Ken Calvert: “one of the most contentious battles looming before us today is the battle to save our children by improving education.…”

“one of the most contentious battles looming before us today is the battle to save our children by improving education. Like other contentious issues that have come before the Congress such as abortion and the death penalty, very few people are ambivalent about their stand on this subject. One side levels charges of elitism while the other is denounced as bureaucrats. What is being overlooked in the debate, however, is what is ultimately best for our children. The system is clearly failing students when you hear statistics like 40 percent of all 10-year-olds can't meet basic literacy standards, U.S. eighth-graders placed 28th in the world in math and science skills, and almost a third of today's college freshmen require some remedial instruction. How did we let the state of education reach a crisis level? H.R. 2646, the Education Savings Act for Public and Private Schools, will allow parents, grandparents, friends, scholarship sponsors, companies or charities to open an account for a child's educational needs while at public, private, religious or home schools from kindergarten through college. Savings from these accounts can be used for tuition, tutoring, transportation, books and supplies, and services for kids with special needs, among other things. This bill is about helping parents help their children. How can anyone be opposed to giving money to families for educational use rather than using that money to create more government bureaucracy?”