Committee includes Paul measure in bill PDF Print E-mail
FOR RELEASE:July 1, 1999

Committee includes Paul measure in billHR 1995 includes language to prohibit national teacher certification

WASHINGTON, DC -- The House's Committee on Education and the Workforce on Wednesday approved HR 1995, the Teacher Empowerment Act. The legislation includes a measure, originally introduced by US Rep. Ron Paul (R, Texas) as HR 1706, to forbid the federal government from usurping the states' right to certify its own teachers.
"I'm pleased the committee included my provision in this legislation. Letting the federal government decide who can and cannot be a teacher is a fundamentally bad idea; teacher certification should be left to the states and local school districts," said Rep. Paul, a member of the committee.
Rep. Paul said that unless there are major changes to HR 1995, he will vote against it when it comes to the House floor for a vote. He said that while it represents "at best a marginal improvement," the overall legislation continues a trend toward more federal intrusion in the classroom.
"Our parents, teachers and school administrators in Texas know best how to educate our kids, not bureaucrats in a federal agency, or even congressmen legislating from the House floor." Rep. Paul said the best solution is to get the federal government completely out of the equation by cutting both the bureaucracy and the taxes, letting the states determine how to spend their money.