Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, let me begin by briefly explaining what S. 1502, the D.C. Voucher Bill before us this morning, would do. The bill would divert $7 million from the Federal Treasury in fiscal year 1998 and $45 million over 5 years and funnel these resources to religious and private schools. The bill not only diverts funds from the Treasury, where they might be available for public schools, S. 1502 also potentially diverts money from the District of Columbia. Under the bill, religious and private schools in Virginia and Maryland could receive students with tuition paid by D.C. vouchers. S. 1502 also would create a new unheard of, unprecedented layer of bureaucracy. Instead of delegating the task of administering this voucher program to an existing institution or to a pro bono organization, an entirely new bureaucracy costing $500,000 annually is required by the bill. A corporation, consisting entirely of political appointees not responsible to D.C. residents or even to the parents involved, would be responsible for administering the voucher program and disbursing the federal funds. Despite the fact that these are local schools, almost none of these appointments would be made by a local official. Of the seven appointees, only one would be appointed by a D.C. official.”