U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse spoke on the Senate floor yesterday about the late state Rep. Paul Crowley, who died last week in Newport.

Their remarks were part of Senate proceedings carried live on C-Span2.

“Paul's passion was to try to reform the educational system of Rhode Island," Reed said in his remarks. "And he brought that passion with him every day to the State House in Providence. He was someone who was unafraid of taking on anybody when it came to helping children perform better in school… He was way ahead of his time in terms of emphasizing school accountability, standard space reform, measuring student progress."

Whitehouse said: “With his passing early last week, the Ocean State lost not only a champion for our children and a powerful advocate for Newport, the city he loved, but a friend and mentor to many of us who served and worked with him.

"He believed Rhode Island’s children deserved the best education -- and he never compromised that commitment. He pushed schools and teachers to take responsibility for their students’ successes and failures, and he pushed the state to ensure that schools improved, from accountability measures to state aid for poorer districts.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney