Education

As the only Massachusetts Member on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman Tierney is focused on improving our children's education at all levels and strengthening the rights and protections of our nation's workforce.

Additionally, Congressman Tierney recently was elected by his colleagues to serve a leadership role on the Education and Workforce Committee. Specifically, he will serve as the Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee. This important Subcommittee has jurisdiction over all matters dealing with relationships between employers and employees including, but not limited to, the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor-Management Relations Act, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act; the Bureau of Labor Statistics; and employment-related health and retirement security including pension, health, and other employee benefits; the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); and all matters related to equal employment opportunity and civil rights in employment.

Congressman Tierney and Senator Elizabeth Warren have been working closely to help reduce student loan rates and allow the tens of millions of student loan borrowers the opportunity to responsibly refinance their loans. Click HERE to watch Congressman Tierney’s statement in support of his and Senator Warren’s bill entitled the Bank on Students Emergency Refinancing Act.

Additionally, Congressman Tierney joined Senator Elizabeth Warren in introducing the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act that would allow students to pay the same interest rate on their government loans as the big banks get from the Federal Reserve. This legislation makes an investment in our students' future as well as provides students and families across the country with real relief. For more information, please read the op-ed Senator Warren and Congressman Tierney wrote for the Boston Globe.

Educating All Children at an Early Age

Congressman Tierney is a strong advocate of early education initiatives. Knowing that an estimated 80 percent of three year olds in Massachusetts are not enrolled in a state pre-kindergarten or Head Start program, Congressman Tierney has been working to improve and expand the federal government's commitment to Head Start and Early Head Start, which are our country's primary early education programs. Studies have shown that Head Start is one of the best ways to improve child well-being, increase the educational achievement and future productivity of children, and reduce crime.

Specifically, Congressman Tierney has championed the bipartisan Strong Start for America’s Children’s Act, which would establish a new federal-state partnership providing access to high-quality prekindergarten for low and moderate income families, as well as promote access to full day kindergarten for every child. 

Strengthening Our Elementary Schools

As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Congressman Tierney maintains that it should be Congress' goal to correct aspects of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that have been generally recognized as "in need of improvement" and to ensure that enough resources are available to states and local districts for educators to actually have the opportunity to raise children's level of learning and close achievement gaps.

Congressman Tierney supports states' efforts to develop college and career-ready standards while also ensuring that states that already have high standards and high achievement, like Massachusetts, continue to receive priority access to federal funding. Congressman Tierney also believes we must increase investment in programs that recruit and retain highly qualified teachers by providing alternative pathways to the profession, and expanding professional development and mentorship opportunities to support teachers and school leaders.

Funding K-12

Congressman Tierney has long believed that there is much more that Congress must do to live up to its promise of adequately funding education. For this reason, he has supported the Keep Our Promise to America's Children and Teachers (PACT) Act, which would require complete funding for NCLB as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Making College More Affordable and Accessible

Facing skyrocketing tuitions and fees, students of all ages are struggling to find a way to pay for college. Some end up taking on substantial debt, while others put their hopes on hold or forgo higher education completely. In recognition of his work in addressing these issues (as summarized below), Congressman Tierney was the recipient of the New England Board of Higher Education Walter R. Peterson Award for Leadership.

Helping Families Meet College Costs

Throughout his time in Congress, John has worked to help reduce the debt burden of students and their families by cutting subsidized Stafford Loan interest rates in half and expanding federal loan forgiveness programs. As a lead sponsor of College Cost Reduction and Access Act, Congressman Tierney helped create both the Income Based Repayment (IBR) option for federal student loans and the Direct Loan Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which provides loan cancellation to students who agree to work in high need and public service fields for 10 years after graduation.

Maintenance of Effort Provision

As a chief architect of the State Commitment to Affordable College Education provision of the most recent Higher Education Opportunity Act, John introduced a provision (commonly known as the State Maintenance of Effort provision) that sought to hold states accountable for maintaining certain levels of support for higher education. In many states, as state appropriations have dwindled, public university tuition and fees have skyrocketed. This trend has effectively shifted the burden of funding higher education from the general public to the student. As state legislatures lower their fiscal effort or do not provide adequate support for increasing student populations, tuitions and fees subsequently rise, and as a result most federal student aid programs are tapped at higher levels further indebting ever more students and with greater average debt. Maintenance of effort is an essential component for ensuring that states are held accountable for their funding of higher education.

Pell Grants and Education Tax Credit for Middle Class Families

Additionally, Congressman Tierney has been a stalwart supporter of helping students and their families realize the dream of higher education through the expansion of Pell Grants and creation of the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides students with a $2,000 refundable tax credit for the costs of tuition and related expenses. John led the fight in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to boost the maximum Pell Grant Award by $500 to $5,550 for 2010-2011, increasing the maximum Pell award by $1,500 - or 37 percent - since the 2006-2007 school year.

Transparency and Incentives to Restrain Tuition Increases

Further, Congressman Tierney worked to include provisions in federal law that helps students and their families make better informed choices as they plan for college. These changes require the Department of Education to publish consumer-friendly information on its website about institutions' tuition net prices and average amount of financial aid awards, changes in per student spending, cost calculators, graduation rates and "Transparency Lists" which document the most expensive and least expensive schools, as well as those with the greatest percentage increase in tuition over the last 3 years. The Tierney Low Tuition Incentive provision also encourages colleges to rein in price increases by rewarding institutions where it matters most – providing increased need-based federal aid to students at those schools with the lowest percentage tuition increases.

Students with Intellectual Disabilities/Autism

A strong advocate for increasing educational opportunities for students with autism, Congressman Tierney authored the Model Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities, which encouraged the expansion of programs to promote the successful transition of students with intellectual disabilities (significant cognitive disabilities and autism) from secondary school into higher education. The program provides competitive grants to institutions of higher education or consortia to create or expand high quality, inclusive comprehensive transition programs. In recognition of his efforts on the issue, Tierney received a leadership award from the College Consortium on Autism and Intellectual Disabilities.

Rebuilding and Repairing America's Schools

The average U.S. public school building is 40 years old, and it has been estimated that the costs of maintaining and repairing our schools is at least $270 billion. Congressman Tierney is a strong supporter of legislation – the Fix America’s Schools Today (FAST) Act – which would provide a federal investment toward enhancing the condition of K-12 schools and community colleges. This bill also would immediately put thousands of construction workers, building technicians, boiler repairmen, electrical workers, roofers, plumbers, painters, and other Americans back to work rebuilding and modernizing schools across the country.