US House passes DC voucher program
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Low-income families would be able to continue to send their children to a school of their choice under a measure the U.S. House passed Wednesday to reauthorize the D.C. voucher program.
The House voted 240-191 to continue the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program for an additional five years and bar limits on the number of students eligible. The program provides needs-based vouchers for students from low-income families to attend a private school of their choice.
The bill is a victory for Ohio Republican John Boehner, who first introduced the legislation when he became speaker of the House in 2011. It will also be his last bill — he announced he will leave office at the end of the month.
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Boehner, who attended Catholic schools, said the bill is personal to him and called the program the “little engine that could.”
“We owe these kids a chance, a fighting chance, at success,” he said on the House floor before the vote.
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