Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on Congress to support accountability in education reform.

Last year, Congress passed President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" education reform bill. The legislation authorized billions of dollars of new funding to support the Administration's reform effort that seeks to ensure "accountability" from our schools. But who will hold the Administration accountable?

The fact is that this Administration is short-changing our schools nearly $20 Billion under No Child Left Behind. While our schools struggle to meet tough new standards and local budgets are stretched to the limit in this bad economy, the Administration has failed its responsibility to provide leadership and resources for our schools.

Congress must hold the Administration accountable. I have introduced legislation to do just that. H.R. 2366 requires full funding of the No Child Left Behind Act or it suspends its punitive measures. Without full funding, No Child Left Behind will become a massive unfunded mandate that will require cuts in vital services or increased local property taxes or both.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the other body, and I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort to hold this Administration accountable to our schools, our children and America's taxpayers.

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