William L. Clay: “I rise to support the Moran substitute. I support it because it eliminates many of the harmful riders that the majority…”

“I rise to support the Moran substitute. I support it because it eliminates many of the harmful riders that the majority has added to the D.C. appropriations bill, including the $7 million to fund tuition vouchers for district students. It is appalling that the majority would blackmail the citizens of this great city into accepting a congressional mandated school voucher program that the District voters overwhelmingly rejected, and is opposed by District school officials. This voucher plan is seriously flawed. First, it does nothing for 97 percent of the District students who would not receive a voucher. We should be helping all 78,000 of the district's children, not draining taxpayer dollars from the public schools for just a lucky few that may benefit from a voucher program. Further, the amount of the voucher would not even pay entry into many private schools, and many of those that would be affordable have limited slots and barriers to admission. The real Republican agenda is to undermine public support for public education, and ultimately close down our neighborhood schools.”