House Speaker John Boehner fought back tears Wednesday on the House floor as he advocated for his bill to reinstate the Washington D.C. school voucher program.

D.C. parents and teachers support the program, which was ended in 2009, because "they know what it was like before," he said.

"They remember living just blocks from grade schools but feeling miles away from them. And all they did was ask us to have a chance to have the same kind of education that kids down the street were getting. There's no controversial idea here. It's the American way."

School vouchers are certificates issued by the government that parents can apply towards tuition at a private school. Critics claim that the program weakens the public school system.