Frank Pallone: “I am just amazed at the effort by my Republican colleagues, the Republican leadership, the Speaker, to continue this…”

“I am just amazed at the effort by my Republican colleagues, the Republican leadership, the Speaker, to continue this effort to chip away at public education, not prioritize public education, and put all the emphasis on private education and private schools. This is just another example of it. These private education savings accounts proposals are not going to do anything to improve the public schools. There is no way you will convince me of that. It is just another tax break for wealthy Americans to help them pay for private schools. I think that the point really here is that whatever amount of money, whatever pot of money is being generated here or being saved here, however we want to characterize it, should be used for public education to improve our public schools. My colleague, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel] has a proposal, a substitute amendment that would take this money and instead of putting it to private schools from K to 12, the money would be used to help pay the interest on bonds that school districts could use to renovate their schools, to build more schools if they are overcrowded, to use for equipment in the public schools, to use for teacher training. What the Democrats have been saying over and over again is, yes, our public schools are good in most places. They need to be improved.”