Tom Latham: “And it goes back, another subject that came up many times in my town meetings, and it goes back to the idea of local…”

“And it goes back, another subject that came up many times in my town meetings, and it goes back to the idea of local control again, is education. People are outraged today in the 5th district of Iowa that they want to put together basically a Federal school board to tell our local school boards exactly what they can and cannot teach, what restrictions they can put on and what restrictions they cannot. Everybody believes that there is a role for the Federal Government as far as ensuring that every one has access to education, that because of race, creed, color, handicap, whatever, that you are not deprived of that opportunity. But everyone also believes that it is the State's responsibility to fund education in our State and also the control has to stay with the local school boards. And I had a vote down in Boone County. It was interesting. I asked, after we had had this discussion, I said, how many of you want to do away with the Department of Education? And the vote was 38 to 2 to do away with the Department, to bring back the responsibility at the local level, to not put it away to some bureaucrat here in Washington today, let the people at the local level make the decisions for their children's education because they do know best and they are going to be able to help them the most and ensure a quality education. We are not going to do it again from Washington.”