Education

Education is an important issue for Oregonians and the future of our country. A consistent investment in our nation’s education system is necessary to make sure we keep our economy and workforce globally competitive and to ensure the well being of this country for generations to come.

The quality of our education will no doubt suffer without significant investment in our K-12 education workforce. The slow recovery of our economy has had a negative impact on Oregonians across our Congressional District. Many have lost their homes, jobs and money set aside for retirement. At a time when state budgets are tight, it is important to make sure the quality of our children’s education is sustained. A consistent investment in our education workforce is critical to the success of our public school system and to the future of economic competitiveness.

In the 111th Congress, I voted in support of an amendment to a supplemental spending bill that continues our commitment to education and the future. The amendment provided $10 billion for the Education Jobs Fund through which funds were distributed to each state through existing formulas. The Education Jobs Fund expected to help retain more than 140,000 K-12 education jobs nationwide, 1600 education jobs in the State of Oregon and approximately 315 jobs in the 5th Congressional District of Oregon. The money made available through this fund could not be used for anything other than preserving jobs for K-12 education.

This amendment also contained funding for higher education, as it appropriated an additional $4.95 billion to the need based Pell Grant Program. This funding allowed more than 8 million students to receive Pell Grants, which continues our commitment to education at all levels. These funds were also fully offset and did not contribute to the deficit.

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