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Child Nutrition Legislation Supporters Urge Passage: News of the Day

By
Belknap, Andra
 on September 9, 2010 3:07 PM
As children return to classrooms to begin the new school year, nutrition advocates are speaking out about child nutrition legislation before the House of Representatives. The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act was passed by the Education and Labor Committee in July and would greatly increase access to school meal programs, both during school and in after-school and community-based programs.

Vicki B. Escara, President and CEO of Feeding America, published an op-ed in the Huffington Post urging passage of Chairman Miller’s bill. She wrote:

“… for low-income families who struggle to overcome hunger, back-to-school season brings an end to the strain of putting additional meals on the table when the free and reduced-price school breakfasts and lunches are unavailable.”

…

“Every child in America should have enough to eat regardless of the season -- summer, fall, winter or spring. Children need access to nutritious food year-round, so why shouldn't the programs that serve them be able to operate year-round? With a gap of nearly 17 million children unserved by summer feeding programs, we ought to do everything we can to make it easier for food banks and other community-based providers to reach children in the summer. Passage of Chairman Miller's child nutrition bill is an important first step to making sure no child goes hungry next summer.”

José Andrés, an internationally-known chef and owner of ThinkFoodGroup, also commented on the need to pass childhood nutrition legislation in a column published in the Atlantic:

“The lunch ladies, the administrators, the people who feed our kids want to do better. But they are limited by one thing: a lack of money. The federal government spends about $2.51 per child per day to feed them lunch. Out of that you have to pay for labor, facilities, and administrative costs, leaving about a dollar for food. Imagine trying to feed yourself a nutritious meal every day with only a dollar. Very difficult. Now imagine trying to do that while satisfying the picky palate of a typical school kid.

“Right now, we have an opportunity to change that. Every five years, Congress takes another look at the issue when the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act is voted on, opening the door for discussion about possible improvements to these programs as well as increased funding. Among other things, the CNR provides money for and sets nutritional guidelines school for school lunch programs. Every five years it comes up for renewal. It is the most important piece of legislation that no one has ever heard of.”

The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act increases the federal reimbursement rate for the first time in 30 years.

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News of the Day: First Lady Urges Quick Passage of Child Nutrition Legislation

By
Belknap, Andra
 on August 3, 2010 1:46 PM
First Lady Michelle Obama refers to pending child nutrition legislation as “a major opportunity to make our schools and our children healthier… an opportunity we haven't seen in years, and one that is too important to let pass by” and urges swift passage of a child nutrition bill in a recent Washington Post op-ed. The Education and Labor Committee approved the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act on a bipartisan vote in July. The First Lady continues:

“We owe it to the children who aren't reaching their potential because they're not getting the nutrition they need during the day. We owe it to the parents who are working to keep their families healthy and looking for a little support along the way. We owe it to the schools that are trying to make progress but don't have the resources they need. And we owe it to our country -- because our prosperity depends on the health and vitality of the next generation.”

Hers is a sentiment shared by many – that there is no more important investment we can make for our country’s future than feeding our children healthy meals. Television host and author Rachael Ray has also been vocal on the issue, appearing with Chairman George Miller to introduce the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act and publishing an op-ed in today’s issue of the Albany Times-Union. Ray also pushes for quick passage of a child nutrition bill and argues passionately in favor of the legislation:

“Nearly 17 million American children struggle against hunger. For these children, school food programs are sometimes the only access they have to food. At the same time, one in three American kids is overweight or suffering from childhood obesity, because their families simply cannot afford fresh, nutritious foods. School food systems are one of the few ways we have to provide good nutrition to all of our kids.
…

“Child hunger and malnutrition in the world's wealthiest nation is morally unacceptable. The U.S. economy loses at least $28 billion per year due to poor school performance and long-term health care spending due to poor child nutrition. We can pay now or pay a much greater price in every sense later.”

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News of the Day: Recovery Act Early Education Funds Benefit Communities Nationwide

By
Belknap, Andra
 on July 29, 2010 2:16 PM
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act continues to benefit communities around the country. Today, The Record of Hackensack, New Jersey reported that their community is set to receive $1.3 million in recovery funding for early childhood education programs. The article titled Programs for children and babies get stimulus boost, stated:

“Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will contribute more than $1.3 million in additional federal support in providing vital services to Bergen County families, according to the Bergen County Community Action Partnership (BCCAP). The stimulus funds have allowed for the expansion of both Head Start to 40 additional families and the inception of Early Head Start for 72 families.”

The Head Start programs provide early childhood education services to over one million children, and families and workers depend on these programs not only for invaluable early education, but for employment. Nancy Griner, Head Start Director for the area, attested to the benefits of early education in the article:

"This holistic program includes education, health, mental health, social services, and nutrition services for children from income eligible families. Also, additional special services are provided for children with disabilities. We focus on the total development of the child, while creating a more stable family environment."

Head Start programs are services that our communities cannot afford to lose, especially in tough economic times -- and this isn’t a story that’s limited to New Jersey. Local papers around the United States have written on the importance of Recovery Act funds for early education in their communities, including UNR News in Nevada, The New Mexico Independent, and Oklahoma’s The Express-Star. The story of the Recovery Act’s success is being told in communities nationwide.

