U.S. Chamber Calls for Swift, Bipartisan Renewal of No Child Left Behind Act

WASHINGTON, DC-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today called on President Bush and Congress to act in a bipartisan manner and swiftly renew and strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act.

"With today's jobs requiring an increasing level of education and training, we will be committing national economic suicide if we fail to significantly improve our schools and our commitment to lifelong training," said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue. "This landmark legislation has served as a good first step in improving elementary and middle school education, and we need to build on its successes."

The Chamber marked the fifth anniversary of the law's enactment in an event at its headquarters in which Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings delivered a keynote address.

Education reform is one of the Chamber's top priorities. The Chamber and the Business Roundtable have established the Business Coalition for Student Achievement to underscore the dramatic need for education reform at the K-12 level. The Chamber will release in late February a state-by-state report card that grades school systems according to the rigor of their standards, the readiness of graduates for college and the workplace, the return on investment, and other key factors.

"We urge Congress and the president to reauthorize and strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act this year to ensure schools will have the right tools to prepare students to participate in America's future," said Donohue. "Education is an issue that will define our global economic success-or failure-in the 21st century. We have an obligation to succeed not only to our kids, but to our country and to our workers."

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com

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07-03