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Education
As the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees Federal discretionary education funding, I continue to review and advance methods to improve our nation's education system. When I became Chairman in Fiscal Year (FY) 1996, the level of discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education was $23 billion. For FY05, I strongly advocated for an allocation of $56.6 billion in discretionary education funding, an increase of $33.6 billion or 146% since FY96.
I supported enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, which was approved with bipartisan support, in the 107th Congress (2001-2002). I support the No Child Left Behind Act as appropriate in ensuring that students will no longer be allowed to move from grade to grade regardless of whether they are learning at grade level. However, I strongly believe there needs to be state flexibility in the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Each state has the knowledge of the particular challenges facing its education system, including accounting for students with learning, emotional and English language difficulties.
As Chairman, I invited superintendents from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. to testify before the U.S. Secretary of Education at a hearing on March 4, 2004. The testimony of the superintendents was critical to provide insight on state flexibility and implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. I will continue to work with Pennsylvania educators to ensure that they have a voice in the current process.
The other element in ensuring success under the No Child Left Behind Act is funding. Under my leadership, the FY05 Omnibus Appropriations bill included $24.4 billion to help implement the No Child Left Behind Act, an increase of 40.1% since the Act was passed by the Congress in December 2001. I also worked to provide $12.7 billion for Title I grants to school districts, which comprises the largest part of the No Child Left Behind Act. Title I grant funds have increased 45.4% since the Act was passed in 2001.
I have also worked to secure additional support for Pennsylvania’s disadvantaged school districts. To this end, during the past four fiscal years, I have included a total of $78 million for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to assist low-performing school districts.
In the 108th Congress (2003-2004), I voted for the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003,” which reauthorizes state and local aid for special education and related services for children with disabilities. This Act passed the Senate by a vote of 95-3 and was signed into law on December 3, 2004. Prior to passage of the bill, I was one of only ten Republicans to support an amendment offered by Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Hagel, which would have increased funding provide 40% of the excess costs associated with providing special education to students with disabilities by 2011. Unfortunately, the amendment failed.
To help states meet the goals of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, I supported an allocation of $10.6 billion for Special Education Grants to states in FY05, which is an increase of $522 million, or 5.2% over FY04. At this level of funding, I will have worked to increase the Federal contribution to educate children with disabilities to 19% of the national average spending per student. Since FY96, increased appropriations have raised the Federal contribution from 7.3% to 19% in FY05.
I am committed to ensuring that every child has access to the quality of education necessary for success in the 21st Century. I have worked in my capacity as Chairman to highlight the importance of early childhood development programs. In FY05, I worked to secure $6.8 billion for Head Start, which is an important community-based program providing educational, nutritional and medical services to low-income preschoolers. Since FY96, Federal funding for Head Start has increased from $3.6 billion to $6.8 billion, or 89%. I am pleased to note that, according to the most recent data, 909,608 children were enrolled in Head Start in FY03. In the 109th Congress, the Senate is expected to consider the reauthorization of the Head Start program.
Additionally, the Higher Education Act, which authorizes the Federal government’s student financial aid programs, is expected to be reauthorized in this Congress. Throughout my tenure as Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee, I have battled, along with Senator Tom Harkin, to increase the maximum award for Pell grants. This critical program makes post-secondary education more affordable by providing grant aid to an anticipated 5.3 million students in 2005. Today, the maximum Pell grant award is $4,050. Since FY96, the maximum award has risen $1,580, or 63%, from $2,470 to $4,050.
I have worked to increase funding for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants program and the Federal Work Study program, which are authorized under the Higher Education Act. The Federal Work Study Program, which provides part-time jobs on campus for students in need of financial aid, has increased from $616.5 million in FY96 to $990.3 million in FY05, an increase of $373.8 million or 60.6%. Under my leadership, funding for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants program has increased from $583.4 million in FY96 to $778.7 million in FY05, an increase of $195.3 million or 33.5%. This campus-based program provides supplemental assistance to Pell Grant recipients based on their additional financial aid needs.
The Higher Education Act also authorizes programs that provide services and incentives to disadvantaged students to help increase their secondary or postsecondary educational attainment. I have taken the lead in securing funding for GEAR UP, which provides tutoring, financial aid counseling and college scholarships to low-income students from the seventh grade through high school graduation. Since the program began in FY99, I have consistently supported increasing funding from the initial $120 million to $306.5 million in FY05, an increase of $186.5 million or 155.4%. In addition, I have advocated for support of the TRIO program, which predominantly provides student support services to participants who are from low-income families and are first-generation college students. Federal funding for the TRIO program has increased from $463 million in FY96 to $836.5 million in FY05, an increase of $373.5 million or 80.1%.
I have been a strong advocate for our nation’s education systems and the students and families that are served by them, and I will continue be in the future.
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