[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 21, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SCHOOL CHOICE
(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, we Republicans find ourselves in a strange
position. On the one hand, we benefit politically when the defenders of
the status quo oppose choice in public schools. We benefit politically
because school choice is something their own constituents favor. But on
the other hand we Republicans despair at finding leftist opposition to
school choice because many kids are denied the opportunity of attending
a good school and thereby are forced into failing schools. And so we
have this bizarre situation where left-wing opposition to school choice
means that Republicans win politically but we win at a terrible social
cost.
{time} 1015
The remarkable thing about this bizarre situation is that the
defenders of the bureaucracy accept this national disgrace, because it
benefits their union monopolies. No wonder so many Americans are fed up
with many posturing politicians and the special interests they protect.
We need to give parents control over their kid's education, and that
will only come from school choice. That is what we Republicans are
fighting for.
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