The day after President Barack Obama makes education a centerpiece of his State of the Union address, House Speaker John Boehner will try to force his hand on the issue of school vouchers in Washington, D.C. as a test of the White House’s commitment to bipartisanship.
The Ohio Republican, along with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), will introduce legislation on Wednesday to reauthorize the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, the speaker’s office said Monday, making a school voucher initiative that Democrats, including Obama, have strongly opposed as a bargaining chip for beginning discussions on the administration’s desired education proposals.
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To demonstrate his strong commitment to this initiative, Speaker Boehner has invited a number of DC school choice advocates -- including teachers, students, and parents -- to be his personal guests at tonight's State of the Union Address. I'm told Virgina Walden Ford, an indefatigable proponent of the DC voucher program whom I profiled earlier this week, will be among those in attendance. An eminently well-earned honor.
Building on the success of Waiting for Superman, the Education Action Group will soon be releasing a series of short, documentary-style films underscoring the need for meaningful educational reform in America. Townhall will provide a platform for at least one of these mini-featues, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out the trailer for the overall concept:
EAG is hosting a series of community meetings on this issue, one of which I'll be covering later this week from Chicago.
The gathering will feature insights from nationally-syndicated radio host Michael Medved, columnist Dick Morris, and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
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