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Supporters of the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act

By
Kittredge, Betsy Miller
 on June 22, 2010 11:58 AM
The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act (H.R. 5504) will dramatically improve children’s access to nutritious meals, enhance the quality of meals children eat both in and out of school and in child care settings, implement new school food safety guidelines and, for the first time, establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools.

Supporters of H.R. 5504 include:

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Rachael Ray and Members of Congress Speak About Importance of Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Child Nutrition

By
Kruger, Mike
 on June 10, 2010 2:30 PM | Comments (1)
Earlier today, daytime talk show host and author, Rachael Ray joined a bipartisan group of Members of Congress to speak about the importance of the new Improving Nutrition for America’s Children. The legislation, which reauthorizes the Child Nutrition Act, will dramatically improve the quality of meals children eat both in and out of school and in child care settings, support community efforts to reduce childhood hunger and, for the first time, establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools.  Nationally, one-third of children are either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

“We are on the brink of a national crisis with our children’s health. The barriers that prevent children from accessing quality meals mean more children are at risk of obesity and poor nutrition and this has serious implications for the health and well-being of the future of this country,” said Miller. “This legislation creates a nutritional safety net for millions of children who rely on the child nutrition programs by meeting children’s nutritional needs at every step along the way -- in school, on the weekends and during the summer. Child hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation”

Learn more about the Improving Nutrition for America's Children.

Watch Chairman Miller's statement.



Watch Rachael Ray express her support for this bill.



To view additional excerpts of the press conference visit the Education and Labor YouTube page.

Photos of the event are below the fold.


Created with flickrSLiDR.


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Committee to Hold Hearing on GAO Investigation of Head Start Grantees

By
Kittredge, Betsy Miller
 on May 11, 2010 3:36 PM
On Tuesday, May 18th, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine an investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office that reveals reportedly fraudulent behavior by some Head Start grantees regarding enrollment and eligibility processes.

Head Start, a successful early childhood education program, has served more than 25 million children since its inception in 1965. There are over one million children enrolled in Head Start programs across the country.

After learning about the GAO investigation into some Head Start grantees, Chairman Miller wrote a letter to Secretary Sebelius asking her to review the claims of fraud.

WHAT:          
Hearing on “Examining GAO's Review of Selected Head Start Grantees”

WHO:            
Gregory D. Kutz, Managing Director of Forensic Audits and Special Investigations, GAO, Washington, DC
Carmen R. Nazario, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC


WHEN:         
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
1:30 p.m. EDT
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Note: This hearing will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website. 

News of the Day: Education is by far the biggest recipient of stimulus funding

By
Kruger, Mike
 on March 2, 2010 3:30 PM


Transcript:

Brooke: So talking about education, we have Josh Levs over at the stimulus desk. Josh, I know you have this first point you want to make about how the stimulus money has affected education jobs in particular.

Josh:  When people hear stimulus a lot of think of shovel ready jobs on the street. Education is by far the biggest recipient of jobs from that massive pile of stimulus funding that came out a year ago. Let's do this. I want to see how you can get this information yourself. Show some of it right now. We're going to go to the web cnn.com. What we've got up for you here, we link you to recovery.gov, the main web page that shows people lots of information about the spending. What we've done in here is we've gone to the section called agency reported data. I'll go fast with this, but basically when you look at these words over here, it shows you who gets the most money to go out and spend from the stimulus. Department of Education is way up there. It is the third thing on the whole list. Let's go to the full screen that's going to show the jobs breakdown. Check that out. Stimulus jobs, top agencies no comparison. You have ten times more education jobs that have been funded by the stimulus than those shovel ready jobs on the street, about 410,000 education jobs funded by the stimulus and when it comes to the transportation jobs so far, 41,000. So Brooke, this is a good example of what we've been seeing in this respect. This is place in which a lot of the stimulus money is getting teachers back to work. People can argue about whether this is a good use of public money about, all the debt we're going to pay and all the borrowed dollars but the fact is, right now there have been billions of dollars that have gone into education to pay for teachers to be in schools, Brooke.

Brooke: My mom was a teacher. We need our educators, don't we? Give me an example of how one state was affected by all of this.

Josh:  One that's particularly interesting. We often like to look at Michigan because Michigan is by far the most struggling state out there. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate. We know what's been going on with Detroit and in general with this economic slump so much of the country is suffering through. You're seeing right there, Michigan got $2.8 billion for its schools. When we look at the job creation, you've got numbers telling us they have funded more than 9,000 jobs in education from that stimulus money so far. And you know, the stimulus money, most of it still has yet to be spent. We are going to be seeing all over the country more and more examples of teachers being paid for out of that will stimulus pile. Ultimately really, one of the big questions about all this is sure, it's a good use of money. You can often look at funds and say it's good to have teachers in schools.

