School-choice double standard in Washington

Many American senators and representatives who oppose school-choice for other people send their own children to private schools, a new study by the Heritage Foundation points out.

From a survey of members of Congress, Heritage researchers found:

In the House of Representatives, 69 of 273 members who last year voted against legislation allowing children in low-performing and dangerous schools to attend a school of choice send or have sent their children to private schools last year.

On the Senate side, 13 of 58 senators who voted against an amendment that would fund a low-income school choice demonstration programme send or have sent their children to private schools.

In addition, 43 percent of members of the House Ways and Means Committee and 32 percent of members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee who have children exercised private school choice last year.

Fully one-half of members of the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee who have children and 53 percent of those on the Senate Finance Committee who have children chose to send them to private schools.

Mark Levin, president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, called those who failed to practice what they preached "complete hypocrites."

Source: Ellen Sorokin, Poor Parents Don't Get a Choice, Washington Times, June 14, 2002; Jennifer Garrett, Another Look at How Members of Congress Exercise School Choice, Backgrounder No. 1553, May 22, 2002, Heritage Foundation.

For text http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020614-43794392.htm
For Heritage report http://www.heritage.org/library/backgrounder/pdf/bg1553.pdf
For more on School Choice http://www.ncpa.org/iss/edu/

FMF Policy Bulletin\18 June 2002

Publish date: 26 June 2002
Views: 287

Culture and Institutions,

The views expressed in the article are the author’s and are not necessarily shared by the members of the Foundation. This article may be republished without prior consent but with acknowledgement to the author.

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