Paul testifies before education subcommittee PDF Print E-mail
Paul testifies before education subcommittee
Presses Congress to return control over education to parents, saying it is "essential" to any reforms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, September 10, 1997

WASHINGTON, DC - Testifying before a subcommittee of the House's Committee on Education and the Workforce, US Representative Ron Paul (R-Surfside) said on Tuesday that reform in education will come only when parents are given control over their children's education, and, he added, more federal meddling will only further erode the academic prowess of American schools.

"Loss of control is a key reason why so many of America's parents express dissatisfaction with the educational system. According to a recent study by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, 57 percent of blacks, 65 percent of Hispanics, and 48 percent of whites support school choice," Paul told the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families.

Testifying about his bill, HR 1816 The Family Education Freedom Act, Paul said tax credits give parents control over their own dollars.

"The Family Education Freedom Act aims to restore parental control of education by offering Americans a tax credit of up to $3,000 for the expenses incurred in sending children to private, public, and/or parochial schools as well as home schooling," said Paul. Earlier in his testimony, he said, "The Family Education Freedom Act will allow millions of working and middle class Americans to choose a non-public education for their children, as well as make it easier for parents to actively participate in improving schools both public and private schools. I believe that restoring parental control over education is the key to genuine education reform and I support all efforts to achieve this goal, including Speaker Gingrich's Parent and Student Savings Account Plus (PASS A+) Act, HR 2373."

Paul told the subcommittee that simply taking more money from the taxpayers to fund the out-of-control federal education bureaucrats is not the answer, and will actually contribute to the problem.

"Greater parental support and involvement is surely a better way to improve public schools than funneling more federal taxpayer dollars, followed by greater federal control, into the public schools. Furthermore, a greater reliance on parental expenditures rather than government tax dollars will help make the public schools into true community schools that reflect the wishes of parents and the interests of the students."

Finally, Paul called on Congress to immediately bow to the wishes of American parents and extract the federal government from involvement in education.

"Congress can fulfill the wishes of the American people for greater control over their children's education by simply allowing parents to keep more of their hard-earned money to spend on education rather than forcing them to send it to Washington to support education programs reflective only of the values and priorities of Congress and the federal bureaucracy."