The American dream is built on access to high-quality, affordable educational opportunities. Maintaining our nation's investments in higher education is also critical to making our economy strong and competitive in today's global economy.

Making college more affordable has been one of the top priorities of Democrats in Congress and President Obama in recent years. Under Democratic leadership, Congress has passed legislation to boost funding for Pell Grants, encourage colleges to rein in tuition costs, simplify the federal student aid application process, expand college access and support for low-income and minority students, and provide consumers with greater information to protect student borrowers and prohibit conflicts of interest between universities and lenders.

Congress also recently passed a law to make the federal student loan program more efficient and accountable to taxpayers. By eliminating subsidies for private lenders making government-guaranteed loans and instituting direct lending from the government to students, Congress eliminated the middleman, lowered interest rates, and used the savings to extend additional loans to students, expand access to community colleges, and enhance programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The student loan reform law also eased loan repayment requirements for some borrowers, instituting new programs offering loan forgiveness for teachers and other public servants and income-based repayment for all borrowers. These strategic federal investments in education and student aid have made it possible for future generations of Americans to obtain a college education, regardless of their income.

Unfortunately, in the current Congress, Republican leaders have put our investments in higher education – particularly the Pell grant program – on the chopping block. I believe cutting the very investments that will ensure our nation's long-term economic success is penny-wise and pound-foolish and have fought against them as a member of the House Appropriations Committee. Our education and research system is our greatest competitive advantage: it gives American workers the tools they need to compete and win in the global economy and to out-innovate our competitors. I will continue to fight for these programs, which have been an integral part of our success story in the Triangle and throughout the country.

Additional Information

• Please click here for resources on financial aid and applying to college, and here to go to the U.S. Department of Education's website on federal student aid.

College Rankings and Guides

• US News Online - search for schools based on tuition, name, specialties, and distance from home
• Kaplan Online - information on taking the PSAT, SAT, admissions, financial aid, and graduate school
• Princeton Review Online - information on SAT, college rankings from tuition cost to parties
• Yahoo College Search - search by college name, major, state or by tuition

As an educator, I believe the strength of our education system is derived from the dedicated men and women who teach our children. We should be taking steps to attract and retain the best teachers and to provide them with the resources and support they need to succeed. I have consistently supported professional development for teachers, and I am proud that North Carolina ranks highest in the nation in terms of the number of National Board Certified Teachers.

Although there are some programs already in place to support our teachers, such as the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, there is more that can be done to support educators and keep them in the classroom. That's why I have sponsored two major education initiatives of my own to help address the enormous challenge of teacher recruitment and retention. My Teaching Fellows Act, based on the successful North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program, would encourage our nation's best and brightest students to become teachers. Major provisions of this initiative were enacted as part of legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act in 2008. My Keep Teachers Teaching Act is designed to unleash innovation at the state and local level to solving the teacher retention issue, and would support promising retention programs such as the Kenan Fellows Program.

I have also consistently cosponsored legislation that would expand, increase and make permanent the tax deduction for educators' out-of-pocket classroom supply expenses, and would extend the tax deduction to cover out-of-pocket professional development expenses.

Additional Information

• U.S. Department of Education information for teachers
• U.S. Department of Education information on Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs

Our country's main statue providing federal support for public education, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), is overdue for renewal. Formerly an area of bipartisan cooperation, it has fallen victim to shifts in partisan attitudes, mainly on the Republican side; a sizable number of Republican members now want to abolish the Department of Education altogether. The prospects for ESEA renewal are thus highly uncertain, and we have depended on year-to-year appropriations to keep vital programs going.

The most recent ESEA reauthorization, known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), was intended to bring greater accountability to public education. Under the law, each school is held accountable for the average score of its students on a variety of standardized tests, as well as the scores of each of nine subgroups of students. I supported the bipartisan NCLB Act in 2002 because it was intended to help state and local school districts and teachers diagnose shortcomings, apply remedies, and improve student learning. Perhaps ESEA's most important component is so-called Title One funding, which supports schools in low income areas to close the achievement gap. NCLB fell short of its potential during the George W. Bush administration, when the needed remedies were underfunded and, in too many places, it simply resulted in labeling schools "failing."

