Washington -- When the House passed its reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (H.R. 5), many conservatives were hopeful that House negotiators would fight for conservative policies in a conference committee with an even worse Senate bill (S. 1177). However, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) recently said H.R. 5 was merely "a vehicle to go to conference" and House Education and the Workforce Committee chair John Kline (R-MN) said he would not draw any "red lines" heading into the negotiations. Heritage Action released the following statement from chief executive officer Michael A. Needham:
"Despite working in good faith, many House conservatives are now having the rug pulled out from underneath of them. Neither bill delivers the type of conservative education reforms that are necessary to truly empower states, parents and students, and there is no conceivable way an acceptable bill can emerge from this process."