Legislative Accomplishments

SHAPING EDUCATIONAL POLICY

Congressman Fattah is a leader in formulating innovative education policy. His efforts have resulted in four major legislative achievements: GEAR UP, College Completion Grant, Project GRAD, and the Youth Opportunity Grants. After working to gain bi-partisan support from members of the House, Congressman Fattah scored a legislative victory when his first major education initiative, GEAR UP, was passed in 1998. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) partners students from low-income schools with colleges and universities to help build an education pipeline for students to realize their college dreams. As of FY2002, there are 251 university partnerships and 28 state programs serving nearly 1.3 million students. Policy experts point to GEAR UP as one of the most innovative educational programs.

The William H. Gray College Completion Grant is another Fattah legislative achievement designed to help nearly 18,000 low-income minority students successfully complete college. This program aims to retain college students by offering resources to help them complete college and be fully prepared for success in the workforce or in graduate school. To date, GEAR UP and the College Completion Grant have received nearly $700 million in total combined funding.

Congressman Fattah spearheaded the successful effort to establish a very significant and far-reaching partnership between the federal government, the Ford Foundation, and other public and private entities in support of the whole school reform program know as Project GRAD. This partnership resulted in an initial federal investment of $9 million FY2001, and was expanded in FY2002 to $18 million. Project GRAD is the single most effective program in the nation for turning around troubled schools.

Congressman Fattah supported the Reauthorization to the Higher Education Act, a measure that increased student aid, lowered interest rates on student loans and improved the quality of teaching in our nation’s schools. Congressman Fattah assumed a key role in the development and negotiation of portions of the Workforce Investment Partnership Act of 1998, appropriated at $5.7 billion for FY 2001. Fattah played a crucial role in the negotiations of the Youth Opportunity Grants, a section authorizing $1.1 billion over five years to direct resources to high-poverty areas, as well as increasing employment and school completion rates for low-income youth.

SUPPORTING SOUND LEGISLATION

While education continues to be at the forefront of Congressman Fattah’s legislative agenda, he has also been a prime co-sponsor of major initiatives in an array of public policy areas. In the 106th Congress, Fattah supported and co-sponsored the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a bill created to stimulate and sustain economic development in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. Fattah supported many initiatives that became public law in the 105th Congress, including: the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997, a program supporting 307 communities located in forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that provides funds and resources to help local leaders prevent drug problems affecting youth. Congressman Fattah was also a prime co-sponsor of the District of Columbia Financial and Management Assistance Act, which became public law in 1995. This measure helped the District regain its financial stability, and since its enactment the city has produced four consecutive balanced budgets.