[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11702-11705]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        EVERY CHILD ACHIEVES ACT

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, the vote was 81 to 17. What that says 
to me and should say to the American people is that not only is there a 
consensus in this country that everybody wants to fix No Child Left 
Behind, that is the consensus we began with. Not only was there 
consensus in the Senate's education committee about how to fix it--
which was unanimous in a 22-member committee that includes Members who 
are about as diverse as you could find in the Senate--the entire Senate 
has a consensus on how to fix it.
  The Senator from Washington and I were just talking. This is a 
complicated piece of legislation. There are crocodiles in every corner, 
any of which could have made it difficult for this bill to succeed. For 
the Senate to take a look at the 100,000 schools in this country for 
the 50 million children and the 3.5 million teachers and say, ``We hear 
you. We know you want to end the confusion, the anxiety, and the 
feeling that you are not in charge of your own children. We hear you. 
We have listened to you, and we have come up with a solution with which 
you agree''--and that we voted by a vote of 81 to 17 is a remarkable 
event.
  So we have a remarkable consensus that No Child Left Behind needed to 
be fixed. We had a remarkable consensus on how to fix it in the 
committee. There are not many times on a bill this difficult and this 
encompassing that we have a consensus this remarkable--81 to 17--in the 
Senate. I mentioned in my earlier remarks the importance of the Senate 
in this way.
  Someone said the Senate is the one authentic piece of genius in the 
American political system. The only claim we would have to that exalted 
description would be that we are the only part of our government that 
is created for the express purpose of developing consensus. The House 
of Representatives is America's sounding board. The country moves 
suddenly, the House moves suddenly. Our job is to take all the 
different points of view and to consult with each other and to see 
whether we can create the kind of consensus so that when people look at 
the Senate and see a result, they may say: Well, I am not sure I agree 
with every single thing they did, but if 81 Senators of both parties--
out of 100--believe this is the right way to fix No Child Left Behind, 
I will accept it.
  That is the way the civil rights bill was done in the 1960s and the 
1970s. Large majorities--bipartisan groups--came to a complicated 
decision on a complex problem. The way you govern a complex country is 
by consensus, and the only agency in the government that is capable of 
creating that kind of consensus on a major piece of legislation is the 
United States Senate. It has done that today, and I am very proud of my 
colleagues for the way they have done this.
  I especially thank the majority leader for creating the time to deal 
with it. We took a little more than a week. We came on the floor a week 
ago Tuesday, so we didn't really take that long. We got on and off the 
floor pretty quick. I also thank him for creating an environment where 
we could adopt a lot of amendments. Senators are here to have their say 
whether or not we agree. People of North Dakota expect that. People of 
Texas expect that. Senator McConnell has created that environment.
  Senator Cornyn, Senator Thune, Senator Barrasso, and the other 
leaders on the Republican side have been an enormous help.
  I have during the week thanked the Democratic leader, Senator Reid. 
Senator Reid allowed this bill to come to the floor without delay. That 
helps a lot. During the week, he, Senator Schumer, Senator Durbin, and 
the other members of the Democratic leadership, along with Senator 
Murray, created the environment where we could do what we have 
accomplished--especially Senator Murray. I have often said that the 
reason we are here is because she suggested to me a way to go forward, 
a way to do this together. She did that after both of us watched the 
last two Congresses where we just fell apart in the partisan 
differences. I took her advice--it was good advice--and that is why we 
are where we are today. I deeply respect the way she works toward a 
result. She is deeply passionate on the things she cares about, but she 
knows we are here to get a result, and that means in this case we need 
to work with the House of Representatives, which we will begin to do in 
the next few weeks. Then we will produce a bill and send it to the 
President in a form he is comfortable signing.
  There are a number of Senators who, because we are able to offer 
amendments on the floor, withheld their amendment or stepped aside 
because what they were doing might have interfered with our result. I 
think of Senator Franken on an amendment he feels powerfully about. He 
stepped aside and didn't offer it in committee but waited until the 
floor. Senator Vitter stepped aside on an amendment he felt strongly 
about because he could bring it up in the Judiciary Committee. Senator 
Lee, Senator Toomey, and Senator Burr all did that. They showed some 
restraint in pursuit of a result.
