Political Quotes

“We are here to pass an important bill, Mr. Speaker. This bill is H.R. 4901, known as the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act, or SOAR. The SOAR Act continues a three-sector approach to education within the District of Columbia. The bill provides equal funding to D.C. public schools, D.C. public charter schools, and the Opportunity Scholarship Program which is commonly known as the OSP. The OSP provides scholarships to students of low-income families, many of whom would otherwise attend low-performing schools. This program is bringing about educational opportunities to those who need it most. Now, to some, this may sound familiar because in October of last year, we considered H.R. 10, also a bill to reauthorize the SOAR Act. But H.R. 4901 is very similar to H.R. 10; however, after H.R. 10 passed the House, changes were made to it through a bipartisan negotiation with the Senate. These changes actually strengthened the bill, and we are pleased to support this today. The new bill brings greater transparency and accountability to the OSP through increased reporting requirements. The new bill strengthens accreditation requirements, and the new bill clarifies congressional intent around the use of carryover funds and access to the OSP.…”