or the frum community across the United States, though, ECCA could finally offer a chance at tuition relief
“Thousands of students currently attend Jewish schools as a result of scholarships, but the need far exceeds the demand. This bill will spur the philanthropic spirit of American taxpayers and encourage them to invest in the future of our country — the education of our children.”
Now that the bill has cleared this committee, how smooth of a ride will it have in becoming law?
“We’re now at first base,” said Rabbi Schnall from Washington, D.C. “We still have to get to home plate for this to actually have an impact, but this shows that we’re in the game. Hundreds of bills are introduced in Congress every year, and only a fraction end up meriting a committee hearing. Getting a bill to committee shows that leadership has a vested interest in it — and during the actual committee debate, you can gauge how enthusiastic the support is and what level of opposition you’ll face.”
In the committee debate on the ECCA, supporters were passionate and focused, while the opposition’s arguments largely fell flat. Committee Democrats attempted to stall the bill, complaining that scholarships recipients could attend schools not subject to the same level of accountability and government oversight as public schools. Republicans pointed out that the bill’s entire intent is to put parents, not technocrats, in charge of their children’s education.
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