Dean: Two Senators Leaving Votes Behind

From Dean for America...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2003

TWO SENATORS LEAVING VOTES BEHIND

Tonight, Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards boasted of how they would make education a priority in this nation. Both trumpeted their support for No Child Left Behind while asking where the funding went.

Kerry: “We have a President who’s walked away from them, broken his promise and refused to fund No Child Left Behind. I believe that we deserve a President that recognizes until you have equality of education in America, until the federal government is prepared to make up the difference in funding, we do not have a prayer at making real the full promise of our country.

Edwards: “By the way, this no child left behind, this president is leaving millions of kids behind every single day.”

However, Senators Kerry and Edwards both missed the vote to fully fund our schools.

Neither was present on March 19, 2003 to cast a vote that would have fully funded NCLB. (Murray Amendment #284, NCLB) With two more democratic votes – one from Kerry and one from Edwards – the vote would have been a tie, forcing Dick Cheney to clearly indicate the true extent of the administration’s “commitment” to NCLB.

Edwards’ campaign has since tried to spin their candidate’s truancy by claiming that a week later, a "similar vote came up, and authorization of full funding passed with Edwards' support.” Unfortunately, the vote Edwards and Kerry did make the following week was not for full funding, but for only bits and pieces of education funding. The opportunity to win full funding had, unfortunately, already passed.

So in short, if our nation’s children are not getting the quality education that they deserve, it’s partly because this March, Kerry and Edwards were off somewhere playing hooky.

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