[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H10840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 LETTING PARENTS AND LOCAL SCHOOL AUTHORITIES DETERMINE EDUCATION NEEDS

  (Mr. DICKEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DICKEY. Mr. Speaker, they are not all liberals, but the Democrats 
have a position on education that I think needs to be addressed. That 
is, they keep asking the question, do Democrats represent the best for 
education, or do Republicans represent the best for education?
  What is wrong with this particular position is that it leaves out the 
parents and the local school authorities. This is not a political 
issue. It is not a question of which party can gain in an election by 
blaming the other person or taking credit for their particular 
position. What it is is a difference in between what the Democrats want 
to do for education and what the local school boards and the parents 
can do for education.
  We as conservatives want to step out of the way and point to the 
local school districts and to the parents and say it is not a political 
issue, it is not whether the Democrat or Republicans are doing the 
most, it is how we are taking care of our children.

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