Elijah Cummings: “weeks ago, a vicious assault was made against Washington, D.C. public schools by offering vouchers as a cure-all…”

“weeks ago, a vicious assault was made against Washington, D.C. public schools by offering vouchers as a cure-all solution; today, another assault is being directed against American public education. This proposed $310 million funding is not an investment with an anticipated return for better education in America; this funding is merely a political ploy. I oppose political motives at the risk of poor and disenfranchised children in America. I oppose this assault on public education. Mr. Speaker, as a result of the Brown versus Board decision, announced in 1954, our nation began to address the issue of unequal education systems in the United States. Today, a different phenomenon catches our attention. We witness a continued disparity within our education infrastructure among the rich and poor children of our society. The rich continue to gain access through the door of opportunity, while the poor are simultaneously condemned to the locked room of despair. Mr. Speaker, the advocates of this bill say that it would correct the problem of continued disparity in our impoverished and disadvantaged communities. Mr. Speaker, few students will actually benefit from this scholarship program relative to the entire group of impoverished students in America. Many students currently enrolled in public school will be left behind in inferior and unequal education institutions.”