[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8175]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



              VOTE YES ON H.R. 1, NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as an original cosponsor and 
strong supporter of the No Child Left Behind Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I say to my colleagues, let me be crystal clear, this 
act does three things. First, we invest $5 billion in reading for 
children in grades K through 2. The reason is, 70 percent of the fourth 
graders in our inner city schools cannot read. We must address this 
issue head on.
  Second, we measure the performance of each child in grades 3 through 
8. Why? We do not want to have a situation where a child falls through 
the cracks and goes to college where he cannot read. We want to measure 
that performance and fix it. Again, we are addressing that issue head 
on.
  Third, and for those children trapped in a failing school or unsafe 
schools, they will have a safety valve in the form of immediate public 
school choice.
  This is a good bill that will make a meaningful difference in the 
lives of young children.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 1 this week.

                          ____________________