Texas Congressman Sponsors National Voucher Legislation

In spite of the fact that religious-right school voucher advocate Dr. James Leininger has poured millions of dollars into Republican campaign coffers in order to elect pro-voucher candidates, a voucher bill has never made it out of the Texas Legislature alive.

So, what do voucher advocates do when their own GOP-controlled capitol can’t manage a voucher bill? Turn to Washington, D.C., where two of Texas’ own will be happy to carry the school voucher cross to the alter of educational distruction.

U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Dallas) today joined with fellow Texan Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and three other members of Congress including Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) to introduce a $100 million school voucher program.

In addition to this being unnerving legislation for anyone who opposes vouchers and the myriad of church/state separation debate it will likely bring forth, this will likely be a pretty disasterous piece of legislation for the Republicans as mid-terms approach. It’s also another piece of legislation, like immigration and gay marriage, that they can use to create yet another new “wedge issue” for the electorate.

Instead of being an issue in states like Florida and Texas, school vouchers have gone national—in a big, big way.

First, though, it should come as no surprise that Johnson and Spellings, two Texans, are leading the way on this.

Johnson has previously voted for vouchers, with a ‘yes’ on HR 2746 (roll call vote here) in 1997 and with a ‘yes’ on a DC school vouchers bill, HR 4380 in 1998 (roll call here).

Spellings, it should be noted,  was one of the principal authors of the disasterous and much criticized “No Child Left Behind” Act. Prior to her stint in Washington with the Bush Adminsitration, she served as an advisor to Bush in Austin. Her husband, Robert Spellings, is an attorney now with Butera & Andrews (he was formerly with Gardere, Wynne & Sewell in Texas and DC.) who has lobbied for voucher legislation in Austin. We can only assume Mr. Spellings will be lobbying for the bill his wife is pushing.

Why the Administration, Johnson, et al decided to roll with this now is unclear. Perhaps they thought this may be their final chance to do so with a Republican Congress if polling is any indication of what the makeup of the House will be after the mid-terms.

Anyway, note what Johnson had to say about the bill:

“Children may be a fraction of today’s society but they are 100% of our future. It’s time we empower students – and their parents. I want to give these children a choice and a chance,” said Rep. Johnson.

What in the hell does that mean? A ‘fraction’ of today’s society? I know a couple of centuries ago, slaves were counted as half or two thirds of a person. I guess, in Congressman Johnson’s eyes, children just count as a fraction of a person as well.

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