As George W. Bush takes the oath of office on January 20th, the nation seems divided. Voters split almost evenly when they chose a President and regions split as well. I do not agree with those who predict the next two years will be ones of congressional gridlock. I've forged strong alliances with Democrats including Robert Byrd, Fritz Hollings, Dan Inouye, and Tom Daschle. Their help, by the way, was instrumental as we worked earlier this month to reach an agreement with the Clinton Administration on a plan that allows Alaska's fishermen to fish next month, while simultaneously gathering the scientific data needed to preserve Alaska's Steller sea lions.
Education is another area where bipartisanship has achieved substantial goals.
This plan was authorized by the bill the President signed on Wednesday. I expect our new First Lady, Laura Bush, a former librarian, to be a champion of early childhood education. This type of bipartisan action will, I hope, be extended to other areas as well. This bill will encourage schools across our nation to voluntarily provided physical education to our nation's students. Only one state, Illinois, currently requires daily physical education for grades kindergarten-12.