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On One-Year Anniversary, a Look at the Recovery Act’s Successes Across the Nation

By
Belknap, Andra
 on February 17, 2010 10:05 AM
One year ago today, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was enacted with the goal of keeping our recession from turning into a deeper Depression, and saving and creating jobs. A year later, it’s clear that the Recovery Act pulled our economy back from the brink of financial collapse, protected teachers, policemen, firefighters, and other vital workers from losing their jobs, and made strategic investments in education reforms and worker training that will help lay the groundwork for a long-term economic recovery. Newspapers from coast to coast have documented how the Recovery Act has helped students, workers and families:
PROTECTING EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS OF ALL AGES

“A year later, it’s clear that the stimulus package averted tens of thousands of teacher layoffs nationwide, and mitigated deep cuts to school programs.” [Education Week, 1/5/10]

“Public colleges and universities had one of their leanest years on record in 2008-09 and only a $2.4 billion infusion of federal stimulus money staved off fiscal disaster…” [Washington Post, 2/12/10]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Recovery Act funding saved tens of thousands of public school teacher jobs. “In California, the stimulus was credited with saving or creating 62,000 jobs in public schools and state universities. Utah reported saving about 2,600 teaching jobs. In both states, education jobs represented about two-thirds of the total stimulus job number. Missouri reported more than 8,500 school jobs, Minnesota more than 5,900. In Michigan, where officials said 19,500 jobs have been saved or created, three out of four were in education.” [San Francisco Gate, 10/13/09]

EL PASO, TX: Recovery funding of nearly $1 million for Pell Grants allowed two Anamarc Educational Institute campuses, in El Paso and Santa Teresa, to increase enrollment by over 10% while continuing to offer financial aid to their students. “Last year, 88 percent of Anamarc students were receiving Pell Grants.” [El Paso Times, 11/22/09]

SEATTLE, WA: Recovery dollars will allow 108 more Washington State kids to enroll in Head Start programs. The funding boost will also create 14 new jobs in early education. [Seattle Post Globe, 2/4/10]

LEBANON, PA: Pennsylvania’s Lebanon County schools received 1.5 million in Recovery Act aid, allowing the area to improve special education programs and bolster Title 1 expenditures, a program that helps low-income students improve their math and reading skills. [LD News, 1/30/2010]

WALNUT CREEK, CA: $3.7 million in recovery funds will allow Cal State Long Beach, a California public university, to add about 600 courses in the fall- a move that will restore many cut classes. CSU Chancellor welcomed the aid, saying, "Hopefully this will help to alleviate some of the shortages in classes, and students will be able to make faster progress toward their degree." [Contra Costa Times, 2/8/10]


TRAINING WORKERS FOR CAREERS OF THE FUTURE AND PROVIDING YOUNG AMERICANS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE

“The last year has shown — just as economists have long said — that aid to states and cities may be the single most effective form of stimulus.” [New York Times, 2/17/10]

OMAHA, NE: The state of Nebraska was awarded $4.8 million in recovery dollars that will fund “job training in wind energy, biofuels and sustainable, environmentally friendly building technologies”. The money is expected to provide 860 Nebraskans with job training. [Nebraska World Herald, 1/22/10]

LEWES, DE: A Recovery Act grant of over $150,000 saved an endangered Delaware-based Americorps program, the AmeriCorps Youth Conservation Corps. The summer program employs teenagers “to perform maintenance and restoration work” at the treasured Cape Henlopen State Park. [Cape Gazette, 6/25/09]

WHITTIER, CA: California’s Mt. St. Antonio College received $2.2 million in recovery funds “to train more than 100 displaced workers for new jobs” in expanding industries including health care, biotech, green industries, aviation and manufacturing sectors. [Whittier Daily News, 2/12/10]

HACKENSACK, NJ: New Jersey’s Passaic Community College received $4.5 million in Recovery Act funding that will train workers for new positions in health care and education. A local reporter noted, “Local non-profit agencies and hospitals will partner with the college to train people for more specialized health care jobs as part of the program.” [NorthJersey.com, 2/13/10]

HONOLULU, HI: Due to recovery funding, “53 [Hawaii] jobs were created in the AmeriCorps community volunteer program”. [Honolulu Advertiser, 2/2/10]

KETCHUM, ID: The state of Idaho received nearly $6 million in Recovery Act aid to “to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other ‘green” occupations. In response to the funding, Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter said, “This grant will give Idaho workers access to training in green industries that will lead to career-path jobs in energy efficiency and renewable energy.” [Idaho Mountain Express, 1/26/10]

Key Investments in the President’s 2011 Education Budget

By
Kittredge, Betsy Miller
 on February 4, 2010 3:45 PM
President Obama’s 2011 Education Budget continues an impressive funding commitment in education. His budget sends the right message about balancing incentives with resources – spurring major school improvements and providing the resources needed to make them.

The President’s proposed budget includes  a request for $49.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education, a $3.5 billion increase from last year’s request. It streamlines programs through consolidation and program elimination with an eye on program effectiveness. Specifically, the President’s budget will:

Drive Reform and Innovation

Transforming elementary and secondary education by introducing positive incentives and rewards to spur reform:
  • $1.35 billion to continue the  Race to the Top program;
  • $500 million for Investing in Innovation;
  • $261 million for Research, Development, and Dissemination ($60.5 million increase over FY 2010);
  • $65 million for Statewide Data Systems ($6.75 million increase over FY 2010);
  • $1.0 billion in contingency funding to support newly reauthorized ESEA initiatives.

Strengthen Teaching and Leadership

Rewarding teacher and principal excellence, including nearly $5 billion for five new programs:
  • $3.9 billion for Excellent Instructional Teams programs, which include the following 3 new programs:
    • $2.5 billion for Effective Teachers and Leaders State formula Grants; 
    • $950 million for a competitive Teacher and Leader Innovation Fund program;
    • $405 million for a competitive Teacher and Leader Pathways program;
  • $1 billion for three new effective teaching initiatives focusing on literacy, STEM and interdisciplinary subjects.

