John Kline

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer), another member of the committee.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie), a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the conference report to accompany S. 1177.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 542, I call up the conference report on the bill (S. 1177) to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to ensure that every child achieves, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), a member of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Rokita), the chairman of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of the conference report to accompany S. 1177, to be known as the Every Student Succeeds Act. After years of congressional delay and executive overreach, Congress is finally replacing No Child Left Behind. More importantly, we are replacing the old approach to education with a new approach that will help every child in every school receive an excellent education. For more than a decade, Washington has been micromanaging our classrooms. Federal rules now dictate how States and local communities measure student achievement, fix broken schools, spend taxpayer resources, and hire and fire their teachers. No Child Left Behind was based on good intentions, but it was also based on the flawed premise that Washington knows what students need to succeed in school. And what do we have to show for it? Less than half of all fourth and eighth graders are proficient in reading and math. An achievement gap continues to separate poor and minority students from their more affluent peers. In some neighborhoods, children are far more likely to drop out of high school than earn a diploma. Parents, teachers, superintendents, and other education leaders have been telling us for years that the top-down approach to education is not working. Yet some still believe that more programs, more mandates, and more bureaucrats will help get this right. Well, those days will soon be over. Today, we turn the page on the failed status quo and turn over to our Nation's parents and our State and local leaders the authority, flexibility, and certainty they need to deliver children an excellent education. We reached this moment because replacing No Child Left Behind has long been a leading priority for House Republicans. For years, we have fought to improve K-12 education with three basic principles: reducing the Federal role, restoring local control, and empowering parents. The final bill by the House and Senate conference committee reflects these principles. The bill reduces the Federal role in K-12 education by repealing dozens of ineffective programs which place unprecedented restrictions on the Secretary of Education; eliminating one-size-fits-all schemes around accountability and school improvement, ending the era of high- stakes testing; and preventing this administration and future administrations from coercing or incentivizing States to adopt Common Core. The bill restores local control by protecting the right of States to opt out of Federal education programs and by delivering new funding flexibility so taxpayer resources are better spent on local priorities. The conference agreement also returns to States and school districts the responsibility for accountability and school improvement. A set of broad parameters will help taxpayers know that their money is being well spent while ensuring State and local leaders have the authority necessary to run their schools. The bill also empowers parents by providing moms and dads with the information they need to hold their schools accountable. The conference agreement strengthens school choice by reforming programs that affect charter schools and magnet schools, and it prevents any Federal interference with our Nation's private schools and home schools. Reducing the Federal role, restoring local control, empowering parents--these are the principles we have fought for because these are the principles that will help give every child a shot at a quality education. Now, let me be clear. This is not a perfect bill. To make progress, you find common ground. But make no mistake, we compromised on the detail, but we did not compromise on the principles. Mr. Speaker, the American people are tired of waiting for us to replace a flawed education law. They are tired of the Federal intrusion, of the conditional waivers, and of the Federal coercion. Most importantly, they are tired of seeing their kids being trapped in failing schools. Let's do the job we were sent here to do. Let's replace No Child Left Behind with new policies that are based on principles we believe in. For these reasons, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this conference agreement. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo), a member of the committee.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Connecticut for mentioning Pope Francis and not mentioning ladies basketball. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), the chair of the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 526, I offer a motion.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, this is a motion to authorize a conference on S. 1177. This bill, with the House amendment, helps improve elementary and secondary education in the Nation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the motion. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a good debate here today. We have talked about doing some commonsense things. This bill does not repeal all of ObamaCare, but it certainly repeals some egregious aspects of it. The one that our committee worked on ending the auto enrollment feature saves $7.9 billion and removes something that even the administration can't figure out how to implement. So I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Tom Price) and ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to control that time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, could I inquire of the gentleman from Virginia how many more speakers he has?

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), a member of the committee.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik), a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Mr. KLINE. I thank Chairman Price for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. I rise today in strong support of Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act. Mr. Speaker, higher costs, fewer full-time jobs, loss of insurance coverage, less access to trusted healthcare providers, those are just some of the harmful consequences stemming from the President's flawed healthcare law--a law that is wreaking havoc on families and small businesses across the country. Just this month, officials in Clay County, Tennessee, moved to close local schools due to severe budgetary challenges. According to the county director of schools, ObamaCare is ``the straw that broke the camel's back.'' This local official said it is very difficult for the school district to ``meet the mandates of the law.'' Of course, that is what school leaders, college administrators, small-business owners, and others have been saying for years. Employers, working families, teachers, and students are paying the price for the President's government takeover of health care. We have a responsibility to use every tool we have to dismantle this flawed healthcare scheme, and the bill before us today will do just that. The Education and the Workforce Committee has helped play a role in this effort. The committee recently passed a proposal that will repeal a costly and unnecessary mandate in the healthcare law, known as auto enrollment. As the name suggests, this mandate requires certain employers to automatically enroll employees in the government-approved health insurance. It may not sound like a big deal, but this one mandate will create costly confusion for employers and employees, will penalize those already enrolled in coverage, and will take wages out of the paychecks of hardworking Americans. The mandate is so complex, Mr. Speaker, that, after 4 years, the Department of Labor still hasn't figured out how to enforce it. The American people sent us to Washington to focus on their priorities. By supporting H.R. 3762, we can reduce spending and rein in our Nation's deficit and debt, and we can send a bill to the President that will dismantle his flawed healthcare law. These are leading priorities of the American people that this proposal helps to advance. I urge my colleagues to seize this important opportunity by supporting this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Chaffetz for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 10, the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act. It is a bill to continue the popular and successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. This program is based on the simple notion that every child deserves an excellent education regardless of the family's background, income, or ZIP Code. The program provides scholarships to students in low- income families so they can escape underperforming schools and receive the quality education they need to excel both in the classroom and later in life. Our investment in this effort is paying off. Last year, 90 percent of 12th graders who received a D.C. Opportunity scholarship graduated from a high-quality school, and 88 percent went on to pursue a college degree. What is more, when asked if they were satisfied with the child's education, 85 percent of the parents responded ``yes.'' It is no wonder every year the demand for scholarships far exceeds the number of scholarships available. These positive results also explain why this important program has long enjoyed bipartisan support. Of course, there are some who don't believe these vulnerable families deserve the opportunity to do what is best for their children's education. At a time when this administration has spent billions of dollars pushing its own pet projects and priorities, it has routinely put this modest, successful program on the chopping block. Fortunately, Mr. Chairman, a majority in Congress has continued to stand by these students and families by continuing to support the program, and Speaker John Boehner has always stood at the forefront of those efforts. Few have fought harder or longer for the educational opportunities of D.C. students than Speaker Boehner. In fact, throughout his more than 20 years in public office, John Boehner has been a tireless champion for families who simply want the opportunity--any opportunity--for their children to receive a quality education. The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program began under his leadership. Thanks to his efforts, this initiative has made a positive difference in the lives of thousands of students across the District. This act reflects his continued commitment to these families. More importantly, it reaffirms a bipartisan commitment to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program and the D.C. schoolchildren it serves. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to help more low-income students and support this legislation.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of a point of order.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Utah (Mrs. Love).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.