  I thank those outside this Senate whose work was so important to us. 
There are a lot of remarkable things about this consensus, but none was 
more remarkable than what those outside of the Congress thought. It is 
rare that you see the National Governors Association, the Council of 
Chief State School Officers, the American Association of School 
Administrators, the National Education Association, and the American 
Federation of Teachers all agree that not only did No Child Left Behind 
need to be fixed but that this was the way to fix it, and that made it 
easier to get a vote of 81 to 17.
  Finally, all of us in the Senate know how important staff work is. In 
this case, staffs have worked for days and days, and the trust Senator 
Murray and I have developed is the same kind of trust they have 
developed. So I especially thank David Cleary, who is the staff 
director of the education committee, our HELP Committee, Peter 
Oppenheim, Lindsay Fryer, Lindsey

[[Page 11703]]

Seidman, Liz Wolgemuth, Jim Jeffries, Margaret Atkinson, Bill Knudsen, 
Jordan Hynes, Steve Townsend, Hillary Knudson, Jake Baker, Kayla 
McMurray, Bobby McMillin, Matthew Stern, Diane Tran, Haley Hudler, 
Patrick Murray, and Allison Martin.
  On Senator Murray's exceptional staff, I thank Evan Schatz, Sarah 
Bolton, Mike Spahn, Amanda Beaumont, John Righter, Jake Cornet, Leanne 
Hotek, Allie Kimmel, Aissa Canchola, Ariel Evans, Aurora Steinle, 
Leslie Clithero, Sarah Cupp, Eli Zupnik, and Helen Hare.
  On the floor, I thank those who have the oil cans, Laura Dove and 
Robert Duncan, who keep this side greased and working, Gary Myrick on 
Senator Reid's side, Chris Tuck, Mary Elizabeth Taylor, Megan Mercer, 
Tony Hanagan, Mike Smith, and Chloe Barz.
  I would also like to thank the Senate Legislative Counsel's staff who 
worked long hours on the bill and then on the amendments, so I would 
like to especially thank Amy Gaynor, Kristin Romero, and Margaret 
Bomba.
  We always rely on the experts at the Congressional Research Service 
to give us good information in a timely manner, so on behalf of the 
Committee I extend our thanks to Becky Skinner, Jeff Kuenzi, Jody 
Feder, and Gail McCallion.
  On Senator McConnell's staff, I would like to thank Sharon 
Soderstrom, Don Stewart, Jen Kuskowski, Katelyn Conner, Erica Suares, 
John Abegg, Neil Chatterjee, and Johnathan Burks.
  On Senator Cornyn's staff, I thank Russ Thomasson, Monica Popp, Emily 
Kirlin, John Chapuis, and Michele Chin.
  I would also like to thank the following staff who played critical 
roles to help pass this important legislation. Dana Barbieri with the 
Republican Policy Committee: Meghan Taira and Veronica Duron with 
Senator Schumer; Dena Morris and Brad Middleton with Senator Durbin; 
Natasha Hickman and Chris Toppings with Senator Burr; Josh Yurek with 
Senator Roberts; Tara Shaw and Kristin Chapman with Senator Enzi; 
Natalie Burkhalter with Senator Paul; Bret Layson with Senator Isakson; 
Katie Neil and Bill Castle with Senator Hatch; Katie Brown with Senator 
Collins; Karen McCarthy with Senator Murkowski; Cade Clurman with 
Senator Kirk; Lizzy Simmons, Will Holloway, and Daniel Bunn with 
Senator Scott; Pam Davidson and Chris Gillott with Senator Cassidy; 
Josh Delaney and Julie Morgan with Senator Warren; David Cohen with 
Senator Sanders; Brenna Barber, and Chris Stavish with Senator 
Whitehouse; Michael DiNapoli and Brian Moulton with Senator Baldwin; 
Brent Palmer with Senator Mikulski; Jared Solomon and Joe Hill with 
Senator Casey; Boris Granovskiy and Gohar Sedighi with Senator Franken; 
Juliana Hermann with Senator Bennet; Russell Armstrong with Senator 
Murphy; Aisha Woodward with Senator King; David Cole with Senator 
McCain; Sharon Burd with Senator Fischer; Dana Richter with Senator 
Capito; Jordan Hess with the Republican Steering Committee; Christy 
Knese with Senator Lee; Devon Brenner and Constance Payne with Senator 