Tests are imperfect instruments for measuring learning. There is a danger that instructors will "teach to the test" in order to show the needed aggregate proficiency rates, rather than providing a framework for conceptual understanding and instilling in students a real love of learning. I have heard from many parents, teachers, and education leaders in the Fourth District who are concerned about the unintended consequences of NCLB, and I will be keeping these concerns in mind if and when Congress debates its reauthorization. In the meantime, I am hopeful that initiatives such as President Obama's Race to the Top initiative will promote greater reforms and innovation within the current ESEA framework. In 2010, North Carolina was awarded $400 million in Race to the Top funding to promote the state's plans to raise student test scores, increase high school graduation rates, and better prepare graduates for college and careers. The state's plan focuses on ensuring great teachers and principals; setting statewide standards and assessments; making data-driven decisions; and improving the lowest achieving schools.

As your Member of Congress, I will continue to work with the President and my colleagues to improve our schools and to give every American child a fair chance to fulfill their potential.

Additional Information:

• U.S. Department of Education information on reauthorizing ESEA can be found here.
• House Committee on Education and the Workforce
• Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
• North Carolina Race to the Top 

In 1975, Congress opened the doors of learning to millions of children by enacting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which mandated that children with special education needs must have access to the same public education opportunities that every other child enjoys. IDEA both authorizes federal funding for special education and related services and, for states that accept these funds, establishes principles under which special education and related services are to be provided.

At the time IDEA was enacted, it was estimated that it would cost, on average, about twice as much to educate a child with disabilities as a non-disabled child. As a result, IDEA authorized the federal government to pay 40 percent of this additional cost for every special education student. Currently, the federal share of the excess cost of educating special needs children is about 17 percent, down from 19 percent in FY 2005.

IDEA was most recently reauthorized in 2004 and funding levels have been set through 2011. As Congress considers issues for a new reauthorization, I will continue fighting for adequate funding for IDEA to give our schools and students the support they need to succeed. With a growing number of students with special needs, record-high student enrollments, and a critical shortage of qualified teachers, we must make sure our public schools have the resources they need to successfully educate every student.

Additional Information:

• CRS report: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Statutory Provisions and Recent Legal Issues

Research indicates that participation in a high-quality early education program can improve success in school, as well as later in life. However, the quality of state early education programs varies widely across the country.

At the federal level, support for child care and education comes in many forms, ranging from grant programs to tax provisions. Some programs provide specific funding sources for child care services, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Social Services Block Grant, and Head Start programs, as well as education programs funded through the Early Learning Initiative.

I have been a strong supporter of the Head Start program, which has a long tradition of delivering high-quality services to foster the healthy development of low-income children. This program works because it takes a comprehensive approach to early childhood development, promoting the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development of children. Numerous studies indicate that every dollar spent on Head Start saves taxpayers four to seven dollars in future educational, criminal justice, and welfare expenses. Over the course of its 40-year history, Head Start has enjoyed bipartisan support and has been expanded to permit the annual enrollment of over 900,000 children.

I believe the federal government should be doing more, not less, to make childhood development opportunities available to families. I have supported legislative efforts that would help states increase the number of qualified early educators, improve the student-teacher ratio in preschools, and increase the hours per day and weeks per year that families have access to early education.

During the next decade, the U.S. demand for scientists and engineers will expected to increase at more than double the rate for all other occupations. In order to develop a more highly-skilled and better trained workforce to strengthen America's foundation for an innovative and competitive economy, we must act now to devote significant additional resources to federal research, development and education initiatives.

I have been a strong supporter of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and am a member of the Congressional STEM Education Caucus. While we have many great schools, excellent teachers, and successful students in America, there are also signs that American students should be doing better in math and science. I am working with like-minded colleagues to increase exposure to STEM education and career opportunities for all students -- including underrepresented groups, such as women and girls -- and to ensure that all of our students can succeed in these fields. I have cosponsored several bills aimed at attracting students and workers to science and math careers, including legislation that would provide a tax credit incentive to encourage teachers to pursue teaching STEM subjects at elementary and secondary schools. I've also co-sponsored a bill that would establish a comprehensive approach to improving collaboration, coordination, and coherence of STEM education activities among Federal and State governments across the nation.

Our efforts to produce STEM literate children will also require well-trained and highly qualified STEM teachers. I have strongly supported existing federal programs to encourage bright teachers to teach in STEM fields. I helped pass legislation making community college students eligible for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program and, and have remained a champion of the Math and Science Partnership program.