Richard K. Armey: “Mr. Chairman, let me say very quickly that I do appreciate the point just made by the gentleman from Michigan [Mr.…”

“Mr. Chairman, let me say very quickly that I do appreciate the point just made by the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Kildee], and that is why in fact we have sought counsel from and gotten an approval of support for our amendment from the American Association of Christian Schools, the Association of Christian Schools International, the National Association of Evangelicals, and those letters are here, and those will be submitted for the Record. The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) is the largest association of Protestant Christian Schools in the world. In the United States, we have over 2,907 member schools, from preschool through college, with 554,600 students. We join with the home schoolers in urging you to recognize the basic rights of religious schools--Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or Muslim--to operate without federal intrusion. The 'assurance provision' [section 2124(e)] of H.R. 6, as reported out of Committee, threatens this right.”