Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended. I rise to speak in support of the Democratic motion to recommit that would protect the civil rights of students at schools that receive vouchers by requiring the schools to certify that they provide each student with all applicable civil rights protections. The D.C. voucher program calls into question multiple Federal civil rights protections and turns a blind eye to the government-funded discrimination. For example, religious schools that accept vouchers are permitted to discriminate on the basis of religion in hiring, a violation of traditional principles prohibiting discrimination based on religion when using Federal money. The fact is that most religious schools are part of a ministry of the sponsoring church, and these schools either cannot or will not separate the religious content from their academic programs. So it is impossible to prevent a publicly funded voucher program for paying for these institutions' religious activities and education. Furthermore, schools that accept vouchers are allowed to discriminate based on gender in admissions, a violation of the principles of title IX. In addition to the discrimination based on religion or sex, the D.C. voucher program also raises serious concerns about the civil rights of students with disabilities.…”