Congressional Budget for the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2005

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Murray amendment to fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act. This is an important amendment. It will keep our commitment to educational reform in the United States.

There are two keys to the success of the No Child Left Behind Act: effective implementation by the Department of Education and robust funding. Both are presently lacking.

Without the needed resources, we will not meet the law's goals of closing achievement gaps and ensuring an excellent education and opportunity for all children.

When the President signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law 2 years ago, he pledged to support greater Federal investment in education. That pledge has not been kept by this President. He has proposed eliminating some of the No Child Left Behind Act programs, cutting others and only increasing title 1 by $1 billion. That is over $7 billion short of the authorized level of $20.5 billion.

The No Child Left Behind Act was a fundamental change in the way we do business. Part of that change was a commitment to fund all of our aggressive ambitions to help every child succeed. What has been left are the requirements on children but insufficient resources for school systems throughout this country to implement them.

It is no wonder general assemblies across this country, in Utah, in Virginia, Republican assemblies, are revolting against these provisions, not because it is not a good effort at reform. Rather it is because we have not provided the resources to accomplish the reforms. Senator Murray's amendment would provide the needed resources.

I believe we have to go ahead and fund these programs, and we will not do so unless the Murray amendment is accepted. I urge support of the Murray amendment. This is not just about giving individual opportunity to every child. That is central and crucial. This is also about our economic future. If we do not fully fund education now in the elementary and secondary years, we will fall further behind in a very competitive world economy. This is about giving every child a chance and making sure our economy and our society works. I commend the Senator for doing that, and I yield the floor to Senator Murray.