[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 2 (Monday, January 15, 2007)]
[Page 18]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Members of Congress on the Fifth 
Anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act

January 8, 2007

    Laura and I want to thank Senator Kennedy and Congressman George 
Miller and Congressman McKeon and Senator Enzi for joining us as we 
celebrate the fifth anniversary of No Child Left Behind and discuss our 
strategy to reauthorize this important piece of legislation.
    I want to thank the Members for joining us. I am proud of this piece 
of legislation. I think it's made an enormous difference, particularly 
in the lives of some of our poorer students. This country needs to get 
it right when it comes to public education, and the bill that I was 
honored to sign is an important first step toward making sure every 
child gets a good education in America.
    And in our discussions today, we've all agreed to work together to 
address some of the major concerns that some people have on this piece 
of legislation, without weakening the essence of the bill, and get a 
piece of legislation done. And we showed in the past that we can work 
together to get positive results, and I'm confident we can do so again.
    Again, I appreciate the wisdom and the vision of the Members who are 
here. I thank you for your steadfast and strong support for our public 
schools and the children in our public schools, and I'm looking forward 
to working with you to reauthorize No Child Left Behind.
    Thank you all very much.

Note: The President spoke at 1:56 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of these remarks.