Nomination of Margaret Spellings Hearing Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions United States Senate
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S. HRG. 109–88 NOMINATION OF MARGARET SPELLINGS HEARING OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON NOMINATION OF MARGARET SPELLINGS, OF TEXAS, TO BE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION JANUARY 6, 2005 Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 97–751 PDF WASHINGTON : 2005 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:06 Aug 30, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\DOCS\97751.TXT SLABOR3 PsN: SLABOR3 COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming, Chairman JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts BILL FRIST, Tennessee CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee TOM HARKIN, Iowa RICHARD BURR, North Carolina BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia JAMES M. JEFFORDS (I), Vermont MIKE DEWINE, Ohio JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada PATTY MURRAY, Washington ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah JACK REED, Rhode Island JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York PAT ROBERTS, Kansas KATHERINE BRUNETT MCGUIRE, Staff Director J. MICHAEL MYERS, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:06 Aug 30, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\97751.TXT SLABOR3 PsN: SLABOR3 CONTENTS STATEMENTS THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2005 Page Hon. Enzi, Michael B., Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, opening statement ....................................................................... 1 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 4 Hon. Kennedy, Edward M., a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts, opening statement ................................................................................................ 7 Hon. Hutchison, Kay Bailey, a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas, prepared statement .............................................................................................................. 10 Hon. Cornyn, John, a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas, opening state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 11 Spellings, Margaret, of Texas, nominated to be Secretary, U.S. Department of Education .......................................................................................................... 12 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 15 Hon. Gregg, Judd, a U.S. Senator from the State of New Hampshire, prepared statement .............................................................................................................. 60 Hon. Alexander, Lamar, a U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee, prepared statement .............................................................................................................. 65 Hon. Hatch, Orrin, a U.S. Senator from the State of Utah, prepared state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 78 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.: Letters of support ............................................................................................. 18 Hon. Mikulski, Barbara, a U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland, prepared statement ....................................................................................... 85 Margaret Spellings response to questions of: Senator Enzi .............................................................................................. 85 Senator Hatch ............................................................................................ 87 Senator Roberts ......................................................................................... 89 Senator Kennedy ....................................................................................... 90 Senator Dodd ............................................................................................. 100 Senator Harkin .......................................................................................... 104 Senator Mikulski ....................................................................................... 105 Senator Murray ......................................................................................... 106 Senator Reed .............................................................................................. 109 Senator Clinton ......................................................................................... 112 (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:06 Aug 30, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\97751.TXT SLABOR3 PsN: SLABOR3 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:06 Aug 30, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\97751.TXT SLABOR3 PsN: SLABOR3 NOMINATION OF MARGARET SPELLINGS THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2005 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in room SD–430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Michael B. Enzi (chairman of the committee) presiding. Present: Senators Enzi, Gregg, Alexander, Burr, Isakson, Ses- sions, Kennedy, Dodd, Harkin, Jeffords, Reed, and Clinton. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ENZI The CHAIRMAN. I will call the hearing to order. Good morning, and welcome to the hearing on the President’s nomination of Margaret Spellings to serve as our next Secretary of Education. It is a pleasure to welcome Ms. Spellings and all those in attend- ance to our first hearing of the 109th Congress. Before we begin, I want to mention that it has been the tradition of the committee that the chairman and the ranking member are the only ones who give statements; anyone else with a statement can have it included in the record or can add oral comments as part of their questioning period. There are several ‘‘firsts’’ that are happening. For me, it is the first committee hearing that I will be conducting as the chairman, and I cannot think of a better or more important opening hearing for the committee than talking about the State of education in this country and how to make it better for students of all ages. It is also my first opportunity to welcome to the committee and thank for their willingness to serve on it our new members, Sen- ator Burr from North Carolina and Senator Isakson of Georgia, who will be here later, and also, I believe that the former chairman of the committee, Senator Hatch, will be here. Today’s hearing is the first on the President’s nominees for his Cabinet for his second term, and it is also the beginning of what I hope will be a continuing dialogue between this committee, the Administration, and you and your staff at the Department of Edu- cation. Looking back, I believe that we have made an excellent start, and we will have some real progress to show for our work on edu- cation issues which have such a strong and direct impact on our children. The centerpiece of that effort, the President’s No Child Left Behind Act, emphasized the accountability and importance of getting results in the classroom. As the President’s domestic advi- (1) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:06 Aug 30, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\97751.TXT SLABOR3 PsN: SLABOR3 2 sor, you were part of that effort. Now you will be taking up the reins of the Department of Education and bringing your own style and substance to the task at hand. You have more than 10 years of experience with these issues on the local, State and national levels, and I do not think anyone has a better understanding of the President’s position on them. Having had the chance to spend some time discussing these issues with you, I know that you share my commitment to ensuring that chil- dren receive the education they will need to take their place in a workplace that continues to change and evolve. Your record on those issues is very clear. You believe as I do that every school can be a good one, and every student can be a star achiever. That has been my experience as the father of three college grad- uates, one of whom is a former school teacher and principal who has returned to teaching. It is also my hope as the grandpa of a little boy—I know he is counting on his grandpa and the other parents and grandparents on this committee to ensure that he receives the kind of education that he will need to find a good job and the continuing training he will need to keep it. We must provide a lifetime of learning to our students and the workers of today and tomorrow that will enable the United States to retain its competitive edge. It may sound like I am jumping the gun by expressing my concerns about the kind of world that my grandson will face in the years to come, but as the old adage says so well, ‘‘The future will be here before we know it.’’ It is our job to ensure that we are prepared for it when it arrives. That is why these reforms that we have been working on must continue to be put in place as soon as possible. Our schools need to take action today for the sake of tomorrow. Reforms that will make our schools better in 10 years or more will not help our chil- dren who need the foundation that only a good