WASHINGTON — The nation might have missed a chance to improve education during a record period of economic growth in the 1990s, a mistake that should not be repeated by the new Bush administration, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, asserts in the weekly Republican radio address.

Boehner

        “The widening of the education gap between students rich and poor, Anglo and minority, is a national emergency — and like all national emergencies, it demands a united response,” Mr. Boehner argues in a draft of his speech scheduled for broadcast today.

        Mr. Boehner, the new chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said President-elect Bush has shown in Tex as that student performance can improve when standards are raised and local educators have the flexibility to test different teaching methods.

        He said Congress should address education reform this year with debates on student and teacher testing, greater state and local authority, and by giving parents vouchers to move their children out of failing public schools.

        Mr. Boehner also wished President Clinton and his family well as he leaves office and praised the president's work with Congress on a balanced federal budget.

        Mr. Clinton was expected to discuss law-enforcement and welfare reforms in his final weekly radio address.

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