Improve School Climates

Promoting healthier and safer learning environments for students by investing:
  • $210 million for Promise Neighborhoods;
  • $1.16 billion for 21st Century Community Learning;
  • $410 million for Successful, Safe and Healthy Students.

Support Early Learning

Ensuring children continue to have access to early learning opportunities and child care:
  • $1 billion for Head Start – allows current levels of services to be maintained;
  • $1.6 billion for Child Care and Development Block Grant Program funding an additional 235,000 kids.

Close Achievement Gaps

Supporting high expectations, increased accountability for all students, and the development of high quality standards and assessments:
  • $14.5 billion for Title I, part A, renamed College and Career Ready Students;
  • $11.8 billion for IDEA, Grants to States, a $250 million increase over the FY 2010 level, excluding ARRA funds, which would maintain the federal contribution for special  education at 17 percent;
  • $800 million for the English Learner Education, a $50 million increase over FY 2010;
  • $445 million for State Assessments, renamed Assessing Achievement, a $39.2 million increase over FY 2010.

Support Higher Education

Increasing access to higher education by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,710 for the 2010-2011 award and linking future increases of the maximum award to the Consumer Price Index. In addition, proposals to:
  • Convert Pell into a mandatory entitlement program;
  • Cap payments under Income-Based Repayment at 10 percent of income and forgiving balances after 20 years.
  • Reinforce the Administration’s support for SAFRA which includes among other things:
    • Elimination of FFEL and a switch to Direct Loans; 
    • $2.5 billion for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority-serving institutions;
    • An expansion of the Perkins Loan program to provide $6 billion in new loan volume;
    • $10.6 billion for an investment in community colleges; 
    • $9.3 billion for an Early Learning Challenge Fund to provide competitive grants to states to improve early learning programs.

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Temporary Extensions of the Child Nutrition Programs

By
Kruger, Mike
 on October 6, 2009 5:00 PM
Today, the House is expected to vote on the Agriculture Appropriations Conference Report which includes temporary extensions of expiring provisions of the laws governing the child nutrition programs resulting in a cost savings of $150 million. These savings will be reinvested to meet critical child nutrition needs across the country to ensure more children have year-round access to healthy and nutritious meals at school, in child care settings, and during the summer months.

Ensuring More Children Have Access to Healthy and Nutritious Meals

ENSURING IMPROVED ACCESS AND QUALITY OF MEALS FOR ALL CHILDREN

Children should not have to go hungry – and they should have access to nutritious foods that will help them thrive physically and academically. In this difficult economic climate, the federal child nutrition programs have an increasingly important role to play in providing children with healthy meals while at school, childcare, or during the summer months. Over 32 million children each year are served by these programs. For many children, these meals may be the only healthy foods they receive during the day.

Research shows that children who are hungry have a harder time paying attention and learning in the classroom. Low-income children are also at greater risk of going hungry or becoming overweight, during the summer months. Providing children with access to healthier, nutritious foods at school, child care, summer programs, or other educational settings is vital to our efforts to help all children learn, succeed and grow.

To ensure that children can continue to benefit from these programs and services, Congress will temporarily extend expiring provisions of the Child Nutrition Act until a more comprehensive reauthorization of the law occurs next year. This one-year temporary extension will generate a savings of $150 million, which will be reinvested to meet critical child nutrition needs across the country. These new investments will address President Obama’s and Congress’ priorities to end hunger and improve child nutrition, increase access to quality school meals, and build program capacity.
Specifically, these new investments in child nutrition will:
Expand and Improve Access to Healthy and Nutritious Meals During The Summer
Pilot projects to improve access to the Summer Food Service Program - $85 million

  • Ensures fewer children go hungry over the summer by exploring alternative methods of delivering nutrition benefits to better meet the needs of low-income children and families in rural and urban settings that may not have access to meals provided through the Summer Food Service Program.
  • Improves nutrition of low-income children during the summer months to promote healthy growth and development, so they can return to school ready to learn.

Eliminate Barriers to the School Lunch Program to Ensure More Eligible Children Are Receiving Benefits
Funding to Improve Direct Certification Systems - $25 million

  • Increases the number of eligible children enrolled in the school lunch programs by improving direct certification systems through enhanced use of technology to streamline automatic enrollment of eligible children. Direct certification systems are a critical tool to ensure eligible children have access to the school meal programs and to improve program integrity. However, significant financial and technical barriers must still be overcome to automatically enroll more eligible children.

Help States to Purchase Necessary Equipment to Store, Prepare and Serve Healthy Foods
National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants - $25 million

  • Improves the nutritional quality of school meals by providing grants to states to purchase foodservice equipment that will improve quality, efficiency, and food safety in the National School Lunch Program.
  • Builds on investments included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide equipment assistance grants to improve schools’ foodservice infrastructure.
Improve Quality of Meals, Nutrition Standards and Promote Healthy Lifestyles in Childcare Settings
Child Care Nutrition, Health and Outreach Grants - $8 million

  • Ensures more children in child care settings have access to nutritious and age-appropriate foods by providing grants to encourage states to develop state level policies, training and policy initiatives, and educational materials to improve nutrition and promote health in child care settings.
  • Requires that states allocate at least half of the award to child care institutions to improve nutrition, physical activity, and health of children in their centers and homes.

