Date: 2003-09-05
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am offering this amendment with the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman FRELINGHUYSEN) and the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman BOEHNER). This creates an historic op. portunity for families and students of the District of Columbia. This amendment can make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of lowincome children from nonperforming schools in the District. It represents a shot at a better education and. of course in turn. a better life. September.5. 2003 The condition of the D.C. public schools. I think. is clearly documented. We have talked about this earlier today in the debate. It has concerned me since the first day I came to Congress as chairman of the District of Columbia Subcommittee. And while we have made strides in so many areas of the city since that time and some in education. the quality of eddcational opportunities should continue to worry all of us. One thing is clear. I think both sides agree to this: Too many children in our Nations capital are not getting the education that they need and that they deserve. Lowerincome. families concerned about the quality of safety of their children in the D.C. public schools should not have to resign themselves to sending their kids to underperforming schools where students are not adequately motivated to perform. Over the past decade. Congress has spent considerable time and resources working with the District to reform its education system. but the ability of D.C. schools to meet key performance goals has long been plagued by financial mismanagement and a host of other problems. which means just throwing money at this problem alone is not going to solve it. Despite concerned efforts by local officials to improve the public school system. and there has been some progress. we are not getting the kind of progress in imhproving academic performance that ought to be available to these kids. I have traditionally opposed Federal dollars going to private schools because I think Federal dollars ought to be targeted to the public schools. Of course. in this case. we give the dollars directly to the parents who make those choices. But for the District. which does not have a State government to rely on. as we take a look at other voucher programs around the country. cities work in concert with States. The District does not have a State. So I think we have an obligation here to answer the calls from the mayor. the chairman of the school board and the Washington Post and other advocates for D.C. children. and we have to ask this question: Would not more choices funded by new Federal dollars provide a needed alternative for lowincome children attending lowperforming schools? Our committee heard testimony on this before we gave authorization authority. The mayor was asked. specifically. if he had this money for vouchers. if he could use it for something else. would he not rather use it for the public school system? He said no. He said we need this alternative as well. It stands on its own and this is additional money that would not be available to the District of Columbia public schools were it not for this amendment. I have received calls from parents who are frustrated. angry. and distraught by their childrens school situation. These parents have attended our hearings. They have danced and wept when our committee approved school choice legislation. But I think it is time to do more than just sympathize. This is a moral imperative. The school choice debate should not be about politics or interest groups. We should have an honest appraisal of the state of affairs in our public schools and about offering an alternative for students and parents. and what is being proposed is not a mandate. It is a choice. The goal of school choice for the city is addition. not subtraction. We all want the citys education system to improve. and I hope that this is a shortterm effort to do something about it. The fact is the monopoly of the D.C. public school system is harming kids. not helping them. It is time to shake up that monopoly. This amendment expands educational opportunity to city students in underperforming elementary and secondary schools. underperforming schools. Other schools. kids do not get the aid. The choice program would be established through a competitive process. administered by the Department of Education. to ensure that the public or private entity that administers the initiative would be dedicated and capable of carrying out a topnotch program. And there are reporting requirements. many to be written later by the Department of Education. but the legislation here. I think. has criteria that it sets out that need to be met in terms of going on to college. performance levels. tests. and the like. It would provide scholarships of up to $7.500 to eligible students to cover the cost of tuition fees and transportation expenses. It would be considered assistance to the students. not the schools. In order to assure accountability. an evaluation is conducted that would consider the impact in academic achievement attained by the program. This legislation is a result of a lot of negotiation and consultation with city officials. elected city officials. with the administration and committees with key jurisdiction in Congress. For the first time ever. the mayor. the elected Democratic mayor of the District of Columbia. has come to the conclusion that "... if done effectively. this program would provide even more choices for primarily lowincome families who currently do not have the same freedona of choice enjoyed by their affluent counterparts." Enhancing educational quality in the city is a critical component of maintaining the positive momentum we have seen in recent years under the stewardship of Mayor Williams and the Council. It is our duty to provide resources so that the kids can have a brighter future. This is not a panacea. but it is a significant step in the right direction and. hopefully. one that will not be needed indefinitely. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.I say to my friends on the other side that we are going to disagree about this. but I think we want the same thing for all these kids. eventually. We will be working together on a number of other issues. but it is my considered judgment. having given a lot of time and thought to this. that this is probably the best thing we can offer. and I urge my colleagues to support it.