Eleanor Holmes Norton: “There are many reasons why I oppose this bill. First, it has failed the goal that the Congress gave it. Bring these…”

“There are many reasons why I oppose this bill. First, it has failed the goal that the Congress gave it. Bring these children's test scores up. The public schools have brought their test scores up. The public charter schools have done even better in bringing their test scores up. These children's test scores have not risen. Moreover, I can't fail to note how recently the majority has cut K-12 by $2 billion while taking $100 million out of, obviously, education funds to fund a private school voucher bill. Mr. Chairman, not everybody on my side of the aisle is for public charter schools, but I have supported public charter schools because my own constituents wanted and needed a way out of neighborhood schools very often. Yet, even though I come to this floor with home rule choices, this body is insisting on its choices, knowing full well that nobody in the District of Columbia can vote against their choices. And it says to the District of Columbia residents: No matter what you do, people, no matter how good your choices are, no matter how much you meet the standards we often talk about when it comes to choice, you, who have no vote on this floor, who will not vote on this bill when the bell rings in a few minutes, must do what we say. That, my good friends, is not a chapter in democracy.…”