[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 10, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                COMPETITION WILL MAKE FOR BETTER SCHOOLS

  (Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, what would be the effect on the public 
schools if a school choice program resulted in the most motivated kids 
and the most involved parents leaving the public school in their 
neighborhood? I ask this question because the question I get most often 
from those who oppose school choice is: What about the kids that are 
left behind?
  Well, Mr. Speaker, my response is increased competition among public 
schools will, without a shadow of a doubt, have the same effect on 
schools that increased competition has on the computer industry, the 
automobile industry, the restaurant business, the supermarket, the 
construction industry, the financial industry, and on and on and on.
  Increased competition means that bad schools will shut down, as they 
should, as more students flee those schools that have failed them. 
Increased competition means that mediocre schools will feel pressure to 
improve, real pressure, for fear that their students will go elsewhere.
  And let me suggest that increased competition, here is a novel idea, 
increased competition will result in real accountability for the first 
time. Competition in education will make better private schools and it 
will make better public schools.

                          ____________________