Political Quotes

“just the other day I visited Hine Junior High School with some of my colleagues just a few blocks away from the Capitol, and while there, I spoke with the students. They are wonderfully bright, capable students. They deserve the best in education, just like young people all across America do. Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, many children in the District of Columbia are made to endure some of the lowest school standards and some of the most dangerous conditions in the country, despite the fact that the D.C. public schools spend some of the most money per student in the Nation. Clearly, throwing money at the problem is not working to improve these schools. Mr. Chairman, some fortunate students in the District have families who can afford to send their children to private schools, parochial schools, or to move to the suburbs where the schools might be better. But many in the District do not have that luxury. It is a crime that some would suggest simply maintaining the status quo for those families who have no choice, relegating their children to the prison of the same tired, dangerous, underperforming public school system that we have been observing with horror for too many years now. Mr. Chairman, it is important to note that this bill does not take money from the D.C. public school budget. It adds scholarships on top of that budget. This bill will, in fact, enable more money to be spent on the children who remain in the D.C.…”