Ron Kind: “Mr. Chairman, unfortunately what we have before us today by the majority party is a status quo budget. It is a budget…”

“Mr. Chairman, unfortunately what we have before us today by the majority party is a status quo budget. It is a budget that continues the failed economic policies which have not been working for American families. It has been failing our seniors, failing working families, and certainly is failing our veterans. We have heard debate about that today. But most importantly, I believe, it is going to fail the future of our country, our children, by the underinvestment that is being made in crucial education programs, by not fully funding the No Child Left Behind law, by not reaching that guidepath to full funding of special education. It undercuts vocational and technical education programs, the Perkins loans, it underinvests in community colleges. We will pay a heavy price in the future if this underinvestment continues. As this chart demonstrates, Mr. Chairman, the history of the Republican Congress when it comes to living up to the promise of fully funding No Child Left Behind, over the last couple of fiscal years, they have fallen way short of the promise to fully fund. This has been the track record.”