Congressman Dennis Moore says he likes the No Child Left Behind Act.

He likes the sound of it and the sentiment behind it. Every child will be educated. Every child will have an opportunity to succeed. In 2001, he even voted for it.

But the Kansas Democrat whose district includes eastern Lawrence said the act had been underfunded by about $9 billion.

His disappointment led him to sponsor the “Keeping Our Promises to America’s Children Act,” also known as K-PAC.

“This is not about throwing money at a problem,” Moore said Monday. “This is about funding mandates that the act is requiring.”

Congress is on break and Moore spoke about the bill Monday while visiting the Van Go Mobile Arts program in Lawrence.

He said his bill would allow school districts to temporarily opt out of new federal requirements imposed under the act if Congress failed to fully fund it.

For K-PAC to pass in the House, 218 members must vote for it. The bill has 96 co-sponsors; 94 are Democrats. Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., is the only Republican co-sponsor. Rep. Bernard Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, also is a co-sponsor.

Congressman Jim Ryun, a Republican whose district includes western Lawrence, said Monday he disagreed with Moore’s tactic.

Funding cut for low-income students (04-07-04) House.gov news release: Moore secures funding for Kansas Projects

“I do not agree with Congressman Moore’s approach of introducing legislation that has little chance of passing and would never be passed into law by the president because it strips accountability measures that our parents and children deserve,” Ryun said in a statement prepared by his office. “Rather, we should work together to find solutions that make No Child Left Behind work for our schools.”

Ryun, who voted against No Child Left Behind, said that in the act’s first three years federal education spending increased by 43 percent to pay for new accountability measures.

The other Kansans in the U.S. House, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, a Wichita Republican, and Rep. Jerry Moran, a Hays Republican, weren’t available for comment.

Lawrence public schools Supt. Randy Weseman said Monday he was willing to try to meet the act’s mandates.

“But Congress does need to level the playing field by funding the act,” he said.

Weseman said he favored Moore’s K-PAC bill but had little hope it would pass. Congress has yet to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which was passed in 1975, Weseman said.

Austin Turney, president of the Lawrence school board, said he agreed No Child Left Behind should be adequately funded.

“At this point, I feel the funding is inadequate. It will become more so unless there is a change in direction,” Turney said.