James Rogan: “I was raised by a mom who was a single mom with four children on welfare and food stamps. And the only reason I have had…”

“I was raised by a mom who was a single mom with four children on welfare and food stamps. And the only reason I have had the privilege of coming from that background and now serving in the Congress of the United States is because my mother loved her children enough to make sure that they got the best education possible. It is absolutely hypocritical for people to believe that poor children's mothers do not care about them enough to get a good education for them. And nowhere is that more evident than here in the District of Columbia, where thousands of children are condemned to ill-performing schools. Their parents want the same chance for their children that my mother wanted for her children. We Republicans are trying to give that to them. We have two proposals. First, opportunity scholarships for 2,000 of the poorest children in the city of the District of Columbia. The second would be a proposal that would allow parents tax-free education accounts. Today I read in the Los Angeles Times that the Secretary of Education is calling this a fad and urging the President to veto this proposal. That is a terrible mistake. I urge the Secretary to reconsider. These people want good educations for their children, and we have an obligation to make sure they get them.”