Political Quotes

“In conclusion, let me read the first sentence of the first paragraph from the D.C. Mayor, as well as the majority of the Council. ``As Mayor and members of the Council of the District of Columbia, we support the three-sector Federal funding approach for D.C.'s K-12 education system that is authorized in the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results, the SOAR Act.'' It is clear this is producing results. I find it a little bit troubling when the opposition to the SOAR Act people stand up and say: Well, it is not producing results. I will reiterate again that the average graduation rate at the D.C. public schools is 64 percent. The graduation rate for somebody who obtains the scholarship is 90 percent, and 92 percent of those people who get that scholarship go on to college. Those are laudable goals in any, any scenario. And while this is done, this education is literally two-thirds of the cost, and it goes to people who really do deserve and need it, because the average annual income for somebody who is a recipient of this scholarship is $22,000. A $22,000 income in the District of Columbia for someone with kids is difficult, at best. I want to thank, again, Speaker Boehner for his passion on school choice and particularly the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship. I also want to thank our Senate colleague, Senator Tim Scott.…”