Renewal of the federally-funded Washington, D.C., school voucher program seems set to cruise through the Senate without much opposition. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hosted a hearing Wednesday on the program, with bipartisan support for its extension.
Only five members of the 16-member committee attended. Two members called for improvements to the program but did not oppose it outright: They are ranking member Thomas Carper, D-Del., and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. The committee did not take a vote on the bill, but passage is likely with a Republican majority and bipartisan support.
Two liberals expressed support for the program at Wednesday’s hearing. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., testified in favor of the bill even though she’s not a member of the committee. “Should someone who doesn’t have the money for a parochial or private school be denied that opportunity?” Feinstein said. “That’s where this scholarship opportunity program comes in, because it clearly says no. We believe in competition, we want to open the door to competition, and an amount will be provided to make this opportunity real.”
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a member of the committee, called for an expansion of the program, arguing that students should receive more money per scholarship. “We call this a choice program, but it doesn’t seem like the kids with only $12,500 get all that much choice,” Booker said. “There are a lot of schools that might be participating in the program if that was closer to what the [D.C. public schools] per pupil expenditure was of about $28.4 [thousand].”
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., also testified in support despite not being on the committee. “The divide in our nation between the haves and have nots cans be easily defined by family formation, which I’m not sure how we control that, and education,” Scott said. “We do have the opportunity to control that.”
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Compare that to an October meeting of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., mounted fierce opposition to the program with the help of many Democrats on the committee. She wants the voucher program to be phased out, with current participants allowed to remain in the program through graduation. President Obama has expressed the same position in the past.
Despite the loud opposition and efforts of House committee Democrats, the bill passed on a 16 to 14 vote.
Extension of the program passed on the House floor with 238 Republicans and two Democrats in support in late October.
Holmes Norton also testified against the bill Wednesday, but not with the same vigor she used to fight against it in the House committee.
Funding for the program would expire on Oct. 1, 2016 if left untouched. The House version of the bill was the last bill authored by former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, before his retirement.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
