Albert Russell Wynn: “Mr. Chairman, although I disagree with much in the bill, I do agree that we do need to give a raise to our local police…”

“Mr. Chairman, although I disagree with much in the bill, I do agree that we do need to give a raise to our local police officers in the District of Columbia, and that is included in the bill. For that, I am appreciative. On the other hand, I do take great exception to this notion of vouchers that is included in the bill. We should make no mistake; when we hear the Republicans say they are providing scholarships, which sounds like a great idea, they are not; they are providing vouchers, which takes taxpayers' money out of public schools and puts that taxpayers' money into private schools. I think that is wrong. Mr. Chairman, the District of Columbia government is not without its shortcomings. I represent Prince George's and Montgomery Counties. I am their neighbor, and I know. But they have also made tremendous progress. The fact of the matter is, the District of Columbia is not a plantation to accommodate the whims of certain Members of Congress, nor is it a laboratory in which we can experiment on the people of the District of Columbia. It is an elected democratic government, and it deserves respect, and it deserves the right to make its own decisions.”