Reward states that encourage low-income moms to breastfeed
WIC Breastfeeding Promotion Bonus Awards - $5 million

  • Encourages recipient states to use funds to increase awareness though promotion campaigns, to produce materials to help encourage more mothers to breastfeed. Studies show breastfeeding provides significant benefits for infant health including increased immunity and lower risk for obesity.
  • Increases the number of mothers in the WIC program who are fully or partially breastfeeding their infants by incentivizing states with one-time breastfeeding performance bonus awards.

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Video from yesterday's floor debate on SAFRA

By
Kruger, Mike
 on September 18, 2009 11:15 AM

This afternoon, the House passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221) by a vote of 253-171. The bill ensures that higher education is more affordable at no additional expense to taxpayers – in fact, it saves money. More students will go to college, they will graduate with less debt, and the federal loan initiatives that they and their families depend upon will be strengthened for decades to come. The legislation will generate almost $100 billion in savings over the next 10 years that will be used to increase Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, and safeguard federal student loan access for families.

Speaker Pelosi:

Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA):

Chairman Miller:
“My colleague on the other side of the aisle said that this legislation is the wrong way and the wrong place to make this investment. He’s got it exactly backwards. This is the exact way to make this investment. To take the savings by cutting the subsidies to the lenders and recycling those on behalf of families and students and our community institutions so that we can expand the educational opportunities in this country. we cannot continue just to wring our hands about our competitive place in the world..we must do something about it.”

Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX):

Hinojosa:
“The legislation will increase affordability, accessibility and college completion rates particularly for first generation college low-income, minority and middle-class students. It invests $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarships to $5,550 by 2010 and 2019, $6,900 and provides low and middle income families with affordable, direct federal student loans and simplifies the application process for financial aid.”

Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ):

Andrews:
“The issues before the House tonight are these. Do you agree or disagree that the time has come to make college more affordable for men and women around this country by making Pell Grant scholarships more available, student loans less expensive and more available? I think most people would say, yes, we do agree with that.”

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) on the investments the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act makes to community colleges:

Chu:
“As a Professor for over 20 years, I know firsthand how important community colleges are to helping hard working Americans achieve their dreams. About one out of every two college students attends a community college and they are some of the hardest workers I have ever met. My students came from all walks of life - they were immigrants, single moms and laid-off workers and many of the students were the first in their families to go to college. Community colleges are the backbone of our nation’s workforce.”

Chairman Miller responds to criticism of the bill and Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) explains how this legislation reforms student loan practices for the benefit of both the taxpayer and the borrower:

Bishop:
“What we are doing is we are paying private lenders a subsidy so that they will have the privilege of lending federally originated money to their borrowers. We guarantee repayment of that money to the tune of 97% of the amount outstanding and the private lenders reap whatever interest payments are paid by the borrowers. This is a really, really good deal for private lenders. It is a deal that costs the American taxpayer approximately $8 billion to $9 billion a year that we don’t need to spend in that fashion. We can provide, We, the federal government, can provide the loan capital that students need.”

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Chairman Miller on Bloomberg TV after passage of SAFRA

By
Kruger, Mike
 on September 17, 2009 4:00 PM
Chairman Miller appeared on Bloomberg TV to talk about House passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act by a bipartisan vote of 253 to 171. He highlighted how the bill:



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News of the Day: Someday, a Bill Will Pass

By
Kruger, Mike
 on September 17, 2009 10:00 AM
Today Gail Collins in the New York Times writes an editorial about how the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act makes sense and is needed for today's American students:

Let us stop here and recall how the current loan system works:

1) Federal government provides private banks with capital.

2) Federal government pays private banks a subsidy to lend that capital to students.

3) Federal government guarantees said loans so the banks don’t have any risk.

And now, the proposed reform:

1) The federal government makes the loans.

....

If it all works out, Congress will have come a way toward fixing this problem, at least when it comes to federally financed student loans. There’s already a new law that forgives part or all of the debt for graduates who go into careers in public service. Terms will be easier for low-income debtors.

The House will vote on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act today. Stay tuned to our Twitter feed for updates on the debate and the vote.

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News of the Day: New York Times and Washington Post Editorial Boards Urge House to Pass Historic Student Aid Bill

By
Kruger, Mike
 on September 16, 2009 1:00 PM
Both the New York Times and the Washington Post editorial boards called for Congress to pass the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, H.R. 3221, this morning.

The New York Times said:

Congress has a chance, starting this week, to end the boondoggle that allows private lenders to earn a handsome subsidy for making risk-free student loans that are guaranteed by the federal government. It’s a wonderful deal for the lenders — and an emphatically bad one for the taxpayers.

The House is expected to vote on Thursday on a bill that would simplify the loan system — and save the country nearly $90 billion over the next decade — by ending the subsidy program and allowing students to borrow directly from the government through their colleges and universities. To get this done, however, lawmakers will need to see through the spin and misrepresentations that have become all too common lately.

...

Lawmakers need to put aside all the noise and pass this bill.
The Washington Post said:

EXCEPT FOR a lucky few, paying for college isn't easy. Judging from how long it has taken, neither is reforming how the government provides the loans that make higher education affordable to millions. Yet Wednesday, as the House considers a bill that promises to save taxpayers billions of dollars, it's clear that the right choice is to vote yes.

