Rep. David Obey has been in the news a lot lately for his volatile comments against Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the NEA, President Obama, and really any old soul who dares disagree with the almighty appropriations committee.? All of whom are a tinsy bit dissatisfied with his amendment that would snag $800 million from the quite successful Race to the Top program. If this feels like d?j? vu to you, you're absolutely correct. Check out this blast to the past from a 2008 Fordham Report, ?Too Good to Last: the True Story of Reading First?.
?An influential ?progressive? lawmaker, Rep. David Obey, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, slashed by over $600 million the budget of one of the most effective programs for poor children in the federal government?the only No Child Left Behind program that has received plaudits from both the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Management and Budget.?
I've been taught that we need to look to the past to avoid future mistakes. I guess Representative Obey never got the memo.