[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 2, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S477-S479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             School Choice

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, my colleagues across the aisle spent 
the first part of this year laser-focused on voting rights and the 
filibuster. Democrats at all levels, including President Biden, spoke 
of nothing else, claiming that this was the most important issue facing 
Americans and that the future of our country was at stake. But this was 
not a righteous crusade; it was a march into complete delusion--a 
message completely out of touch with the struggles of real Americans.
  While Democrats lectured, Americans confronted reality. Across the 
country, inflation is squeezing paychecks, and COVID cases are 
skyrocketing. These are the issues that families are focusing on. 
Omicron's surge has sent students home from classrooms and back in 
front of computer screens. This is where parents' minds have been these 
last few weeks--not on Senate rules, not on the filibuster, but on 
their children's educations because when parents think

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about the future of our country, they think about their children and 
the opportunities that they will have and that all starts with 
education.
  During my four decades of coaching, I saw firsthand how education 
provides an unparalleled opportunity to uplift students from all 
different backgrounds, races, and religions. Education is the key to 
opportunity and freedom. It empowers students to create futures for 
themselves, to make better lives for themselves. It is a way to achieve 
the American dream. In short, education is our country's future. 
Ensuring the next generation receives a quality education is the most 
important investment--the most important investment--we can make in the 
future success of our country.
  But before I talk about where we should go when it comes to 
education, it is important to note where we are today in education.
  Right now, the United States of America is slipping. It is slipping 
in the classroom. When it comes to our global standing, we are 37th in 
the world--37th in the world--in math, and we are 13th in the world in 
reading. Just over half of the young people in our country today can 
read over the sixth grade reading level. That is simply not good enough 
for the most powerful country on the face of the Earth. Our students 
are falling behind.
  At no time was this more important than in the last 2 years. COVID 
turned our living rooms into classrooms, bringing lesson plans to 
kitchen tables in homes all across the country. This gave parents a 
front row seat to what their children were and were not learning, and 
many parents did not like what they saw. Students weren't being taught 
how to think; they were being taught what to think. This shift from 
what is right to what is ``woke'' has startled parents, but it was also 
startling for parents to see what isolation did to their developing 
children.
  As kids saw less of their friends, they retreated into darkness. 
Rates of depression and anxiety rose dramatically. Since the start of 
the pandemic, hospitals have seen more mental emergencies among kids 
than in the history of our country. In young girls, the suicide rate 
has jumped over 50 percent compared to the prepandemic levels--50 
percent.
  While we are nearly 2 years into the pandemic, the digital divide 
still creates profound roadblocks in learning for many children who 
lack access to rural broadband and even a laptop. Learning by low-
income and minority students was disrupted the most by school closures.
  The pandemic compounded existing problems in our education system, 
and every child has felt the effects of this pandemic from not having 
been in the classroom, but it has also highlighted a key piece of the 
educational puzzle: parents. Parents are the key to education for our 
kids. Parents realized the power of their collective voices during the 
pandemic, and they are using it to advocate for improvements in the 
education of their kids in the classroom. Time and time again, we have 
seen parents stand against restrictive mandates and unnecessary school 
shutdowns.

