Bipartisan Group of Senators Support the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
Sarah Torre /
Amid the partisan bickering and procedural conundrums of the health care bill last week, a small group of senators from both sides of the aisle found common ground in advocating for school choice in the District of Columbia.
An amendment to reauthorize the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program for the next five years was brought to the floor Tuesday evening by Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and a bipartisan coalition of cosponsors including Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Robert Byrd (D-WV), and George Voinovich (R-OH). Although the Senate voted 42-55 to strike down the amendment, Senators Lieberman, Feinstein, and Voinovich passionately defended the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.
Senator Lieberman particularly noted the scholarship’s importance to the many students and families currently enrolled in the program and illustrated the necessity of continuing to provide disadvantaged children the opportunity to escape failing public schools.