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AFA ActivismAction Alert - May 15, 2001H.R. 1 & S. 1 - Hijacked Education BillH.R. 1; S. 1: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001has now left our President behind!
This education reform bill, which started out as President Bush's package, has now left our President behind! House members of the Education and Workforce Committee passed Chairman John Boehner’s amended version of H.R. 1 last week with six conservative Republicans voting against it. “I think it’s a sad day when Republicans pass a bill that’s to the left of Ted Kennedy,” said Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-Colo.), one of the six members who stood firm against the bill. A floor vote in the House is scheduled to begin tomorrow - Wednesday, May 16. While this bill originally had included several features that the president desired, those features were stripped in committee. Therefore, it no longer requires that every child be tested each year in math and reading, that failing schools be over-hauled, that children trapped in bad schools be allowed the option of school choice, or that states be given more leeway in how to spend federal dollars for education. Meanwhile, the Senate has been busy adding billions by the day to the education plan, which the President says is already more than generous enough. Debate in the Senate on S.1 should continue for several weeks, as there are a total of 290 amendments to the original package yet to be considered. The new version has been heavily influenced by Sen. Ted Kennedy and Rep. George Miller, and includes two features of note. First, the Department of Education in Washington will strengthen its stranglehold on local schools and force Outcome-based Education into every classroom. H.R. 1 reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This means that states will be tied to federal content standards such as Goals 2000 and School-to-Work, for fear of losing federal funds. Second, the child's teacher may legally act as his or her parent. Under H.R. 1's broad definition of "in loco parentus," almost any adult can stand in the place of a parent. The most egregious example of what this can lead to was played out a few years ago in Pennsylvania where young children were forced to undergo genital exams against their will, and the will of their parents. (Several parents have since sued and won, but the children will remain emotionally scarred from this experience.) Another dangerous element of the bill includes a hate/thought crimes requirement. In short, hate/thought crimes is a license to persecute your children if they do not agree to support the homosexual agenda. PRAYER FOCUS: Intercede for a miracle of divine intervention in the rapid progress of this bill through Congress! Ask the Lord to do the "impossible" by stalling the House vote until enough citizens can be made aware of the dangers of this bill and be able to respond by calling their member of Congress, and their Senator, accordingly. SCRIPTURE: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!" (Matt. 19:26 NIV) ACTION NEEDEDAFA opposes H.R. 1 and S. 1 as they are currently drafted. This legislation is being rushed through in the hope you won't notice or have time to act. There could be a vote as early as tomorrow or Thursday. Please contact your member of Congress and politely, but firmly, share your convictions. AFA hopes the bill will be returned to the President’s original bill with real parental choice options and “Straight A’s.” AFA also encourages you to contact your Senators with the same urgent message. AFA supports Sen. Shelby's amendment to S.1, which requires parental consent before companies can shake school kids down for marketing information. The Capitol Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.If your member of Congress is one of the six committee members who opposed H.R. 1, please call and thank them for standing strong under immense pressure. Those members are: Rep. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Rep. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-Colo.), Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.).
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