  Now, as we look toward the future of education, we need to remember 
what the pandemic taught us--that one size does not fit all. It rarely 
works, and it certainly does not work in education. That is why, moving 
forward, when we talk about education, we will have an opportunity to 
revisit the conversation about the importance of choice. Parents know 
their child best. They understand the unique needs of their children 
and can serve as the best advocates for those needs, especially now 
that the needs may be different than they were 2 years ago, before 
COVID.
  A child's education shouldn't be defined by their ZIP Code or 
financial limitations. A child and their parents should have a choice 
about education. School choice increases options through vouchers or 
tax credit scholarships, allowing parents to select the best learning 
environment for their child. School choice breaks down barriers and 
allows the funds to follow the student.
  School choice embraces the truth that different children learn in 
different ways and in different environments, whether it be in a 
charter school, a public school, a private school, or a home school. 
There are school choice successes, and there are stories everywhere we 
look.
  Just take this story about a young man from Alabama. His name is 
Nicholas West. Without Alabama's tax credit scholarship, Nicholas and 
his brothers would have had no option but to have attended a high 
school that they were zoned for, which was a school that was unable to 
deliver the individualized instruction that they needed. Thanks to the 
school choice programs, Nicholas and his brothers were able to thrive 
in different learning environments based on their unique needs and 
interests. By being in an environment that set him up for success, 
Nicholas was able to earn college credits during high school, and he 
went on to start his own business upon graduating from high school.
  I believe that this country owes you one thing: It owes you an 
opportunity. Yet what you do with that opportunity is up to the 
individual. For Nicholas, he used this opportunity--presented to him 
through the school choice--to tap his full potential. It makes sense 
that we should increase access to the opportunities for young men and 
women just like Nicholas. We must deliver the same opportunities to 
other students who have skills and drive but who need a path forward.
  Alabama is making strides in opportunity and creation. Charter 
schools continue to grow in popularity in our State. Last year, 
enrollment increased over 65 percent--the second highest enrollment 
percentage in the Nation. If I sound like I am proud of the steps 
Alabama has taken to ensure we give our students opportunity, I am. I 
believe other States can learn from the emphasis Alabama has put on 
``choice.''
  As we learn more about how the pandemic has impacted students, 
educational choice will become that much more important. In fact, 
choice may make all the difference. When we look forward and discuss 
the future of our country, we have to get back to talking about 
education. The future of our country depends on the educational 
opportunities we make available to the next generation.
  That is why I am proud that the resolution I helped to introduce, to 
recognize National School Choice Week, passed the Senate last night. I 
am glad my colleagues recognize how important it is to encourage 
parents and students to explore all available educational 
opportunities.
  Conversations about the importance of school choice should continue 
to drive our priorities throughout this year. If we join together to 
make that commitment, our future for this country and our kids in this 
country will be much brighter.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.


                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 2132

  Mr. BRAUN. Madam President, last year, I introduced a handful of 
bills that would help the IRS do its job better. One of those bills is 
called the IRS Customer Service Improvement Act. This bill simply says 
that IRS staffers cannot perform any union tasks during the tax season, 
which seems to make sense. It doesn't keep them from doing it through 
the rest of the year. It is just not during the busy tax season.

  According to the Treasury, in fiscal year 2019, 1,400 Treasury 
employees used over 350,000 hours of taxpayer-funded union time. It 
cost $17 million. Of course, that is kind of like chump change in this 
day and age. Back in Indiana, $17 million is a lot of money. It should 
be everywhere. Of these employees, 350 of the jobs were IRS customer 
service representatives and 204 were IRS agents. The American public 
deserves out of our Agencies, I think, service better than that.
  We can debate how much money the IRS needs to do its job, but we need 
commonsense policies like this to where we are not trying to restrict 
what already, to many, would seem unusual--that when you are on the 
dime, when you are being paid by the Federal Government, you maybe 
shouldn't be able to do union activities at the same time. Anyway, a 
lot of things don't make sense here. This will immediately add value to 
the American taxpayer.
  The IRS is warning Americans to prepare for delays and long hold 
times when filing their taxes this year. I would say that most folks 
would say that you need improvement.