Cochran; Jennifer Bowman with Senator Inhofe; Crystal Martinez with 
Senator Feinstein; Nancy Richardson and Viraj Mirani with Senator 
Coats; Desiree Mowry with Senator Blunt; Moira Lenehan with Senator 
Reed; Mary Blanche Hankey with Senator Sessions; Jessica-Phillips Tyson 
with Senator Graham; Jane Lucas and Jon Abdnor with Senator Thune; 
Travis Johnson and Kate LaBorde with Senator Vitter; Daniel Auger with 
Senator Ayotte; Jennifer Humphrey and Toni-Marie Higgins with Senator 
Boozman; Mike Thomas with Senator Cardin; Robert Murray with Senator 
Wicker; Brian Perkins with Senator Moran; Shawn Affolter with Senator 
Hoeven; Emily Bouck with Senator Rubio; Sean Riley with Senator 
Johnson; James Mikolowsky and Ethan Saxon with Senator Blumenthal; 
Rachel Green with Senator Heller; Will Holloway and Daniel Bunn with 
Senator Scott; Sarah Towles with Senator Flake; Jonathan Elkin with 
Senator Hirono; Elizabeth Hill with Senator Heinrich; Jeff Murray, 
Andrew White, and Courtney Asbill with Senator Cruz; Clint Bowers with 
Senator Heitkamp; Chris Slevin and Ashley Eden with Senator Booker; 
Curtis Swager and Alison Toal with Senator Gardner; Katherine Mayne 
with Senator Lankford; John Martin with Senator Cotton; Dan Gerig with 
Senator Daines; John Eustice with Senator Perdue; Joe Nolan with 
Senator Tillis; Peter Eckrich with Senator Rounds; Tony Frye with 
Senator Ernst; Alyene Senger and Andy Reuss with Senator Sasse, and 
Kate Wolgemuth with Senator Sullivan.
  I also thank members of the education community for their persistent 
help with this bill, including Mary Kusler with the National Education 
Association; Tor Cowan with the American Federation of Teachers; Chris 
Minnich, Peter Zamora Carissa Moffat Miller, and Jessah Walker with the 
Council of Chief State School Officers. There are many others who have 
helped, but this is a day I am very proud of the Senate. For 50 million 
children, 3\1/2\ million teachers, and 100,000 public schools, it is a 
big step forward.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the senior Senator from Tennessee, as 
he often does, has laid it out very well. I believe it is the case the 
U.S. Senate is the only legislative body in the world where a simple 
majority is not enough on almost everything.
  This body was crafted in a way that would ensure, unless one side has 
a really big majority, that we work together, but it doesn't 
automatically work unless you have leaders like Senator Alexander and 
Senator Murray who want to get a result.
  So I want to commend both these outstanding Senators for an 
extraordinary accomplishment. This is a significant bill for the 
country, and to fold all of these disparate interest groups, with all 
their separate agendas, into a position of support was an extraordinary 
leadership contribution. So I say to both of you, both the Senator from 
Washington and the Senator from Tennessee, the Senate is proud of you 
for what you did here.
  This is a good example for all the rest of us. On a little more 
contentious issue, Senator Murray and I had a chance to work together 
on trade promotion authority. We hope to do that on highways. We hope 
to do it on cyber security. The Senate is back to work. I think Members 
on both sides appreciate that, and we are going to continue to do this, 
but I thank both Senators for providing a wonderful example for all the 
rest of us.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I recently heard from a teacher in 
Seattle by the name of Lyon Terry. Over the course of his 17-year 
career, he has taught second, third, and fourth grade. What makes Mr. 
Terry a great teacher is the way he engages with his students. He 
starts the morning by playing songs on his guitar. He keeps his 
students laughing with jokes, and every day he tries to create an 
environment where kids want to come to school.
