ACTION ALERT
President Bush uses Hurricane Katrina as a cover to launch a massive school voucher program
We've been tracking voucher attempts in Congress since Sept., 2004. These action alerts are displayed with the most current on top.
Update Dec. 15, 2005 - They’re baaack! Vouchers have been revived in the U.S. Senate again.
After initial victories against public funds going to private religious schools, the Senate may attach voucher legislation to an emergency supplemental bill tomorrow or Saturday (Dec. 16 or 17). Again, the private school funding is proposed under the guise of dealing only with the emergency situation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. However, one member of the voucher advocacy group Alliance for School Choice overplayed his hand, according to the Nov. 19 issue of National Journal: "'Once the precedent is established that private schools can be part of an education relief package when there is a crisis, all that remains is to demonstrate that the New Orleans public schools were in crisis long before the hurricane hit, and most other urban school districts are in serious crisis as well,' Bolick said."
The voucher language is expected to appear in the Senate Appropriations Committee in the next couple of days. The following Senators serve on that committee: Cochran (MS), Stevens (AK), Specter (PA), Domenici (NM), Bond (MO), McConnell (KY), Burns (MT), Shelby (AL), Gregg (NH), Bennett (UT), Craig (ID), Hutchison (TX), DeWine (OH), Brownback (KS), Allard (CO), Byrd (WV), Inouye (HI), Leahy (VT), Harkin (IA), Mikulski (MD), Reid (NV), Kohl (WI), Murray (WA), Dorgan (ND), Feinstein (CA), Durbin (IL), Johnson (SD), Landrieu (LA).
If one of these Senators represents your state, please call and express objection to sending federal dollars to private religious schools in the emergency supplemental bill; or in any other procedural maneuver.
You can contact your Senators through their websites or through the Legislator/Media Lookup by Zip Code.
Update Nov. 2, 2005 - Vouchers are back. On Oct. 27 we reported that vouchers had been defeated in committee. But no sooner did the House kill the proposal below, than new voucher proposals were submitted in both the House and Senate using different committees and procedures. So, one more time -- please contact your representatives in both the House and the Senate to tell them to oppose voucher provisions in Katrina relief bills.
Sept. 17, 2005 - Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced an Administration proposal on Sept. 17 to provide as much as $488 million in private school vouchers to Katrina evacuees. The Secular Coalition for America opposes vouchers because they provide public funds to religious organizations violating the separation of religion and government. Prior to this announcement Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) had introduced a bipartisan education relief bill (S. 1715) that did not include private school vouchers.
Take a Stand: If one of your Senators serves on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee urge them to leave partisan politics out of the relief efforts by voting against attempts to add vouchers to the education relief bill.
You can contact your Senators through their websites or through the Legislator/Media Lookup by Zip Code.
The committee members are: Chair Mike Enzi (R-WY), Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Richard Burr (R-NC), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), John Ensign (R-NV), Bill Frist (R-TN), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), James Jeffords (I-VT), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and Jeff Sessions (R-AL).