Scholarships for Opportunities and Results Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I thank the gentleman from Maryland for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues in opposition to H.R. 471, the D.C. voucher bill. While I share the same commitment to improving the quality of education here in D.C., in Chicago, and throughout the Nation, as a staunch supporter of public schools I strongly disagree with vouchering public dollars to private schools and institutions. I do not believe that the D.C. public schools should become experimental labs for the rest of the Nation. As I have stated previously on a number of occasions, paying for school vouchers translates into fewer taxpayer dollars for traditional public schools which have the responsibility to educate all, and I emphasize, all of the children.
Improving public education in the District of Columbia, as in the rest of the Nation, has been and continues to be a long and arduous task. It is an absolute priority of mine. However, now is not the time to abandon our obligation to ensure top-notch public education for all students by shifting Federal dollars to private schools.
I understand and commend the Federal Government for playing a critical role in providing the District with badly needed funding for improving education since 2004.
But I have never found any conclusive evidence that vouchers have increased achievement, nor have I seen any evidence in any study that an overall school district has improved as a result of vouchers. If the Federal Government is serious about improving the quality of education for the city's 70,000-plus deservedly young minds, then we should place our resources towards educational opportunities for all.
I must add that in the District we have seen improvement during the last 2 and 3 years. And while we didn't seek any real testimony from the officials of the District of Columbia or school officials and students in public schools, we did hear from Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, whose thoughts represent the thinking of a large number of Washingtonians, and she has told us that continued investment in D.C.'s public school reform efforts will yield far greater benefits for the city as a whole rather than spending millions of dollars on less than 2,000 students to attend private schools.
I agree with Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. She represents the thinking of the people of the District of Columbia. I urge that we vote down this voucher bill and support the amendment that will be presented by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.
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