[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 93 (Friday, June 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1262-E1263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    INTRODUCTION OF EDUCATION BILLS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 28, 2001

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce two bills designed to help 
improve education by reducing taxes on parents, teachers, and all 
Americans who wish to help improve education. The first bill, the Hope 
Plus Scholarship Act, extends the HOPE Scholarship tax credit to K-12 
education expenses. Under this bill, parents could use the HOPE 
Scholarship to pay for private or religious school tuition or to offset 
the cost of home schooling. In addition, under the bill, all Americans 
could use the Hope Scholarship to make cash or in-kind donations to 
public schools. Thus, the Hope Scholarship could help working parents 
finally afford to send their child to a private school, while other 
parents could take advantage of the Hope credit to help purchase new 
computers for their childrens' school.
  Mr. Speaker, reducing taxes so that Americans can devote more of 
their own resources to education is the best way to improve America's 
schools. This is not just because expanding the HOPE Scholarship bill 
will increase the funds devoted to education but because, to use a 
popular buzz word, individuals are more likely than federal bureaucrats 
to insist that schools be accountable for student performance. When the 
federal government controls the education dollar, schools will be held 
accountable for their compliance with bureaucratic paperwork 
requirements and mandates that have little to do with actual education, 
or for students performance on a test that may measure little more than 
test-taking skills or the ability of education bureaucrats to design or 
score the test so that ``no child is left behind,'' regardless of the 
child's actual knowledge. Federal rules and regulations also divert 
valuable resources away from classroom instruction into fulfilling 
bureaucratic paperwork requirements. The only way to change this system 
is to restore control of the education dollar to the American people so 
they can ensure schools meet their demands that children be provided a 
quality education.
  My other bill, the ``Professional Educators Tax Relief Act'' provides 
a thousand dollar per year tax credit to all professional educators, 
including librarians, counselors, and others involved in implementing 
or formulating the curriculum. This bill helps equalize the pay gap 
between educators and other professionals, thus ensuring that quality 
people will continue to seek out careers in education. Good teaching is 
the key to a good education, so it is important that Congress raise the 
salaries of educators by cutting their taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join with me in returning 
education resources to the American people by cosponsoring my Hope Plus 
Scholarship Act and my Professional Educators Tax Cut Act.

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