1998 Ron Paul 60:1
Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity
to express my opposition to H. Res. 399, the resolution calling for full-funding of
the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). My
opposition to this act should in no way be interpreted
as opposition to increased spending
on education. However, the way to accomplish
this worthy goal is to allow parents greater
control over education resources by cutting
taxes, thus allowing parents to devote more of
their resources to educating their children in
such a manner as they see fit. Massive tax
cuts for the American family, not increased
spending on federal programs, should be this
Congress’ top priority.
1998 Ron Paul 60:2
The drafters of this bill claim that increasing
federal spending on IDEA will allow local
school districts to spend more money on other
educational priorities. However, because an
increase in federal funding will come from the
same taxpayers who currently fund the IDEA
mandate at the state and local level, increasing
federal IDEA funding will not necessarily
result in a net increase of education funds
available for other programs. In fact, the only
way to combine full federal funding of IDEA
with an increase in expenditures on other programs
by state and localities is through massive
tax increases at the federal, state, and/or
local level.
1998 Ron Paul 60:3
Rather than increasing federal spending,
Congress should focus on returning control
over education to the American people by enacting
the Family Education Freedom Act
(H.R. 1816), which provides parents with a
$3,000 per child tax credit to pay for K-12
education expenses. Passage of this act
would especially benefit parents whose children
have learning disabilities as those parents
have the greatest need to devote a large
portion of their income toward their child’s
education.
1998 Ron Paul 60:4
The Family Education Freedom Act will
allow parents to develop an individualized
education plan that will meet the needs of
their own child. Each child is a unique person
and we must seriously consider whether disabled
children’s special needs can be best
met by parents, working with local educators,
free from interference from Washington or federal
educrats. After all, an increase in expenditures
cannot make a Washington bureaucrat
know or love a child as much as that child’s
parent.
1998 Ron Paul 60:5
It is time for Congress to restore control
over education to the American people. The
only way to accomplish this goal is to defund
education programs that allow federal bureaucrats
to control America’s schools. Therefore,
I call on my colleagues to reject H. Res. 399
and instead join my efforts to pass the Family
Education Freedom Act. If Congress gets
Washington off the backs and out of the pocketbooks
of parents, American children will be
better off.
Note:
1998 Ron Paul Chapter 60
The text of this chapter was inserted into CongressionalRecord as an extension of remarks, and was not spoken on the House floor.
