While gratified that the Bush administration has in theory accepted many of the education reforms they introduced last year, the Senate New Democrats today questioned the strength of that commitment, which is not yet backed by sufficient funds to make a difference. We are asking schools to do more for children, therefore we have to provide them with more resources. Anyone who thinks we can accomplish real reform without offering real support, is just not thinking. But we are deeply concerned, as are all Democrats, that these reforms won't work without a significant increase in resources from us in Washington, and that we may in fact be setting up our schools and children to fail if we do not back up the new demands for results we are making, which are important and necessary, with new dollars. We are on the threshold of the most significant progress in education policy in a generation.
Accountability lies at the heart of our agenda.
No longer will we define success merely in terms of how much we spend on education, but instead define success in terms of how much every American child learns. The New Democrats, a coalition of 19 centrist members, has united behind the Public Education Reinvestment, Reinvention and Responsibility Act or 3 Rs, which was introduced in 2000 by Senators Lieberman and Bayh. Rewards states that exceed their standards, and for the first time ever, penalize those states that chronically fail to show improvements. Targets funds to the nation's poorest schools so that truly no child is left behind.