Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this bill is going to be funded, and you can't blame the…”

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this bill is going to be funded, and you can't blame the District of Columbia for wanting the public school and charter school funding that is in the bill. This bill is going to be funded. It was a Boehner bill, now it is essentially a Ryan bill, and I do want that understood. I include in the Record the Council's letter from last year which opposed funding. Council of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, October 8, 2015. Hon. Jason Chaffetz, Chairperson, Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Chairperson Chaffetz: We write as locally elected officials to express our opposition to renewed efforts to expand a federally funded school voucher program in the District of Columbia. We appreciate your interest in providing support to public education in the District. We strongly believe, however, that federal funds should be invested in the existing public education system--both public schools and public charter schools--rather than being diverted to private schools. We support the decision by Congress and the President several years ago to phase out the voucher program. Multiple U.S. Department of Education reports indicate that the program has not lived up to the promises made by proponents.…”