Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Democrats' approach in H.R. 2639 is wrong for our Nation's schools and students if we hope to achieve greater equality for children nationwide. Not only does this bill push another Democrat- led, top-down, Big Government mandate, but it has also been crafted to mirror a failed Obama administration program. At the Rules Committee yesterday, and also referenced today, Chairman Scott touted the fact that 30 school districts applied under the Opening Doors, Expanding Opportunities program created during the Obama administration. For the sake of debate, let's say that half of those school districts had been awarded funding. That is only 15 school districts nationwide that would have received Federal funding under President Obama's program that this bill is modeled after. In contrast to this failed approach, Representative Allen will offer an amendment that would allow school districts to use funds from an existing Federal grant program to accomplish the same goals as the Democrats' bill. About 12,000 school districts receive ESEA block grant funding every year. By supporting Representative Allen's amendment, we can ensure that nearly every school district in the country has the flexibility to tackle this problem using taxpayer funds at the Federal level. This is how legislating for solutions, rather than legislating for headlines, can work.…”