WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives today paved the way for the most significant federal education reforms in decades by approving a bipartisan education funding bill that closely follows H.R. 1, the No Child Left Behind Act. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) praised House appropriations leaders for following H.R. 1 closely and crafting a compromise agreement between Republicans and Democrats on education spending levels.

“This legislation reflects a reasonable and necessary compromise between Republicans and Democrats on education funding. It strikes an appropriate balance between reform and greater resources, providing significant new funds while linking them to reform,” Boehner said.

"Like H.R. 1, the spending bill passed today contains what I and others believe is more funding than necessary to implement long-overdue education reforms, but not so much that reform would be undermined," Boehner said. "Chairman Bill Young (R-FL), Congressman David Obey (D-WI), and Chairman Ralph Regula (R-OH) deserve great credit for their work, which paves the way for reforms that will improve public education for millions of America’s children."

The funding increases in the education spending bill are contingent on implementation of President Bush's education reforms, approved by the House in May as part of H.R. 1. H.R. 1 would makes states more accountable for improved student performance while providing greater flexibility for states and local schools and expanded options for parents.

Boehner, chairman of the 39-member House-Senate conference working to resolve differences between H.R. 1 and the Senate-passed version of the bill, pledged that conferees would work to target funding increases toward existing programs instead of using them to create dozens of new programs. Under H.R. 1, the overall number of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) programs would be modestly streamlined from 55 to 47, while funding would be increased for existing programs like Title I that help students who need help the most. The Senate bill, by contrast, would increase the overall number of ESEA programs from 55 to 89. (Source: Congressional Research Service)

H.R. 1 authorizes approximately $23 billion for ESEA for Fiscal Year 2002. While the House-passed bill already represents a dramatic increase over last year's level - and President Bush’s original budget request, which gave the Education Department a larger increase than any other domestic Cabinet agency - the Senate-passed bill calls for approximately $32 billion for ESEA, an increase that could undermine the reforms at the heart of the President's education reform plan.

Other highlights of the House-passed education spending bill:

• Increases Title I from the current $8.6 billion to $10.5 billion - a down payment on our shared goal of closing the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers.
  
  
• Triples funding for reading programs to $900 million, to implement the President’s Reading First initiative and help schools implement programs based on scientifically-based research.
  
  
• Increases funding for teachers programs by $1 billion, helping states and schools put a qualified teacher in every classroom.
  
  
• Increases funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Part B) by $1.4 billion over FY 2001 - continuing to move the federal government toward assuming its fair share of special education costs. Under Republican leadership in the House, IDEA funding has increased 173 percent since 1994.
  
  
• Increases Pell Grants by $1.7 billion over last year’s level and increases the maximum award to $4,000.

# # # # #