Political Quotes

“Let me start out by thanking the members of the Oversight & Government Reform Committee for their work on this bill. Thank you also to our 50 cosponsors and all the members on both sides who are standing with us today. I appreciate the efforts of our colleagues in the Senate--particularly Joe Lieberman--who are working on similar legislation. Today, the House will have the opportunity to do something special for the future of our country. I think just about every member would agree we have work to do when it comes to our education system. Americans are concerned that their children won't come to know the same blessings they have. And if we want to protect the American Dream, there's no substitute for a quality education. My view's always been, education reform starts with giving children in need a way out of our most underachieving public schools. Of course, that doesn't mean we abandon those schools. It means we take some of the pressure off of them while they work to turn themselves around. So we came together here about seven years ago and said, let's try something different. Instead of just throwing more money at the problem, let's empower parents from lower-income families to choose the schools that are best for their children. We wouldn't deny any school money they would already be receiving--we would just be injecting freedom and competition into a system caught up in the status quo.…”