Steny Hoyer: “I do not come to speak about the voucher system. The gentleman from California [Mr. Riggs] was on the floor and talked…”

“I do not come to speak about the voucher system. The gentleman from California [Mr. Riggs] was on the floor and talked about that system. Let him report a bill and we will debate the bill, and we will send it to the other body and they can send it to the President. And if the President decides to veto it, we will have an issue for the 1998 election. This bill is deader than a doornail and every one of my colleagues know it. The Moran amendment that the gentlewoman from Washington [Ms. Dunn] referred to as the Democratic alternative, my friends, the Moran amendment is the Republican bill passed by the U.S. Senate. That is what it is. This is a game. This is a game to appeal to some very good spirited people who want to have greater opportunity for their children. God bless them. Every one of us does as well. But this is the D.C. appropriation bill, not the authorizing bill, and this is a contentious issue.”