Mr. Conyers believes that quality education should be a right for all American children. Education is a non-partisan issue, and Congress and the Bush Administration must work in a non-partisan way to find a solution to the problems facing our schools. Unfortunately, this Congress has been engaged in a bitter battle over Head Start- the most successful anti-poverty program born out of the Civil Rights Movement. Opposed by virtually every early childhood education organization in the country, the Republican sponsored Head Start Reauthorization Bill passed in the House by a one-vote margin in July 2003. Representative Conyers believes that this bill will completely dismantle and destroy the comprehensive Head Start program in 8 states and weaken the program in 42 states.
Further, Rep. Conyers does not support a federal voucher system. The recently passed FY04 District of Columbia Appropriations Bill sets a dangerous precedent by mandating the use of taxpayer funds for private and religious schools. He does not agree that investing in quality education means abandoning our nation's cash-strapped public schools. Representative Conyers also believes that affordable Higher Education is critical in fostering strong leadership for the future. Mr. Conyers recently cosponsored the Student Loan Fairness Act that allows borrowers to refinance student loans.
In order to improve our schools, Mr. Conyers believes that Congress must focus its efforts on increasing funding for school construction, hiring, training and retaining quality teachers, reducing class size, and providing high quality technology-based educational tools. It is his hope that we will build world-class schools for all of our children and encourage higher education for all of our future leaders.