A solid education is a foundation for success, both for our kids and for our country. As a Member of Congress, I have made it one of my top priorities to ensure all our citizens, children and adults alike, have the opportunity to receive a quality education that will allow them to succeed. I am proud to report that Congress is busy at work to make this happen.

In these tough economic times, schools are often getting hit the hardest. Deeper and deeper budget cuts in California are threatening our children’s education as well as the vitality of our future economy. We cannot put our children’s education on hold while this budget crisis is resolved; rather we must do all that we can to ensure that they continue to always receive the best education possible. This is why I was proud to vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided billions of dollars in State Stabilization, IDEA and Title 1 funding for education.

Today in California, college students are facing some of the largest tuition and fee increases in history due to crippling state budget cuts. At the federal level, we are doing everything we can to help make higher education more affordable for students and their families. In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act we included a $2500 tax credit to help students pay for higher education. The bill also increased the single largest source of student aid by the federal government, Pell Grants, by $500 for 2009 and 2010.

Additionally, last September I was proud to help pass the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act which was the largest investment ever in higher education. The bill would expand and increase Pell Grants to almost $7,000 by 2019 and extend them to over 6,800 additional students in the 23rd Congressional District. I strongly believe that we should be investing in education now more than ever to ensure our country’s strong economic future.

Congress has also made it a priority to give more children the best start possible to a good education by passing the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act. By authorizing more funding, this bill will allow more children to get the essential skills they need to a successful education. So much of education is focused on closing achievement gaps and I believe Head Start is one of the best tools to do that.

Finally, Congress has the opportunity to improve public education through the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. The reauthorization process is well underway with House and Senate Committees holding dozens of hearing to figure out where improvements need to be made. I have also done my own fact-finding, visiting schools at all grade levels up and down the Central and South Coasts. I heard directly from those working under NCLB on a daily basis – teachers, parents and administrators – about what is and what is not working. I believe changes need to be made to improve our education system and the reauthorization process is our chance to do just that.