[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 20 (Wednesday, March 4, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H762-H763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MAKING AMERICAN EDUCATION THE ENVY OF THE WORLD

  (Mr. ARMEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I do not think there is any disagreement in 
America that perhaps the most sacred responsibility we have is the 
education of our children, and I do not think there is any doubt in 
anybody's mind that the best way to beat the world and to be the envy 
of the world in the education of our children is to have the very, very 
best public education system in the world. There is no one I know that 
wants anything less than the very, very best public education for our 
children.
  But, unhappily, Mr. Speaker, we have some children that are being 
left behind today. In Washington, D.C., we have some very, very good 
schools, and in Washington, D.C. we have some catastrophically bad 
schools.
  Just a few months ago, 7,500 families, distressed about what was 
happening

[[Page H763]]

with their children and the bad schools in which they were trapped, 
applied for a meager 1,000 scholarships that would enable those mothers 
and those fathers to move their children to a better school of their 
choice.

                              {time}  1030

  The people of Washington, D.C., especially those who are not at the 
top rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, want their children to have the 
same opportunity as the wealthy people who have their children in 
Sidwell Friends.
  We have a bill that we will bring to the floor here in a few days, a 
bill that would allow 2,000 scholarships for the very poorest families 
in America, from among those who apply to be chosen at random, so that 
those parents can use those scholarships to take their child to that 
school where the child can succeed.
  Let me just say, Mr. Speaker, I have met some of those children who 
up to this point have been the lucky recipients of the private 
scholarships, privately funded scholarships made available to their 
families. By over 60 percent, these bright young boys and girls say 
they like math and science the best. If we put a bright young mind in a 
school where they are encouraged, where somebody cares and takes the 
time, and yes, indeed, offers a little discipline along with that 
encouragement, we see a bright, happy child.
  We will bring that bill to the floor. We will pass that bill. I hope 
Members on both sides of the aisle can find compassion for the children 
that overrides their desire to comply with unions, and I hope when we 
send that bill to the President and he picks up that pen, he will 
realize he has the lives of 2,000 beautiful children in his hands. He 
can sign the bill and give them the opportunity, or he can veto the 
bill and satisfy the unions.

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