Ohio’s Porker-of-the-Week

I’ve received an email I would like share with you. Maybe a few phone calls of both encouragement and discouragement would go a far way. Carlo LoParo’s number is (614) 224-4422, and he is the one to call for more information.

PORKER OF THE WEEK: OEA LOBBYIST MELISSA CLARK

COLUMBUS – Eye on the Statehouse has named Ohio Education Association (OEA) lobbyist Melissa Clark as its Porker of the Week. Last week, Ms. Clark asked the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee to severely reduce charter schools and eliminate the popular EdChoice voucher program.

“By placing a premium on choice and competition at the expense of academic excellence, these programs are contrary to the interest of the state, parents and students,” Ms. Clark told the Senate committee.

Ms. Clark did not promise increased efficiency by education bureaucrats in exchange for the reduction or elimination of these programs. She also neglected to mention Ohio’s charter school and EdChoice voucher programs were developed because many public schools underperformed. In fact, over 115,550 students in Ohio’s eight largest cities are attending 251 schools that do not meet the state’s minimal education standards.

Further, charter schools and EdChoice vouchers are only available in school districts on academic watch or academic emergency. An increasing number of parents with children in underperforming public schools have opted for these education choice programs. The Ohio Department of Education recently reported applications to the EdChoice voucher program increased by 117 percent from last year.

The OEA’s principal concern is the pay and benefits of its members. Educating kids comes at a distant second. Ms. Clark presented herself as an advocate of children’s education. However, she is simply a union lobbyist seeking more benefits and less accountability for her members. Ms. Clark is the Porker of the Week.

The full text of the Porker of the Week is available at eyeonthestatehouse.org.

News on Government Waste coming from Minnesota

Here is one e-mail I cannot let slip by without sharing with you. Please take note:

In case you missed it, you can watch CAGW President Tom Schatz’s appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning online. In the weekly “Pork Watch” segment, Tom and CNBC host Joe Kernen discussed the record $2.3 billion loan the Federal Railroad Administration is considering granting to the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) at the behest of Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), a former lobbyist for DM&E.

As Tom wrote to you last week, this corporate welfare handout is a poor credit risk for taxpayers. DM&E’s current yearly revenue is less than the estimated annual service payment on the loan, and the railroad ranks last in safety among the nation’s 43 largest railroad companies!

If you haven’t already, please take a moment right now to tell your U.S. Representative and Senators to oppose this special-interest giveaway that is so risky it’s being compared to the $1.5 billion Chrysler bailout in 1980!

Tom Schatz can be seen every Wednesday on “Squawk Box” at approximately 7:50 a.m. EST. (Please note all media appearances are subject to change.)

***

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation’s largest taxpayer watchdog group with over one million members and supporters nationwide. It is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

For more information about CAGW, visit our website at www.cagw.org. Make a tax-deductible contribution today to support CAGW’s waste-fighting efforts that have helped save taxpayers $898 billion!

Help spread the word about CAGW and the waste in Washington. Forward this message to a friend.

This is another one of those reasons why we must elect principled people. I am so tired of hearing about choosing the person that will most likely get elected. Why not try for the person most qualified for the job? What happened to that principle? No more RINO’s. Not from me.