Historically, the government has kept student-loan interest rates low through two programs: one in which the feds do the lending directly; and one in which the government subsidizes private entities that offer students loans at low, set interest rates. For more than a decade, private lenders fought back attempts to end the expensive subsidy system that kept them profitable at taxpayer expense. Then came the financial crisis, during which the public-private system fell apart, and the election of President Obama, who is intent on getting rid of the private middlemen.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), if the government directly financed all federally sponsored student loans, it would save $80 billion over 10 years. House Democrats have advanced a version of the president's plan that will probably get a vote in the House Thursday; the measure would put those savings into a range of worthy programs, from aid for community colleges to school renovation to larger Pell grants.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will be considered on the House floor today and tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates.

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News of the Day: Early childhood programs pay off

By
Kruger, Mike
 on September 14, 2009 10:15 AM
The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star wrote an editorial last week about the importance of investing in early learning.

Pay heed to local hard-headed law enforcement professionals who deal with the worst that society has to offer on a daily basis.

Speaking out in support of increased funding for early childhood education this week were Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady, Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey and his chief deputy Joe Kelly.

"It's a concept that makes complete sense to all of us in this line of work," Kelly said. "The mission is validated by research."

Studies show a return of as much as $13 for every dollar invested in care and learning systems for disadvantaged children, according to Jen Hernandez of the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation.

The return comes in the form of savings in the cost of operating the criminal justice system, welfare, schools and other public systems. Research shows that participants in early childhood programs are as much as 29 percent more likely to graduate from high school and 40 percent less likely to repeat grades or be placed in special education.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will invest $1 billion each year in competitive grants to challenge states to build comprehensive, high quality early learning systems for children birth to age 5. It will also:

  • Build an effective, qualified, and well-compensated early childhood workforce by supporting more effective providers with degrees in early education and better compensation, and providing sustained, intensive, classroom-focused professional development to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood providers
  • Best practices in the classroom by implementing research-based early learning and development standards aligned with academic content standards for grades K-3.
  • Promote parent and family involvement by developing outreach strategies to parents that will help them support their children’s development.
  • Fund quality initiatives that improve instructional practices, programmatic practices, and classroom environments that promote school readiness.
  • Quality standards reform that moves toward pre-service training requirements for early learning providers, and adoption of developmentally appropriate standards for teacher-child ratios and group size.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will be on the House floor for debate and a vote this week. Learn more about it.

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News of the Day: Should Schools Use Restraints on Students?

By
Kruger, Mike
 on July 24, 2009 11:30 AM
Parade Magazine will run a story in tomorrow's print edition (available online now) highlighting the use and abuse of seclusion and restraint techniques in schools. Parade reports:

Across the country each year, thousands of schoolchildren—especially disabled ones—are restrained or isolated for misbehaving. The Government Accountability Office reported more than 33,000 incidents of restraint or seclusion last year at schools in Texas and California, two of only six states that track such data. Nineteen states have no regulations at all regarding the use of restraint and seclusion in schools.
The Committee held a hearing in May on the findings of the GAO report and to hear testimony from parents of children that had been abused through the use of restraint techniques. The hearing generated considerable press coverage and Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, pledged to asking all state school chiefs to submit their plans for using seclusion, restraint and other practices for physical intervention in their schools.

“Children’s safety has to be our number one concern before we begin to think about educating them and doing other things,” said Duncan. “And as we go into the summer and prepare for next school year I want to make sure that as we go into next school year that every state has a real clear plan as to how to do this in a way that makes sense. And doesn’t jeopardize, doesn’t endanger children.”

And again Parade says:

George Miller (D., Calif.) is working on a new set of rules that could limit the use of restraint and seclusion, provide funding to train school staff, and require communication with parents if extreme disciplinary measures are used. Says Miller: “We’re meeting with the Obama Administration and education experts about a federal action to keep kids safe and stop horrific abuses from going unchecked.”
We encourage you to read the entire Parade article and watch Chairman Miller 's recent interview on CNN about this topic.

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Chairman Miller on CNN discussing seclusion and restraint techniques

By
Kruger, Mike
 on July 22, 2009 4:00 PM | Comments (13)
Chairman George Miller was on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer last night discussing the use and abuse of seclusion and restraint techniques in schools. On May 19, 2009, the Committee held a hearing examining the abusive and deadly use of seclusion and restraint in schools. In response to the GAO report delivered at that hearing, Chairman Miller said, “The GAO’s report shows that in too many cases, a child’s life wound up being threatened even though that child was not a threat to others. This behavior, in some instances, looks like torture. The current situation is unacceptable and cannot continue.”

SAFRA: Preparing the Next Generation for a Lifetime of Success

By
Kittredge, Betsy Miller
 on July 15, 2009 10:32 AM
A key piece of President’s Obama’s education agenda is helping children enter kindergarten with the skills they need to succeed by supporting comprehensive and effective early learning programs for children from birth to age 5. The first five years of a child’s life have a lasting impact on their learning, health, and behavior. Economists, business leaders, and child development experts agree that smart investments in early education are vital if we want to close the achievement gap and ensure our children are well prepared to thrive in school and in life.

