[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 10, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

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                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 2003

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2765) making 
     appropriations for the government of the District of Columbia 
     and other activities chargeable in whole or in part against 
     the revenues of said District for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2004, and for other purposes:

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Chairman, I want to voice my vigorous 
opposition to the proposed legislation to implement a school voucher 
program in the District of Columbia.
  We cannot in good conscience ask the cash-strapped schools in the 
District of Columbia to impose another layer of bureaucracy on its 
school system when positive changes are now underway to improve the 
quality of public education for the most needy of students. Already, 
the District is showing improvement through its 15 transformation 
schools which were created using the lowest performing schools attended 
by the city's poorest students, who have made significant gains in 
their Stanford 9 achievement scores. Also, the District has shown great 
success through its 42 charter schools which represent the largest 
number per capita in the nation. Instead of adding an unproven new 
program, scarce federal resources would be much better spent shoring up 
these two popular and proven education options. Why can't Members of 
Congress and local elected officials in the District focus on funding 
the programs which are working and are supported by most parents? We 
should not be in the business of funding risky ventures like school 
vouchers when public schools are being overlooked for funding. 
Furthermore, we should not authorize funding school vouchers here in 
our second home when Congress has already opposed vouchers in the rest 
of the country. The District of Columbia should not be used as a 
laboratory for an educational experiment that few if any Members would 
try in their home districts.
  By approving the use of school vouchers here in the District, a 
competition will be set in motion between public and private schools 
fighting for the same pool of scarce federal education funding. Any new 
federal funding should be allocated to schools made accountable to the 
public--charter schools and the District's public schools. The three-
sector approach in the Senate's companion bill would avoid making 
private schools accountable, and the addition of funding for public 
schools seems to be an afterthought in order to push the voucher 
legislation through. This intent is quite apparent through the Senate 
bill's attempt to authorize private school vouchers for five years 
while making only a one-time appropriation to public schools.
  Given that the Government Accounting Office (GAO) conducted a study 
which indicated no difference in achievement levels between students 
attending public schools and those using vouchers to attend private 
schools, we would be seriously remiss in allowing vouchers to prevail.
  If we care about changing the quality of the District's public 
schools to truly benefit all children, we must continue to support 
public schools with all available resources.

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