In an unexpected show of bipartisanship on the Senate floor today, the “Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Act” passed easily with 68 votes to 32. Expecting a fierce battle, Republican Senators instead sat shocked as the final votes were tallied.
The bill gives individuals and corporations a federal tax credit for donations made to nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations. Those nonprofits can then use this money to provide financial assistance for tuition, as well as the cost of relocation, to parents so that they can choose the education that best fits their children.
Hill staffers behind the scenes hinted that the secret to the surprisingly large winning margin was a final push by Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) to include an amendment to the bill that ensured parents could choose to send their children to the public or private school of their choice, regardless of international jurisdiction.
In other words, students can now attend schools in Canada and all the Scandinavian countries.
This led to fourteen democratic senators from Washington to New Hampshire, as well as Independents Bernie Sanders (VT) and Angus King (ME), crossing party lines to support the bill. The clamor for international school choice among Democrats has grown louder since November, particularly in northern border states, with many liberals itching for a certain je ne sais quoi.
“Families should be free to choose the school that’s right for their children, and now more than ever, that place is in another country,” said Senator Franken on Saturday morning. “Just as many families support school choice because of an aversion to public schooling’s one-size-fits-all approach, many more have come to embrace it so their sons and daughters can witness the simple decency that’s harder to find in today’s America.”
Indeed, support for “international school choice” peaked in January of this year, when on the morning of January 20th, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (NY) retweeted an image of Justin Trudeau saving three kittens from a house fire.
The tweet simply read “à bientôt…”