Nearly 12 million children under age 5 regularly spend time in child care arrangements and children with working mothers spend on average 36 hours per week in such settings. But currently federal and state policies for child care leave families with a patchwork system of child care with mediocre quality. Our children deserve and need better. By 4 years old, children from low-income families are already 18 months behind most other 4 year-olds. From the start, education reform should include high quality early learning opportunities from birth through age 5 to help give children what they will need to grow and succeed.

To ensure more kids reach kindergarten ready to succeed, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act includes an Early Learning Challenge Fund to increase the number of low-income children in high quality early learning settings. Specifically, the legislation will:

Invest $1 billion each year in competitive grants to challenge states to build comprehensive, high quality early learning systems for children birth to age 5 that includes:   

  • Early learning standards reform.
  • Evidence-based program quality standards.
  • Enhanced program review and monitoring of program quality.
  • Comprehensive professional development.
  • Coordinated system for facilitating screenings for disability, health, and mental health needs. 
  • Improved support to parents.
  • Process for assessing children’s school readiness.
  • Improved data systems to improve child outcomes.

Transform early learning programs by insisting upon real change in state standards and practices:

  • Build an effective, qualified, and well-compensated early childhood workforce by supporting more effective providers with degrees in early education and better compensation, and providing sustained, intensive, classroom-focused professional development to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood providers
  • Best practices in the classroom by implementing research-based early learning and development standards aligned with academic content standards for grades K-3.
  • Promote parent and family involvement by developing outreach strategies to parents that will help them support their children’s development.
  • Fund quality initiatives that improve instructional practices, programmatic practices, and classroom environments that promote school readiness.
  • Quality standards reform that moves toward pre-service training requirements for early learning providers, and adoption of developmentally appropriate standards for teacher-child ratios and group size.

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Health Care Checkup: New Study Shows Play-or-Pay Health Care Policy Won't Cause Significant Job Losses

By
Kittredge, Betsy Miller
 on July 1, 2009 4:38 PM
healthcare-check-up-dr-office.jpgA new study released today by the Economic Policy Institute that concludes that claims of massive jobs losses if a ‘play-or-pay” proposal was enacted as part of health care reform are vastly overstated. In fact, health care reform in general, based on the Obama principles, would produce significant job gains, the EPI wrote.

‘Play or pay’ policy as a part of health care reform would require that employers either provide health insurance to their workers or pay a penalty as a percentage of their payroll in order to assist low- or moderate-income families to obtain quality and affordable health care.

Under the House Tri-Committee discussion draft proposal, employers who choose not to provide basic health insurance to workers would have to pay an 8 percent penalty based on their overall payroll. Those workers would then be able to choose a plan that best meets their needs from a menu of insurance options in the national health care exchange, which would include both private plans and a public health insurance option.

The EPI also found that past studies that claim significant job losses as a result of ‘play-or-pay’ were based on proposals not on the table today in either the House or the Senate.

View the EPI analysis of ‘play-or-pay’.
 
Key Conclusions from the EPI report

  • “It is highly unlikely that a health care reform package including a play-or-pay policy will lead to job losses. On the contrary, such policy reform is likely to cause significant boost to employment.”
  • “In short: concerns over job losses from comprehensive health care reform proposals that include play-or-pay employer contribution are overstated and unfounded.” 
  • “Moreover, it is likely that the positive effects on employment from health care reform will surpass by several orders of magnitude any modest job losses caused by a play-or-pay policy considered in isolation, providing a substantial boost for the U.S. economy and U.S. workers.”

What about other studies that show significant job losses associated with play-or-pay?

  • “Prior studies instead modeled a requirement that all employers provide private health insurance to their employees. With average costs of compliance of 40% of payroll or more for employers facing such a requirement, it is not surprising that those prior studies found much larger effects on employment that would be expected from a play-or-pay policy with a cost of compliance of just 4-8% of payroll.”

More information on the Tri-Committee discussion draft.

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Rep. Dina Titus: High-Quality Child Care from Birth to Age Five is Vital to the Future Success of Our Children

By
Kittredge, Betsy Miller
 on March 19, 2009 4:47 PM
(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Dina Titus, Education and Labor Committee Member and Member of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education.)

Dina Titus.jpgWith nearly 12 million of the 18.5 million children under age five in the United States in some type of regular child care or early education setting, we must ensure that high standards are met for the care of these children.  A solid early learning foundation helps children succeed later in school, helps America compete in a global market and gives all Americans a better opportunity to succeed in life.  In short, we know that those who start earlier, do better, and stay in school longer.  

At today’s hearing, Gina Adams, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, told us that research shows that the general quality of care that children receive in our country is not adequate.  She recommended focusing our policies across the age spectrum from birth to age five, investing in efforts that support the ability of working families to access high quality services, and improving the quality of child care.
Harriet Dichter, Deputy Secretary for the Office of Child Development and Early Learning of the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Public Welfare and co-chair of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Council, stated that there isn’t just one investment or program that is the “silver bullet.”  “What matters,” said Dicther, “regardless the program, is a common framework of high standards, accountability, and sufficient investment to make a difference.”  Dichter explained that we must expand federal funding that will insist that states have research-based standards and accountability based on nationally acceptable minimums and that it is possible to have a national baseline that does not interfere with the states’ autonomy.

