Asa Hutchinson: “the amendment by my colleague from Arkansas tears the very heart out of the Coverdell ESA that previously passed this…”

“the amendment by my colleague from Arkansas tears the very heart out of the Coverdell ESA that previously passed this Chamber by large bipartisan majorities. This is by no means vouchers, by any stretch of the imagination. These are education IRAs, and the rights of parents should be preserved to have the maximum flexibility in their use. In fact, studies indicate that 75 percent of the parents who have used these ESAs have their children in public schools. It harms the bipartisan nature of the chairman's mark, the agreement that was reached on education savings accounts, and to prohibit the use of ESA moneys for tuition and fees or room and board as proposed by the Senator from Arkansas would mean that the ESAs could only finance tutoring, enrichment courses, and postsecondary education costs. It would, in Arkansas, eliminate 26,645 children and their parents from participation in the use of these education savings accounts. This is a bipartisan measure. It has been agreed upon. It is not vouchers by any stretch. I ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment.”