The Public Record
Bob Schaffer is a former U.S. Congressman who represented Colorado's 4th congressional district from 1997 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Schaffer was known for his strong advocacy of national defense, particularly in support of a national missile defense system. He also took firm stances on social issues, including opposition to the sale of fetal tissue from abortions. Schaffer has been involved in various political and educational initiatives following his congressional career, including serving as the president of the Colorado Community College System.
fairness in education should not be measured by the relationship between all government agencies. It should be measured by the relationship of children. What we have today is a system where some children win, and some children lose. For…
And while everybody on this chart has lobbyists, the two people that do not have lobbyists are the taxpayer and the child. That is our job.
And it is not just about the bills being proposed in Congress. These groups, they have organizations, sometimes they unionize, they raise money, and they spend money on campaigns. Talk about campaign finance reform. These organizations…
every system has these education scholarship foundations that exist but the requests for scholarships, the applications, are far exceeded by dollars available, and usually these foundations are started by some philanthropist who wants to…
tonight I want to talk about children and the topic of education. I believe it is the most important issue that we have to discuss, especially when we look out into the future of America and where we are headed. My colleagues who preceded…
that is our goal, is to change the Tax Code in a way that makes it easier for Americans to contribute to these kinds of organizations so that they can help more children, not just these kinds of organizations, but also contribute directly…
Absolutely. This element of choice is really key to the whole proposal. The reality that our standing, when compared to our international peers, is being diminished over time in math and science in particular, is a real problem. Not all…
That is right. He came and testified. But that is indicative of a Federal system where we try to make laws and establish policy to help children in different neighborhoods throughout America. It is too impersonal. By the time those dollars…
It is a great model. Again I really commend the leadership of these various States that I mentioned that have initiated the tax credit philosophy and are seeing it work in their States. They have done so on a bipartisan basis. Once again…
this chart on my right is an illustration of just one scholarship fund that exists in America, the Children's Scholarship Fund. This is where the interest is and where people have applied. What we want to do is take a look at how…
some Members have tried to demonize tax credit proposals that we have seen in the States, and even our proposal in Washington, as a voucher. The voucher, as we say, is the ``V'' word here in Washington that has such a connotation about it…
It is an important distinction to make, an important point that I think the House needs to keep in mind as this debate moves forward and the legislation eventually comes to the floor, that the bureaucratic model that exists today, it is a…