Floor Statement- Merit Act

S1649. A bill to provide incentives for States to establish and administer periodic teacher testing and merit pay programs for elementary school and secondary school teachers; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

The Merit Act

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am proud to join my colleagues, Senators ABRAHAM and MACK to introduce legislation today which will help ensure that our children are being taught by the best, brightest and most component teachers.

"A teacher affects eternity; they can never tell where their influence stops." I share this sentiment of Henry Adams-knowledgeable, enthusiastic teachers play a critical role in the development of our children.

Personally, I can attest to the lasting mark teachers can have on a child, for my life has greatly benefitted from the guidance, encouragement and support of many teachers. As many of my colleagues know, my years in school were not notable for individual academic achievement, but I was fortunate to have been taught by some of the finest leaders and role models our nation could offer a young person. Their efforts helped prepare me for the experiences and obstacles I faced later in life.

It is important for us to continue to work to ensure that all children have access to wonderful, intelligent and inspirational teachers. It is my strong belief that testing our teachers and providing merit pay for those that excel is critical for retaining smart, enthusiastic and talented teachers in our nation's classrooms. This is why I cosponsored this measure last year and have joined my colleagues again this year to reintroduce this legislation.

Too many teachers are receiving salaries which are not commensurate with the invaluable service they provide. It is unconscionable that a bad politician is paid more than a good teacher. I will continue fighting for better pay for our nation's teachers, but I will also continue fighting for programs which encourage our states to provide merit-based pay, and periodically test teachers for competence. By all means, we should reward good teachers. They have answered one of the highest callings in our society, and they should be honored for the sacrifices they make on our children's behalf. But we should also weed out problem teachers who have lost the desire to teach or who have failed to improve their teaching skills in this high tech age.

The fact is that teachers who refuse to demonstrate their competency, are probably not competent to teach. Every child in every classroom deserves a teacher who is qualified and enthusiastic about teaching. Some people just aren't meant to be teachers, and we should help them find another line of work.

There are thousands of dedicated teachers around our nation working with parents, school officials and local communities to guide our children and provide them with the highest quality education necessary for ensuring the youth of our country have both the love in their hearts and the knowledge in their heads to not only dream, but to make their dreams a reality. These are precisely the teachers whom we should be fighting to keep in our schools and merit pay is crucial towards achieving that.

America's teachers are helping our youth develop the personal, professional and emotional skills necessary for successfully defining and achieving their goals. The impact of quality teachers on our children and our nation's future is immeasurable and irreplaceable, and we must continue developing and strengthening programs which encourage these teachers to continue teaching our children and building a better future for all of us. I urge my colleagues to support this measure we are introducing today and work with us to ensure the best teachers with the best skills are teaching our children.