Herb Kohl: “I come here as an original cosponsor of the Daschle-Harkin education amendment. With this amendment, we have the…”

“I come here as an original cosponsor of the Daschle-Harkin education amendment. With this amendment, we have the opportunity to answer a daunting question for school administrators, teachers and parents across the country: How much does this Congress value education? With this amendment, we can make the right choice. By passing it, we can prove to our children and their teachers that Congress will back up its words extolling the virtues of a good education with actions that will provide a good education. This amendment does not represent empty promises. It brings education funding back to last year's level and is paid for with real spending cuts, not with the fund contingent on some uncertain future event. Last week, the Appropriations Subcommittee for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education heard from the Secretaries of these agencies. As a member of that subcommittee, I was stunned by the extent that education and job training programs have been hampered by the sharp cuts in the current continuing resolution and by disruptive Government shutdowns. Despite these warnings, the Appropriations Committee reported a new continuing resolution containing over $3 billion in cuts to education and job training resources.”