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A bill to provide educational opportunities for disadvantaged children, and for other purposes.

Read twice and referred to the Committee on HELP.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Aug 5, 1999

Title I: Educational Opportunities - Establishes a demonstration program of grants to States for school choice vouchers for children from low-income families who are enrolled in low-performing public schools.(Sec. 102) Authorizes appropriations for such program, and for a national evaluation of such program by the Comptroller General.(Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of Education to make allotment grants to States for educational choice programs that provide scholarships.(Sec. 104) Bases State allotments on relative numbers of children in elementary and secondary public (including charter) schools.(Sec. 105) Makes a school eligible for assistance under this title if the State identifies it as among public elementary and secondary schools at or below the 25th percentile for academic performance of schools in that State, based on the State's criteria for such performance.(Sec. 106) Requires each grantee State to provide scholarships to the parents of eligible children. Sets the value of each scholarship at $2,000 per year. Provides that such scholarships shall not be considered income of the parents for Federal income tax purposes or for determining eligibility for any other Federal program.Requires that a child eligible for such a scholarship be: (1) enrolled in an eligible public elementary or secondary school; and (2) a member a family with income not more than 200 percent of the poverty line.Requires the grantee State to provide scholarships for eligible children through a lottery system administered for all eligible schools in the State by the State educational agency. Provides for continuing awards to scholarship recipients for each year of the program, except under specified individual circumstances.(Sec. 107) Allows funds under this title to be used: (1) for the payment of tuition and fees at the school selected by the parents of the child for whom the scholarship was provided, and for the reasonable costs of the child's transportation to the school, if the school is not the school to which the child would be assigned in the absence of a program under this title; (2) if the parents so choose, to obtain supplementary academic services for the child, at a cost of not more than $500, from any provider chosen by the parents, that the State determines is capable of providing such services and has an appropriate refund policy; and (3) for educational programs that help eligible children achieve high levels of academic excellence in the school attended by the eligible children for whom a scholarship was provided, if they attend a public school.(Sec. 108) Requires a grantee State to allow lawfully operating public and private elementary and secondary schools, including religious schools, serving the area involved to participate in the program.(Sec. 109) Provides that this title shall not affect funding under other State or local programs, or under other Federal programs, including specified programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.Declares that scholarships under this title are to aid families, not institutions, and that a parent's expenditure of such scholarship funds at a school or for supplementary academic services shall not constitute Federal financial aid or assistance to that school or to the provider of supplementary academic services.Requires, as a condition of participating and receiving scholarship funds on under this title, that a school or provider of supplementary academic services comply with specified antidiscrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.(Sec.110) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a national evaluation of such program, including certain assessments and comparisons.(Sec. 111) Prohibits any provision or requirement of this title from being enforced through a private cause of action.Title II: Revenue Provisions - Offsets title I program costs by eliminating specified tax provisions relating to the ethanol, gas and oil, and sugar industries.(Sec. 201) Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to phase out certain tax deductions with respect to oil and gas expensing of drilling and development costs. Eliminates tax credits for ethanol producers.(Sec. 202) Repeals specified tax incentives for alcohol fuels, including ones relating to: (1) alcohol used as fuel; (2) qualified methanol and ethanol; (3) fuels containing alcohol; (4) taxable fuels mixed with alcohol; (5) reduced tax rate for aviation fuel in alcohol mixture, etc.; and (6) gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, and aviation fuel used to produce certain alcohol fuels.(Sec. 203) Eliminates the tax credit for enhanced oil recovery.(Sec. 204) Terminates unlimited passive loss tax deductions for oil and gas properties.(Sec. 205) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to eliminate authority to use sugar as collateral for loans.Eliminates, with respect to the 2003 and subsequent crops of sugarcane and sugar beets, the sugar price support and production adjustment programs. Makes a processor of any such crop ineligible for a loan with respect to such crop under any Federal law. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from making any form of price support available for any of such crops by using Commodity Credit Corporation funds or other available funds. Terminates provisions relating to sugar marketing quotas and allotments under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, the Agricultural Act of 1949, the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act, and other specified Federal law.

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Who introduced it

Sen. McCain, John [R-AZ] · R–AZ

Committees

  • Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
0 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

    Actions

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    1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on HELP.

    2. Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10411-10412)

    3. Introduced in Senate

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