[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            THE SHOCK AND AWE OF REPUBLICAN SCHOOL VOUCHERS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 28, 2005

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, disgracefully taking advantage of the misery 
of the evacuees of Katrina the Republicans have launched a backdoor, 
covert, but not so subtle effort to establish a federally funded school 
voucher program on a mass scale. The Republicans call this initiative 
by the code name Family Education Reimbursement Act (FERA). Under FERA 
parents would be given an account number that provides up to 6,700 
dollars per general education student and 8,200 dollars per special 
education student. At present Federal voucher intervention exists only 
in Washington DC for 1,700 students. FERA may expand this reach of 
vouchers to more than 200,000 students. Overwhelming Federal power will 
impose a partisan Republican experiment that has already been rejected 
by local citizens across the nation. The Bush administration under the 
cover of disaster relief, will deliver a far-reaching blow of mass 
destruction to public schooling in the Gulf Coast region. Needless to 
say this voucher beachhead will place all public schools in the nation 
at high risk. For the children of disaster area schools America can do 
better. Make school reconstruction a priority and speed the return of 
evacuated families home to their school districts. Providing adequate 
opportunity for all must be raised above the narrow partisan tricks of 
the Republican Party.

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