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  Here are a couple of other particulars: They received more than 100 
million calls but only answer 1 out of 4. Calls averaged 18 minutes of 
hold time. In my own business, if you add 18 minutes of hold time, you 
just gave the order to one of your four or five competitors. None of us 
likes that.
  Face-to-face assistance declined from 4.4 million in fiscal 2016 to 
only 1 million in 2020. The IRS is now telling us to buckle up for 
service even to get worse.
  Let's use some common sense. Before you raise prices in a business or 
you ask your customers to even be more forbearing when you are 
delivering bad service, your competitors would take you out. Here, in 
the Federal Government, you don't have that kind of inherent 
competition, and, sadly, the public--American taxpayers--have to put up 
with it. And when your default position is always to spend more money, 
I know the American public is interested in something better than this. 
Sadly, for whatever we do that is above and beyond the ordinary, we 
were borrowing 23 cents of every dollar we spend here. Now it is up 
closer to 30 cents, and it is in the context that we are $30 trillion 
in debt to boot.
  This is something, what I am proposing here, since it doesn't 
eliminate your ability to do it, let's just take it out of the tax 
season.
  Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further 
consideration of S. 2132, and that the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third 
time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, reserving the right to object, I 
certainly agree with the proposition that was advanced by my colleague 
to improve service at the Internal Revenue Service. The fact, however, 
is the effect of this proposal is to demean IRS workers and distract 
from the real challenges facing the IRS. And the real challenge can be 
embodied by the fact that, for years and years, my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle have been squeezing and downsizing critical 
enforcement services at the IRS to the point where the wealthy cheats 
basically can get a free ride. They can get a free ride.
  About the other day, in the context of talking about tax cheats and 
wealthy partnerships that aren't getting audited, I said the chance 
that they are going to be subject to real enforcement, when they are a 
wealthy tax cheat, is about the same likelihood of being hit by a 
meteor, and it is because of these policies that have been downsizing 
resources at the IRS to deal with these wealthy tax cheats for years.
  Now, Commissioner Rettig, who is a Trump appointee--an appointee of 
former President Trump--recently said there are fewer auditors to deal 
with these wealthy tax cheats today than at any point since World War 
II.
  So they have got that challenge, and then they have an enormous IT 
challenge because the IRS, by their admission, is still using some 
systems that are practically dated back to the Dark Ages.
  According to the National Taxpayer Advocate, during the last fiscal 
year, the IRS received a record 282 million customer service phone 
calls and, with limited staff, was only able to answer 11 percent of 
them. Commissioner Rettig told the Finance Committee, in a remarkable 
statement, that it was his opinion that the amount of taxes that go 
unpaid each year could now be as high as a trillion dollars.
  To just wrap up, I want to describe how this all is connected. My 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle have repeatedly attacked the 
IRS. They cut, they squeeze, and they have constantly reduced the IRS 
budget. Wealthy tax cheats are out basically celebrating the decline of 
real tax enforcement. Law-abiding Americans--the vast majority of 
Americans--are, of course, frustrated by the declining customer 
service.

  So then we have our colleagues on the other side of the aisle attack 
the IRS, and the cycle just repeats: more cuts, less enforcement 
targeted to wealthy tax cheats, and, unfortunately, inadequate customer 
service. That has been the pattern now for decades.
  In my view, this is a gift to tax cheats and an annual headache for 
just about everyone else.
  There is no question the pandemic--and this has been true for every 
aspect of government--has brought new challenges, just like it has for 
every business, every school, every government agency around the 
country. And, in my view, instead of misplacing what the target really 
ought to be, which is inadequate resources so we can't go after the 
wealthy tax cheats, somehow we are hearing that it is the workers, 
these union members, who are at fault. That is not my take.
  For the reasons I have outlined, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  Mr. BRAUN. Madam President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. BRAUN. Briefly, respecting what the Senator says about wealthy 
tax cheats, I agree with him 100 percent. Everybody should pay their 
fair share. But I guarantee you, there wasn't one wealthy tax cheat 
that was on hold for 18 minutes. They are not calling in. They hired a 
lawyer or somebody to do it.
  This is impacting Americans, mom-and-pop business owners, folks who 
just need to talk to someone. It is not a wealthy tax cheat who would 
have made 1 of 100 million calls. They don't do that. There is another 
way to go after that.
  All I am saying is, during the busiest time of the year, let's take 
the resources that we have got, whether they need to be enhanced or 
not, and let's let them focus on the job of answering the phone and not 
making a small taxpayer suffer. They are the ones wrestling with the 
IRS by numbers, not wealthy tax cheats.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.