  Last year, he was named Washington State Teacher of the Year for 
2015. This week, Mr. Terry has been following our debate on the Senate 
floor, and he was truly hoping we would pass this bill because he says 
the current law doesn't reflect the work he and his fellow teachers at 
Lawton Elementary School are doing every day.
  So let me echo the words of the chairman of our committee and the 
majority leader. I am proud today that the Senate passed a bill to fix 
No Child Left Behind for teachers like Mr. Terry, for parents, for 
communities, and most importantly for our students--a bill to continue 
our mission of delivering on the promise of providing every child with 
the best our Nation can provide.
  I have been very proud to partner with Chairman Alexander on the 
Every Child Achieves Act, and I want to thank him tremendously for the 
successful bipartisan process we have had.

[[Page 11704]]

I want to thank all our colleagues on the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions for their work and dedication in moving 
this bill forward. And, of course, I want to thank the staff as well--
both my staff and the staff of Senator Alexander--for all of their hard 
work. They have worked many, many, many long days and late nights and 
weekends to get us to this point today.
  I will submit a full list of names later, but there are some staffers 
in particular I want to recognize. On Senator Alexander's staff, I want 
to acknowledge and thank his staff director David Cleary, as well as 
Lindsey Seidman, Peter Oppenheim, and Lindsay Fryer. They have done an 
excellent job. On my staff, I want to acknowledge and thank my staff 
director Evan Shatz, and my education policy director Sarah Bolton for 
their outstanding leadership, as well as Amanda Beaumont, Leanne Hotek, 
Allie Kimmel, Aissa Canchola, Ariel Evans, Jake Cornett, Leslie 
Clithero, Aurora Steinle, Helen Hare, and Mary Robbins. Thank you for 
all of your hard work on this important bill.
  I, too, want to thank our floor staff on our side, Gary Myrick, Tim 
Mitchell, Tricia Engle, and all our floor staff--Republican and 
Democratic--for their help and guidance. We couldn't be here without 
them.
  I want to take a step back for a moment to look at the work we have 
done so far and the work that remains even beyond the vote we had 
today.
  Of course, nearly everyone agrees No Child Left Behind is badly 
broken. That goes almost without saying. I have heard it from so many 
parents, teachers, and administrators in Washington State--Democrats, 
Republicans, and Independents. They are sick and tired of the broken 
law in front of us. They want Congress to fix it, and they do not want 
us to wait any longer.
  That is why I am so proud our bill, the Every Child Achieves Act, is 
a strong step in the right direction to finally fix the broken No Child 
Left Behind law and make sure all of our students have access to a 
high-quality public education.
  For one, our bill addresses high-stakes testing. The current law 
overemphasizes test scores to measure how students are doing in school. 
Our bill will give flexibility to States to use multiple measures, not 
just test scores, to determine how well a school is performing. These 
steps will reduce the pressure on students, teachers, and parents so 
they can focus less on test prep and more on learning.
  Our bill eliminates the one-size-fits-all provisions of No Child Left 
Behind that have been so damaging for our schools and our districts. 
Instead, it allows communities and parents and teachers to work 
together to improve their schools and ensure that every child gets a 
well-rounded education. Our bill maintains Federal protections to help 
students graduate from high school college- and career-ready.
  When the education committee debated the bill, I was very proud to 
work on a bipartisan amendment with Senator Isakson to expand and 
improve on early learning programs. As a former preschool teacher, I 
have seen the kind of transformation early learning can inspire in a 
child. So I am very glad this bill will help us expand access to high-
quality early childhood education so more kids can start kindergarten 
ready to learn.
  I have also seen fixing the current law as a multistage process. At 
the beginning of this year, as the chairman said, he released his 
discussion draft for reauthorizing ESEA. After that, the two of us had 
a conversation about a path as to how to move forward. Instead of going 
down a partisan path and letting politics become our guide, we agreed 
to work together to find common ground. We agreed to do everything we 
could to put our students first, to put the families and communities we 
represent first, to break through the gridlock and dysfunction that too 
often paralyzes this Congress, and to chart a path to fix a broken law.
  I again want to commend my partner Chairman Alexander for sticking to 
that approach. He is a role model for all of us, and I appreciate all 
he is doing. The result is our Every Child Achieves Act. It wasn't the 
bill I would have written on my own, I know it isn't the bill he would 
have written on his own, but it is what is called a compromise. It is a 
strong bill that all sides can be proud of.
