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IowaPolitics.com: Biden: Wait to fix 'No Child' until I'm president
10/4/2007

By Chris Dorsey
IowaPolitics.com

DES MOINES -- No Child Left Behind is flawed, but Sen. Joe Biden said Thursday he wants his Democratic counterparts in Washington to wait until he is president to implement any change to correct the problems.

No Child Left Behind measures success instead of promoting it, Biden said, an oversight his $30 billion education plan would correct. Therefore, he wants to see his colleagues wait until he is elected next November to hold off any fundamental changes to the federal program.

"It makes sense to have standards," Biden said. "The way they measure progress in No Child Left Behind is loaded. It is like loaded dice. ... I am talking about specific initiatives not to test the child but to test us as whether we are prepared to inform a child and give a child an opportunity. ... I would prefer Democrats not try to fix No Child Left Bind until I am president. I mean that seriously. I think this should be negotiated with an education president."

Biden told a crowd of East High School students, teachers and Polk County area residents he wants to be the education president. He called for an education revolution similar to the one the United States saw in the 20th Century when secondary and college education became available to everyone.

"We are losing too many children in this country, wasting too much talents, leaving so much potential untapped," the Democratic presidential candidate said.

With a growing global economy, Biden stressed the need to have Americans well-educated in order to create more opportunities for success and to keep jobs in this country. He proposed a 16-year commitment which includes two years of prekindergarten and two years of community college, retain and train teachers -- while paying them a minimum wage of $45,000 per year -- and reduce class size.

Before laying out the specifics of his plan, Biden stepped away from the podium and looked to the upper level of the East High School media center. He addressed the students, looking them in the eye to say he expects a lot from them.

"My mother has an expression: 'Children tend to become that which you expect of them.'" Biden said. "I want a country where we expect much from America's children."

Growing up in a lower-middle-class home, Biden said he remembers his father emphasizing the importance of a college education and then later apologizing because he could not send his son to a certain college. The Delaware senator stressed he wants to make sure every high school student who wants to go to college has the opportunity.

Biden's education plan includes a $3,000 tax credit for families to help cover the cost of college. He recommends increasing the maximum Pell Grant award from $4,310 to $6,300 over a five-year period.

Ending the war in Iraq and eliminating the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy are how Biden said he would pay for his $30 billion education plan. He said early education and college access would account for nearly $18.5 to $19 billion.

"Everything is priorities," Biden said. "The priority to me is education. It is the key to economic growth, key to our social stability and key to us being able to be competitive in the world."

IowaPolitics.com: Listen to audio of the Biden event


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