1999 Ron Paul 36:1 Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity
to express my opposition to H. Con.
Res. 84, 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.
1999 Ron Paul 36:2 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!
1999 Ron Paul 36:3 This bill further assures that control over the
education dollar will remain centered in Washington
by calling for Congress to “meet the
commitment to fund existing Federal education
programs.” Thus, this bill not only calls on
Congress to increase funding for IDEA, it also
calls on Congress to not cut funds for any program
favored by Congress. The practical effect
of this bill is to place yet another obstacle
in the road of fulfilling Congress’ constitutional
mandate to put control of education back into
the hands of the people.
1999 Ron Paul 36:4 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. 935), which provides parents with a
$3,000 per child tax credit to pay for K12
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.
1999 Ron Paul 36:5 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.
1999 Ron Paul 36:6 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. Con. Res.
84 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.
