[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6947]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       EDUCATION FLEXIBILITY BILL

  (Mr. LINDER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for too long, our educational system has 
been handcuffed by the misguided ideas of Federal bureaucrats. For too 
long our children have been used as pawns in this political game.
  The time for that to end is now. It is time for us to stop the 
partisanship, to stop the bickering, and roll up our sleeves and get to 
work. We cannot, as a Nation, allow our children to become adults 
without the tools to succeed. The key to unlocking the powers of first-
rate education is the freedom to make choices, giving parents the power 
to choose their children's education.
  Let us pass the Education Flexibility bill, which was announced just 
moments ago by the chairman of the committee. It will be on the floor 
this week. Let us pass the bill to allow the States to move past 
bureaucratic rules that actually inhibit success and bring new and 
innovative solutions to their classrooms.
  This bill will expand education flexibility to all 50 States. It will 
empower every school district to move past the bureaucracy and do what 
they believe is best to help their students learn. Let us return 
education decision-making to those who know what is best for America's 
students. We will find them in each student's community, not in 
Washington.

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