Steve Chabot: “As a parent and former school teacher myself I know firsthand the vital role that good schools play in our children's…”

“As a parent and former school teacher myself I know firsthand the vital role that good schools play in our children's future. The education reforms that we saw in Cincinnati were local initiatives that took root in schools only after being nourished by parents and teachers and local businesses and local folks. I want to emphasize that the Federal Department of Education played virtually no role in this at all. These were things that grew up locally and work very well. The amendment today would block grant 28 Federal programs into one block grant and the money has to be used in the classrooms. It can be used to purchase books, computers, but not to support the Federal bureaucracy. What this amendment does is it focuses the money and the attention on what really works in the classroom. Do we want to spent money in the classroom, or do we want to spend it on bureaucrats here in Washington? I support the Hoekstra amendment. I say let us spend money in the classroom, not on bureaucrats here in Washington.”