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Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today in strong opposition to the private school voucher plan included in the conference report on the D.C. appropriations bill.

At a time when our public education system is suffering under the weight of draconian cuts in Federal education programs, diverting precious resources to private and parochial schools is the wrong message to send to our Nation's children.

This year alone, the Congress has already cut $3.1 billion from education programs--the largest cut in education funding in American history. This is money that would help children learn new skills, raise test scores, provide money for college education, and prevent violence and drug use in our schools.

We should not be taking scarce Federal funds away from public school students. Instead we should take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to reforming our public education system, which educates 88 percent of American students. But, this bill would tell our public schools and the vast majority of our Nation's children: `We can't improve our public schools, so let's not even try.' Well, I reject that argument.

Our universal public education system is one of the very cornerstones of our Nation, our democracy, and our culture. And this voucher proposal would fundamentally undermine this ideal by spending Federal taxpayer dollars for students to attend private and religious schools that are unaccountable to the public.

Instituting a voucher system in Washington, DC, would also seriously harm most of Washington's low- to moderate-income families, who depend on public schools for their children's education.

Supporters claim that these vouchers will allow D.C. schoolchildren to attend better schools. But the fact of the matter is, the vast majority of children in Washington, particularly those who are the poorest and who need the most help, will remain in public schools.

For thousands of students and their parents, Federal resources that are desperately needed to repair D.C.'s ailing schools, provide counselors to deal with the many social problems that face Washington's young people, and equip teachers with the tools they need to educate their students will be diverted to the few who are lucky to attend private and parochial schools.

Supporters claim that this voucher proposal will give parents a choice on where their children go to school . But, in fact, these vouchers will not fully open the doors to private education, because private and parochial schools will be under no

obligation to accept all applicants.

Private schools will pick and choose the best students; and the ones with the lowest test scores, the ones with learning disabilities and discipline problems, and the ones for whom a $1,500 to $3,000 voucher will not begin to pay the, on average, $10,000 tuition for private schools in the District will be the ones left behind.

In addition, these proposals raise serious constitutional questions about using Federal money to pay tuition at religious schools. No Federal or State court has ever upheld the use of vouchers for parochial schools, and I seriously doubt that this bill will be any different.

Supporters claim that if this proposal passes, Washington DC, would serve as an important testing ground for the voucher program. But why test a program that doesn't work and that the American people don't want? Considering the fact that Federal resources are already strained, we shouldn't be using the District of Columbia appropriations bill to waste taxpayer money on bad ideas.

Washington, DC, residents, like those in California, Colorado, and Oregon have voted down vouchers in various ballot initiatives. Electoral rejection of these programs may be due in large part to the fact that private school vouchers don't live up to their advanced billing. In Milwaukee, where the voucher program has been in place for 5 years, test scores of students, who utilized vouchers, failed to improve.

I understand the importance and relevance of private and parochial education. I am a product of St. Thomas the Apostle, a Jesuit boys school . And, I am very proud that my parents made the decision to send me there. But, I am also aware that when making that decision they weren't expecting to be subsidized by the Federal Government. They understood the importance of our public education system and that the Federal Government should do all it can to support our public schools.

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