The son of immigrants who fled communist Eastern Europe immediately after World War II, Dr. Andy Harris was as a physician at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, a medical officer in the Naval Reserve, and a state senator before coming to Congress.
Born in Brooklyn in 1957, he studied medicine at Hopkins, where he continued to practice as an anesthesiologist for nearly three decades. Andy specialized in obstetric anesthesiology.
In 1988, Andy answered a recruitment call to fill a critical need for anesthesiologists in the Naval Reserve during the Reagan administration. He went on to establish and command The Johns Hopkins Medical Naval Reserve Unit. In 1990, his unit was called up to active duty in order to assist with Operation Desert Shield (and later Operation Desert Storm) at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Harris attained the rank of Commander (O-5) before leaving the Reserves after seventeen years.
Every child should have access to a quality education, whether they are educated in a public school, private school, or at home. The best way to provide children with quality education is to have local governments determine the best curricula for their students, not through federal micromanagement. Education is not a "one size fits all" issue, and that has been the federal government's approach for too long. Education serves to prepare our students for the 21st century job market – but the job market on the Eastern Shore is different from the job market in Baltimore City, and public schools should have the freedom to tailor their curricula to the specific and unique needs of their communities.
Unfortunately, despite huge investments, not every public school is equal. Children should not be subjected to a poor-quality education because of their home address, which is why I am a strong proponent of school choice. Charter schools in Maryland have empowered parents to seek out a better education for their children, and voucher programs would enable low-income families to enroll their students in private schools if the local public school system is failing them.