"My top priority for the year is to reform the Elementary and Secondary Education Act so that it works in the best interests of America’s children, teachers and parents. My goal throughout the ESEA reauthorization will be to improve Title I services for disadvantaged children. Every K-12 educator and policy maker in the county knows that Title I needs vast improvement. During the ESEA debate, I will also spend considerable energy on developing ways to direct federal dollars toward creating quality teaching in our classrooms. Nothing matters more in the classroom than having a competent, well-trained teacher.

"I would urge every education advocate and policy maker to watch what my committee does – not what others claim it might do, could do or should do. I have no plans to ‘voucherize’ or ‘block grant’ Title I.

"I urge the education organizations here in Washington to spend more time working with us to develop meaningful ESEA proposals. I also hope that the education groups will work with us to bring more quality and accountability to our education system in ways that respect local control and innovation. President Clinton has come around to the ideas of quality and accountability. Let’s make sure he doesn’t accomplish these goals through micromanagment from Washington.

"In the 106^th Congress, House Republicans will work hard to accomplish five key goals in education. House Republicans will send dollars directly to the classroom, push for quality teaching, respect local control, bolster basic academics and foster parental involvement. These concepts drove more than two dozen House Republican education accomplishments in the 105th Congress and they will drive Republican initiatives in the 106th."

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