument he makes is similar to the child who kills his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan. The fact is if you look at the historical record over the last 10 years, if the House Republican majority had had its way, we would have appropriated about $20 billion less for education over the last 10 years than the Congress wound up appropriating. The House Republicans had to be led kicking and screaming into supporting the increases which he now tries to claim credit for. I would point out this is the same Republican majority which tried 10 years ago to abolish the Department of Education and tried to make savage cuts in education 3 years in a row before they finally got religion. I would also point out that in President Bush's first year, it was the Democrats who led the effort to add $4 billion to the President's education budget, and I am happy to say we finally persuaded the Republican majority to agree with our request.”