The Deputy Secretary pointed out that we need to develop a consistent national framework of standards.  A question I would pose to Dichter and others is how the federal government might both implement national standards and preserve states’ autonomy and creativity in programming.  Further, I would welcome her input, and those of others, as to how we might implement national accountability standards without creating a “No Child Left Behind Act” for pre-school children.  I look forward to continuing this dialogue with Dichter and others in future Committee hearings on early childhood development.

We know that children’s experiences in the first five years of life greatly influence brain architecture and chemistry in ways that can have lifelong impacts on learning, behavior, and health.  And we know that the knowledge and skills gap between children from less advantaged families and those from higher-income families is evident before elementary school.  A high-quality early education – one of the most important opportunities we can give our children – will ensure future generations’ success in school and beyond.

Today: Subcommittee Hearing on Early Childhood Education and Development

By
Kittredge, Betsy Miller
 on March 19, 2009 10:27 AM | Comments (1)
Today, the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee continues the series of hearings devoted to strengthening early childhood education with a hearing on “Improving Early Childhood Development Policies and Practices”. The hearing will further examine the early learning and child care needs of children and families, as well as collaborative state efforts and other initiatives to deliver high quality care and education to children from birth through age five.

This effort comes a week after President Barack Obama delivered his first major speech on education, in which he discussed early education as a critical part of his agenda.

Rep Kildee: Committee will work with the President to help parents and educators make the early years of children’s lives nurturing and enriching

By
Kruger, Mike
 on March 19, 2009 9:30 AM
(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Dale Kildee, Education and Labor Committee Member and Chair of the Subcommittee Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education.)

President Barack Obama has called for a reformed 21st century education system, and comprehensive early childhood education is critical to that vision. The President set a goal of ensuring that every child has access to a complete, competitive education from birth forward.

kildee.jpg
That is why Congress and the President worked together to increase funding by $2.3 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start, and by $2.1 billion for the child care and development block grant in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the appropriations bill for 2009.

Those investments will preserve and create jobs and improve access and quality for the children who need those programs. That is why I was so pleased to see that President Obama’s budget will commit significant new resources to early childhood development.

The federal budget should reflect our values as a nation.  And that is just what the President’s budget will do.

I look forward to this committee’s work with the President to help parents and educators make the early years of children’s lives nurturing and enriching. Ensuring that children and their families have access to high-quality, comprehensive services that help the children develop cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally enables them to succeed in school and in life.

Children who receive quality early childhood education and development services do better in reading and math, and are more likely to graduate from high school, attend college, and hold higher paying jobs. The support and security that these services provide infants, toddlers and young children help their brains develop in the early years and set the foundation – literally – for later development and learning.

Last Congress, we reauthorized the Head Start Act to prioritize teacher quality and Early Head Start. I was proud to have been the chief sponsor of that bipartisan reauthorization along with Chairman Miller, Mr. Castle, Mr. Ehlers, and others. The committee also reported my colleague Ms. Hirono’s PRE-K Act.

We took some important steps.

But meeting the goal that we share with President Obama is about more than any one program. It’s about ensuring that wherever children are, there are high standards, and the resources and accountability to ensure those standards are met.

As a father, grandfather, and former teacher, I know that is the key to their success and our success as a nation.

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Rep. Hirono: We Must Encourage Investments in Quality Early Education Opportunities

By
Kittredge, Betsy Miller
 on March 17, 2009 1:31 PM
(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Mazie Hirono, Education and Labor Committee Member and Member of the Subcommittee Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education.)

hirono2009-square.jpgIn today’s Education and Labor Committee hearing, we heard from experts in early education and child care from across the country.  The panel testified to the importance of investing in high quality early education and child care opportunities for children from birth to five.  We also saw that the entire panel agreed that the debate about the importance of quality early childhood education is over; study after study has shown that high quality early education does make a positive difference in a child’s life.  Children who attend good preschools are more likely to perform well in school and graduate from high school, and are less likely to commit a crime or use drugs.  With that important debate settled, we need to work with states to encourage investments in quality early education opportunities.
The states represented in today’s hearing – Nebraska, Georgia, Illinois, New York, and Kansas – have demonstrated that state and local commitments to investing in early education and child care can be successful.  As Jessie Rasmussen, vice president of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund in Nebraska, explained, “common quality standards, clear pathways to meeting research-based standards of quality, sufficient funding for not only reaching these standards but for sustaining quality operations, and flexibility in meeting family needs have been essential elements in our efforts to build a comprehensive, highly effective, birth to five early childhood system.”  Those same sentiments were echoed by other panelists who also pointed to research-based policy making and statewide collaboration as critical components of successful early education initiatives.

Other common themes we heard in today’s hearing had to do with ensuring access to high quality child care and early education opportunities, supporting families in their role as children’s first and most important teachers, and the need for improved data collection and analysis so we can learn from and improve on what we know works.  We also heard that federal early education policy should foster collaboration at the state level and allow flexibility for states, as some states are further along the spectrum of access and quality, and every state has its own strengths and cultural needs.

Many states – including my home state of Hawaii – have a lot of work ahead of us before our children will have access to high quality child care and preschools.  From what we’ve heard from our panel today, investments in early education are especially important now during this economic downturn.  As more parents lose their jobs and more homes are lost through foreclosures, we must continue to support families in providing affordable, safe, consistent learning environments for their children.
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