Peter Deutsch: “I am, I believe, as strong a supporter of charter schools as anyone in this Chamber. And at the same time, I also voted…”

“I am, I believe, as strong a supporter of charter schools as anyone in this Chamber. And at the same time, I also voted against the ill-advised voucher proposal that we just defeated. I commend my Republican colleagues, who, without their support, we would not have been able to defeat that proposal. One of the concepts of why I support charter schools is that it really does work. It creates competition within the public school system. I see it work on a very practical basis in the State of Florida in my own district, the 20th District in Broward County, FL. I serve on the board of a charter school. I do not know how many other Members in this Chamber have that distinction in their sort of noncongressional lives. But it is a very proud part of my public service that I was part of a creation of a charter school, and it is a school that is working and that is benefitting about 40 children in my district. It is doing some good things. And within the public school system, it is creating competition. And competition works. But I think if we look at the specifics of this legislation, it goes too far.”