Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MESSER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4901, the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act.

I want to commend Chairman Chaffetz for his work on this important policy and for continuing the legacy of former Speaker Boehner on this important issue.

Make no mistake about it, thousands of kids have access to the American Dream because of Speaker Boehner's dedication to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program and education choice across the country.

I met one of those students in February during a hearing on Capitol Hill. Her name was Denisha Merriweather. Denisha provided some powerful testimony that I will not soon forget. She spoke of being locked in a failing school, and she said: ``When I was growing up, college was a dream that I didn't even know that I had, and if it weren't for an educational option Florida gave me 12 years ago, I wouldn't be here today.''

Ms. Merriweather is the first in her family to graduate from high school and college, and she is now attending graduate school. That is powerful stuff, and it is just one example of the thousands of young people in America whose lives have been changed by school choice.

As chairman of the Congressional School Choice Caucus, I believe every child in America deserves the same kind of opportunity that Denisha had. But right now, for the majority of students in this country, real educational choice only exists if you can afford it.

Ask yourself this question: If your local school is failing your child and you can't afford to move and you can't afford to pay for private school, what options do you really have?

Make no mistake about it, that is the truth for thousands of key people here in Washington, D.C., and, frankly, all across the country. They are locked in a failing school that is failing their child, and they can't afford to move and they can't afford to pay for a private school. They are stuck.

That is why school choice and the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program matters. Programs like D.C. OSP empower parents to choose the best educational environment for their child, regardless of their income, their ZIP Code, or their lot in life. And despite some of the rhetoric on the other side of the aisle, this program takes zero dollars from D.C. Public Schools--zero dollars. Yet D.C. OSP has a big impact on D.C. students. In fact, the program lets more than 6,000 students attend the school that gives them the best opportunity to succeed. And even better, an incredible 90 percent--90 percent--of D.C. OSP students graduate from high school on time, an incredible success.

It turns out that empowering parents and empowering students works. We have miles to go before every kid in America has access to a great school. This issue is far bigger than just D.C. schools. But today's bill will ensure that thousands of kids in Washington, D.C., have an opportunity, and every one of those kids matter.

This bill is worthy of our support. I ask my colleagues for their support.

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