Gadfly is generally unsympathetic to unexcused absences. But this time we'll make an exception. Last week, the House Government Reform committee passed a bill authorizing education vouchers in the nation's capital on a close-to-party-line vote of 22-21. Only the absence of opponent Representative Major Owens (D-N.Y.) saved the bill from being stalled in committee by a tie, which D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton called "bad luck" as she vowed to lead the charge against D.C. vouchers on the House floor. The committee bill would fund about 2,000 children to attend private schools on $7,500 vouchers; a similar Senate bill sponsored by Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) contains slightly less funding. [For previous coverage of the bill, see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=4#34.] The bill's sponsor, Representative Tom Davis (R-Va.), said he hadn't decided yet whether to bring this measure to a separate vote in the fall or attach it to an appropriations bill. D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams deserves the thanks of parents and kids throughout D.C. for his courageous decision to buck his party and support the bill. By contrast, we give you another big city mayor, New York's Michael Bloomberg, who says he welcomes competition but can't support vouchers because they'd be "disruptive to the process." This week he told reporters, "We've got to focus on making what we've got work better."
"House panel approves plan for vouchers at District schools," by Sylvia Moreno, Washington Post, July 10, 2003
"Mayor spurns idea of school vouchers," by Kathleen Lucadamo, New York Sun (free registration required), July 15, 2003