GOP Pushes for DC School Vouchers
The Washington Post reports:
WASHINGTON -- GOP House Speaker John Boehner and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman introduced legislation Wednesday to revive a school voucher program for District of Columbia students nearly two years after Congress began phasing it out.
In a statement Wednesday, Boehner said the D.C. program is a model that can work well in other cities and should be the starting point of any newbipartisan education reform legislation developed with President Barack Obama's administration.
"There's only one program in America where the federal government allows parents from lower-income families to choose the schools that are best for their children, and it's right here in D.C.," Boehner said. "If we're serious about bipartisan education reform, then this bipartisan education bill should be the starting point."
Democratic Washington Mayor Vincent Gray opposes the voucher program as an intrusion into local government. Through a spokeswoman, he said the city already has a popular public charter school system that provides parents a choice in education.
Boehner, referring to Obama's State of the Union address on making the nation more competitive globally, said vouchers make the U.S. education system more competitive.
