[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SCHOOL CHOICE

  (Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, for America's poorest 
children education is their most direct path out of poverty. In fact, 
even children in truly horrible schools manage to escape destitution by 
dint of relentless determination and honest hard work. But children 
should not have to pass through metal detectors on the way through the 
schoolhouse door. If kids are more consumed by the fear of violence 
than the hope of earning an A on the next exam, the great challenges 
they face become even greater.
  Confronted by school violence and disorderly classrooms, to whom can 
these children turn? I believe they ought to turn to their parents, of 
course. But what if their parents lack the freedom to pull their 
children out of harmful schools? While the status quo interests join 
together to say ``too bad'' or join together in offering more hollow 
promises, Republicans offer America's children hope in the form of 
school choice and education savings accounts.
  Hope is too scarce a commodity to most of our Nation's poorest 
communities. School choice and education savings accounts level the 
playing field and offer hope by treating families like real customers 
and children like real Americans.

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