[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13729-13730]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
               FULL FUNDING FOR NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT

  (Mr. ETHERIDGE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to call on Congress 
to fully fund the President's No Child Left Behind for school reform. 
Last Congress we passed legislation to create tough new standards our 
schools must meet and vigorous assessments to measure progress in 
meeting those standards.
  As a former superintendent of North Carolina schools, I voted for 
this bill because my State has led the Nation in standard-based reform, 
and the administration promised historic new funding to make the bill 
work, but the administration has broken that promise. This year's 
budget request shortchanges No Child Left Behind by $9.7 billion; and 
over the first 3 years of the

[[Page 13730]]

new law, the administration is proposing nearly $20 billion in cuts to 
No Child Left Behind.
  Mr. Speaker, a promise is a promise and a deal is a deal, and 
Congress must hold the administration accountable for its commitments. 
I am working with others to help make sure No Child Left Behind is 
fully funded before the tough new requirements take effect. If the 
White House is going to talk the talk, Congress had better make sure 
that they walk the walk. I urge Members to join me in this vital effort 
to do right by our schools and our children.

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