Patty Murray's Washington View

PATTY MURRAY'S WASHINGTON VIEW

U.S. Senator Patty Murray's Weekly Report to the People of Washington - March 12, 2004

Fighting to Fully Fund the No Child Left Behind Act

This week I called on my colleagues in the Senate to fulfill the federal commitment to students, teachers and schools in Washington state and across the country. I introduced an amendment to the fiscal year 2005 budget to fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act. Unfortunately, the amendment, which provides $8.6 billion to help schools meet the federal mandate that was passed two years ago, failed on a 46-52 vote. My legislation would have allowed Washington state to allow our state to reach 28,000 more low-income children and provide after-school support for another 20,000 students throughout Washington.

The President signed NCLB in 2001 based on two commitments: schools would be held accountable for their progress, and the federal government would provide schools with the resources needed to meet those new requirements. But over two years later, the federal government continues to choose a misguided tax policy over helping struggling schools to meet accountability standards. States like Washington cannot and should not have to foot the bill for these federal standards.

This is an unacceptable situation. I intend to continue fighting to see that we keep our promises to Washington's students.