  After we negotiated our bipartisan compromise in April, we passed our 
bill out of committee with a unanimous vote--12 Republicans, 10 
Democrats. So I want to thank all of our Health, Education, Labor and 
Pensions Committee members who worked to improve and strengthen this 
bill in committee and all the Members--Democrats and Republicans on our 
committee and off--who wrote the dozens of amendments we included in 
our substitute and managers' packages, and all those who brought their 
ideas to the floor and debated and voted on them over the past week on 
the Senate floor.
  Today, I am very proud we have passed this bill with a strong 
bipartisan vote. As we know, our work is not yet done. Now we begin the 
next phase. As Chairman Alexander has said throughout our floor debate, 
ultimately we need a bill President Obama will sign into law, and 
though this bill has taken a number of steps in the right direction, 
there are still a few more we need to do before our work is done. We 
have important work to do in conference to reach an agreement on a 
final bill.
  The President has made it very clear to us he can only sign a bill 
that strengthens the accountability measures in the Every Child 
Achieves Act and that addresses inequality, where some schools are 
unable to offer the same opportunities as others. I agree that is a 
must, and I know I will continue to work hard, alongside ranking member 
Bobby Scott in the House and the administration, to make accountability 
and resource equity a priority in conference.
  The only way forward is for the strong bipartisan work we have seen 
in the Senate to continue in that process. Now, I will say, 
unfortunately, so far, House Republicans chose a partisan approach to 
reauthorize this bill. Their bill doesn't represent one end and ours 
represents another, where we have to meet in the middle. Their bill 
really represents an unacceptable partisan approach and path and ours 
represents a carefully negotiated compromise with just a few important 
steps to go.
  So I hope in conference our friends in the House, the House 
Republicans, will be ready to join House and Senate Democrats, Senate 
Republicans, and the administration as we work together to get this 
done in a way that works for all our students and families.
  By working together, I am confident we can get this bill over the 
finish line and fix this broken law for our teachers in my home State 
and across the country and help make sure all our students have a 
quality education. Delivering on that promise of a good education for 
all students will pay off for generations to come. This is one of the 
best investments in our country we can make to ensure we have broad-
based and long-term economic growth because, as we all know, when 
students have the chance to learn, we strengthen our future workforce. 
We know our country grows stronger and we empower the next generation 
of Americans to lead the world. We will help our economy grow from the 
middle out, not just the top down, and that is something we have known 
for a long time.
  Fifty years ago, in what would be just months before signing the 
original Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law, President 
Johnson said, when it comes to education, ``nothing matters more for 
the future of our country.'' That is still true today. The future of 
our country hinges on our students' ability to one day lead the world.
  So I am looking forward to our continued work on this Every Child 
Achieves Act for our students, for our parents, for our teachers, and 
for the future of our country.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, it is my understanding we are in morning 
business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.

[[Page 11705]]


  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, will the Senator from Indiana yield for 
60 seconds?
  Mr. COATS. I will be glad to yield.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I forgot to mention the number of 
amendments that were considered, and I would like to place that in the 
Record.
  In the committee, we adopted 29 amendments. On the floor, 178 
amendments were filed, 78 were considered, and 65 amendments were 
adopted--10 of those through rollcall votes, 28 through voice votes, 
and 27 by unanimous consent through two managers' packages.
  Nearly 100 amendments were adopted to the bipartisan draft that 
Senator Murray and I presented to our education committee earlier this 
year. I think the fact so many Senators not only had a chance to have 
their say but had their ideas included in the bill--and I think 
especially of the Senator from Rhode Island who has worked for the last 
couple of years on a particular provision--was one important reason why 
we had a consensus that rose to 81 votes.
  I thank the Senator from Indiana for his courtesy.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I rise to speak but first want to 
acknowledge and thank my colleague Senator Collins for allowing me to 
step ahead of her in this process. I promise to be expeditious in terms 
of getting through this. It turns out her plane to Maine leaves later 
than my plane to Indiana, so she has very graciously allowed me to go 
forward.

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