GOP lawmaker slams education bill

Upset by what he characterizes as an "unacceptable" situation, Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., has criticized his party for passing increasingly higher education budgets that "simply do not provide" needed reforms.

"Unfortunately, the final product will leave little doubt that the political values the Republican majority fought for after its 1994 landslide victory have all but disappeared from the educational debate," Scarborough – who represents Florida's First District, located in the panhandle, said in a statement yesterday.

TRENDING: Voters blame Biden for border crisis, ready to punish Democrats, poll says

"Few who heard me speak on the issue of federalism, constitutional views or educational reform from the beginning of my congressional career could have any doubt as to where I stand on the issue of Washington's role in the classroom," he said. "[Two hundred] years of history and 20 years of failed federal intervention should be sufficient in convincing anyone who approaches education reform with an open mind that Washington's role in our children's classroom should be kept at a bare minimum."

Scarborough, who came into Washington with the famous conservative GOP Class of 1994, said he voted against the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" when it was introduced in the House.

"That is why I introduced the, 'Back to Basics Education Reform Act of 1995,' to rid the country of a nationalized education federal bureaucracy," Scarborough said. "Since Washington over regulates our schools while providing less than 6 percent of its funding, the bill made good sense."

In fact, he said, over "150 members co-sponsored that bill and its language passed in the House budget in 1996."

"Unfortunately, the Republican Senate did not have the nerve to pass my bill. While disappointed at their actions, I was told that they would at least hold down federal funding of the education bureaucracy," said the Florida Republican. "Six years later, I can assure you that such assurances were worthless."

RELATED: Scott Brown now boasting of Obama ties

Indeed, a version of the education bill to be considered this fall by House and Senate negotiators contains new school programs that are expected to add billions of dollars to the Fiscal Year 2002 Education budget.

Earlier this month, President Bush said the House and Senate had each passed an education bill "which will bring a new passion for excellence to America's public schools." But Scarborough said most of what was good about Bush's original bill – such as school vouchers – has since been stripped out.

"This situation is simply unacceptable, and it cries out for major reforms that the bills in conference simply do not provide," he said. "We should go back to the drawing table and send a bill to the president that eliminates wasteful spending and reduces Washington's interference in the classroom. Only when we get government bureaucracies out of our teachers' way can we assure that our children will get the quality education that they deserve."

In a recent Portrait of America survey, 45 percent of respondents rated Bush's job performance regarding education as "good" or "excellent." Twenty-seven percent said he was doing a "fair" job, while 19 percent rated his education performance as "poor."

Meanwhile, pollster John Zogby's publication, "Real America," says Americans are about evenly split over government funding of school vouchers, as well as the best way to fund public schools.

Zogby says Americans most often choose state sales taxes, local property taxes, state income taxes or some other method to fund public schools.

"Education spending has continued to explode at unprecedented rates over the past six years. In fact, the only difference between this Republican Congress and past Democratic House budgets is that Republicans are spending even more money on the bureaucracy than any liberal Congress ever dreamed of doing," Scarborough said.

"While the Republican Congress has kept its word in many policy areas, it has failed miserably in the area of education. The more money it throws at the Washington education machine, the worse our students perform in classrooms across the country," the conservative Florida congressman claimed.

"The education bill that will inevitably be signed into law increases federal involvement to unprecedented levels. That is bad for our children; it is bad for our teachers; and it is bad for America," he said.

Related offers:

None Dare Call it Education – Read how education 'reform' has failed our children

The Underground History of American Education