Arlen Specter: “I supported Senator Coverdell's amendment to expand the bill's provisions to allow penalty-free withdrawals from…”

“I supported Senator Coverdell's amendment to expand the bill's provisions to allow penalty-free withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts for education expenses for children in grades K-12 because I believe that parents should have the maximum flexibility to spend their own money on their children's education. I have consistently opposed the use of public funds to subsidize private school tuition for K-12 educational expenses because I have grave concerns about the constitutional issues of separation of church and State raised in such policy and because I am an advocate of public schools. As chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee which funds the Education Department, it is among my top priorities to continue to provide increases in Federal support to the Nation's public schools. However, there are many parents who feel that it is in the best interest of their children to attend nonpublic elementary and secondary schools for a variety of reasons and in a variety of settings. I believe they should be free to spend their own resources on such expenses as they see fit. TAX RELIEF IS FINALLY AT HAND”