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Yarmuth Receives "Outstanding New Member" Award

Friday September 21, 2007

Other Award Honorees Include Former Presidents

Yarmuth with wife, Cathy,
and son, Aaron, after
receiving the award for his work in Congress.
(Washington, DC) Yesterday, the Committee for Education Funding (CEF), the nation’s largest nonprofit and nonpartisan education coalition, honored Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) with its 2007 “Outstanding New Member” award for his work in Congress.

In her introduction of Congressman Yarmuth, Hilary Goldman, Vice President of CEF said that ordinarily “at most a new member has introduced one piece of education legislation… And to receive a New Member award, this is often enough.”

But, this year, she said, was different.  “We were stunned.  Congressman Yarmuth has exceeded all expectations for a recipient of CEF’s Outstanding new member of Congress award.”

“Education is quite simply the key to America’s long term success in the world, it is the great hope for our children and future generations, and in America, a world-class education should be a right, not a crap shoot,” Yarmuth said in his acceptance speech.  “The challenges are great, but the will to meet them, I believe is greater.”

Last week, Yarmuth served on the Conference Committee for the College Cost Reduction Act, crafting a bill that the President has vowed to sign in the coming weeks.  The legislation is the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. Bill.

The Congressman has also introduced several key education measures in his first eight months, including:
  • The Striving Readers Act, which the First Lady endorsed as a key way to promote teenage literacy.
  • Legislation to reauthorize and expand the Even Start family literacy program.
  • The Improving Classroom Learning and Student Performance Act to better asses student progress and prevent “teaching to the test.”
  • The Empowering Children with Autism through Education Act to guarantee a top notch education for students affected with autism. 
  • The College Student Success Act will ensure that students succeed in college and graduate.
  • The Revolutionizing Education through Digital Investment Act, which will maximize the benefit of technology in education.

Yarmuth has a number of other education programs in the works and has been instrumental in the reform of No Child Left Behind and the Higher Education Act.

Despite his numerous successes for increasing education opportunities, Yarmuth was deferential to the educators in the room.  “You are the heroes to our children, whether they know it or not, and it means the world to me that you have saw fit to recognize me today.”

CEF is the umbrella organization representing more than 100 education groups, including the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Parent Teacher Association.