[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 24, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H7736-H7737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SCHOLARSHIPS AND TAX-FREE EDUCATION ACCOUNTS FOR CHILDREN

  (Mr. ROGAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROGAN. Mr. Speaker, I was raised by a mom who was a single mom 
with four children on welfare and food stamps. And the only reason I 
have had the privilege of coming from that background and now serving 
in the Congress of the United States is because my mother loved her 
children enough to make sure that they got the best education possible.
  It is absolutely hypocritical for people to believe that poor 
children's mothers do not care about them enough to get a good 
education for them. And nowhere is that more evident than here in the 
District of Columbia, where thousands of children are condemned to ill-
performing schools. Their parents want the same chance for their 
children that my mother wanted for her children. We Republicans are 
trying to give that to them.
  We have two proposals. First, opportunity scholarships for 2,000 of 
the poorest children in the city of the District of Columbia. The 
second would be a proposal that would allow parents tax-free education 
accounts.
  Today I read in the Los Angeles Times that the Secretary of Education 
is calling this a fad and urging the President to veto this proposal. 
That is a terrible mistake. I urge the Secretary to reconsider. These 
people want good educations for their children, and we have an 
obligation to make sure they get them.

[[Page H7737]]



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