[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 25776-25777]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                            EDUCATION REFORM

  (Ms. HIRONO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, one of the most notable improvements I've 
seen since the beginning of this administration is the importance the 
President has placed on education.
  I know I'm not alone in recognizing how President Obama and Education 
Secretary Duncan have changed the tone in the education community. Last 
Friday, David Brooks used his column in the New York Times to praise 
the President and the Secretary for their efforts in raising the bar on 
education reform. Partnering with Congress, they have set high 
standards and are providing $5 billion in competitive grants to those 
States that can best demonstrate their commitment to reform. As a 
result, there is real excitement among the States to put their best 
education reform foot forward as they gear up for the competition for 
these grants.

[[Page 25777]]

  At a time when the U.S. is falling behind other countries in 
educational attainment and at a time when State budgets are stretched 
thin, we need to focus more, not less, on strengthening education in 
our country to enable us to compete in the global economy.

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