Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (158795)	7/7/2001 9:18:30 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 769667

Bush Touts Education Plan By Lawrence L. Knutson Associated Press Writer Saturday, July 7, 2001; 11:06 AM KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine -- Quick approval of the administration's education blueprint is a final exam Congress must pass before it recesses for the summer, President Bush said Saturday. "We need to act quickly because states and schools must make decisions on how to use their new flexibility and live up to their new responsibility," Bush said in his weekly radio address, recorded at the stone-and-shingle home that has been his family's summer retreat for a century. The day after celebrating his 55th birthday at a family dinner, the 43rd president played a second round of golf Saturday with his father, the 41st president. On Friday, both wore caps embroidered with their respective numbers. They were joined at on the golf course Saturday morning by the president's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and a cousin, Hap Ellis. On the first tee, the president was asked if he had looked forward to getting away from Washington for a few days. "Well spoken," he said, after smiling. "The amazing thing about this job though is the job seems to follow you around," Bush said. On the 18th hole, Bush drove his ball through a crowd of reporters and photographers and into a sand trap. "That'll teach me," Bush said as he approached his ball. He recovered on his next shot, a graceful arc that landed a feet from the pin. "You know, occasionally something good happens," he said. Jeb Bush was unconvinced by his brother's shotmaking ability. The governor threw a second ball into the sand trap and offered a challenge: "George, do it again." "Forget 181," the president shot back. It was a reference an area in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which originally included part of the Florida coast, that was targeted for oil and gas exploration. The president recently decided to cut three-fourths of the plan – mainly by eliminating drilling east of the Florida-Alabama state line – after opposition from his brother and environmentalists. "OK," Jeb Bush said, "I'll take the ball back." After the fraternal frolicking the president missed two easy putts and acknowledged that he and his partner, Ellis, had lost the day's competition to his father and brother. "Congratulations, 41," Bush said, shaking his father's hand. Bush said he planned to meet with his staff later Saturday to review the text of speeches he will deliver next week. Then he was to go fishing. Getting back to business, Bush plans a series of events to prod Congress into acting soon on issues central to his agenda that he believes have been relegated to the back burner, spokesman Ari Fleischer said. They include education, the patients' bill of rights and Bush's proposal to broaden the participation of religious groups in government social welfare programs, Fleischer said. In the radio address, Bush said rapid movement on his education initiative is a vital first step. "Completing the work of education reform is a final exam for Congress before they go home in August for summer vacation and before America's school children go back to school," he said. Bush's proposed education plan seeks to use federal aid as a carrot to improve failing schools. The measure, approved in separate versions by the House and Senate, brings several major changes to the federal system, foremost among them the requirement that schools annually test students in math and reading in grades three through eight and once in high school. If scores don't improve, schools would be eligible for higher federal aid. But pupils at schools in which scores don't improve could use some federal money for tutoring or transportation to another public school. The bill also provides more money for charter schools and requires school districts to develop report cards that show a school's test scores compared to others locally and statewide. It provides nearly $5 billion over five years to improve students' reading skills, with a goal of making sure every youngster can read by third grade. All schools would get more flexibility in their use of federal funds, while a small number of states and school districts could compete for a pilot program giving them even fewer restrictions. Differences between the House and Senate versions of the education bills are small and can be bridged, Bush contended. "Both bills call for strong accountability," he said. "The Senate bill gives states more flexibility. The House bill is more fiscally responsible and focuses federal dollars where they will do the most good." © 2001 The Associated Press washingtonpost.com