House Passes GOP Bill to Shut Down Excess Taxpayer Subsidies for Loan Providers,
Use Money to Help Teachers and Poor Schools
Student Test Scores Faltering, Falling in Major States, New Government Data
Reveal
FY í05 Budget Update
The House is expected to go out of session today or tomorrow to campaign for
the elections once they complete consideration of H.R. 10, the intelligence
overhaul bill. The Senate is expected to wrap up their legislative business
shortly thereafter.
Republican leadership is aiming to reconvene the week of November 15th to work
on must-pass legislation, including the FY ë05 Omnibus Appropriations bill,
which will contain the FY ë05 Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations bill.
The current continuing resolution (CR) runs until November 20th, 2004. Should
Congress fail to complete action on the FY ë05 Omnibus Appropriations bill,
one or more continuing resolutions (CRís) may be needed to keep government agencies
funded until the Omnibus is passed.
****************
Representative Timothy Bishop (D-NY) is circulating a discharge petition in
the House that would allow for the consideration of H.R. 4473, the Educational
Opportunity for the 21st Century Act, which would increase education funding
by a total of $14 billion over the Presidentís FY ë05 budget request. Although
this bill hasn't been brought to the floor, it can nevertheless be voted on
if 218 or more members of the House sign a discharge petition.
H.R. 4473, sponsored by Representatives Obey (D-WI) and Miller (D-CA), would:
* Fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act by providing an additional $9.5 billion
over the Presidentís budget.
* Help fulfill our commitments to 6.9 million children with disabilities who
remain most at risk of being left behind. This bill would provide $12.3 billion
for IDEA Part B State Grants ($1.2 billion more than Bushís proposed budget)
and put it on a path to full funding within six years.
* Fully fund after-school centers at $2 billion increasing learning opportunities
for an additional 1.3 million students.
* Boost the maximum Pell Grant award to $4,500 increasing the average award
for more than 5 million students and adding 170,000 students.
* Increase English Language Acquisition grants to $750 million to assist 5 million
more students who must learn English under NCLB.
* Provide $1.4 billion for Vocational Education grants.
What You Can Do: Since House leadership will not bring H.R. 4473 to the
floor for a vote, we need you to write a letter to your Representative urging
them to sign the Bishop discharge petition and support H.R. 4473. Even though
the House may recess this weekend, Congress will return for one week in November
(as noted above), so there is just over one month to get 218 signatures on the
discharge petition before the 108th Congress adjourns for good in mid-to-late
November. To send your message, go to CECís Legislative Action Center at: http://capwiz.com/cek/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6527521
and enter the information requested. Send your messages TODAY!
Senate Taking No Action on Perkins
CEC has received word from the Senate HELP Committee that they have decided
not to go forward with Perkins legislation this year and will not bring S. 2686
to the Senate floor. With no final word from the House on whether or not H.R.
4496 will be brought before the full House for consideration this year, it is
likely that we will be starting the reauthorization process over again in the
109th Congress. CEC will, of course, keep you posted if there are any new developments
concerning the Perkins Act.
House Must Act on AT Bill NOW!
On September 30, 2004, the Senate passed, under Unanimous Consent, HR 4278,
bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the ATA. HR 4278 is now awaiting the Houseís
approval. CEC strongly supports HR 4278 and is urging the House to pass it before
the October recess. Because the House and Senate education committees reached
a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on this important piece of non-controversial
legislation, HR4278, as passed by the Senate, should not be tied up in the House
before the House recesses.
Although both House and Senate members acknowledge the importance of this legislation,
consideration of the bill may be postponed due to all of the other business
the House must attend to before it recesses.
What You Can Do. We need you to send a message to your Representatives,
urging them to pass the AT bill before the House recesses. To send a message,
simply go to CECís Legislative Action Center at: http://capwiz.com/cek/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6527471
and enter the information requested. Time is of the essenceÖ.please write your
Representative TODAY!
House Passes Bill to Extend HEA for One Year
The U.S. House has passed a bill, H.R. 5185, to reauthorize the Higher Education
Act for one year. Any spending or programs that were authorized under the Higher
Ed Act is being held at FY 2004 levels. This is necessary because the House
and Senate failed to complete reauthorization of Higher Ed during the 108th
Congress. The Senate may take up the bill this weekend.
House Passes GOP Bill to Shut Down Excess Taxpayer Subsidies for Loan Providers,
Use Money to Help Teachers and Poor Schools
(Following is a summary of several press releases from the House Committee
on Education and the Workforce.)
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation proposed by
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) that would shut down excess
taxpayer subsidies to student loan providers, and use the money to help poor
schools address a shortage of qualified teachers in math, science, and special
education. The bill, known as the ìTaxpayer-Teacher Protection Actî (H.R. 5186),
is strongly supported by the White House. President Bush has called on Congress
to provide these incentives to help poor schools meet the high standards called
for in the No Child Left Behind Act, which calls for states to have a highly
qualified teacher in every public classroom.
ìThis bill will protect taxpayers by shutting down these excess subsidies to
lenders, as the President has asked. And it will use the money to help teachers
and poor schools across our country,î said Rep. Boehner, Chair of the House
Committee on Education and the Workforce, in remarks on the House floor late
Wednesday night.
ìWe are short-changing students and we should stop it,î said Sen. Gregg, Chair
of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. ìThe government
is spending millions unnecessarily because some lenders are exploiting loopholes
in the federal higher education laws. Not only is this a waste for taxpayers,
but these dollars could be put to use in programs that help students.î
Under certain circumstances the federal government guarantees a handful of lenders
and note holders a 9.5-percent interest rate for student loans. The guaranteed
yield on other federally subsidized student loans is a much lower rate -- roughly
4 percent. The federal government makes up that difference, costing taxpayers
hundreds of millions.
The legislation passed yesterday provides an immediate, one-year solution, paving
the way for a permanent fix during re-authorization of federal higher education
programs next year. "We are putting the lending community on notice," Gregg
said. "This loophole will be closed permanently next year when Congress re-authorizes
the Higher Education Act and those savings will be used to improve student benefits.î
While CEC is pleased that Congress is taking action to close this loophole,
and use the money to help poorer schools attract qualified special education
teachers, the Bush Administration did not have to wait for Congress to take
action on this issue; the federal government could have addressed it at any
time. The Senate will likely pass similar legislation; however, it may not be
identical to H.R. 5186.
The Gregg-Boehner plan would:
… Shut down the 9.5-percent interest rate subsidy that has resulted in excess
profits for some student lenders. The bill would prohibit lenders from transferring
loans within their portfolio, a practice the GAO recently cited as the key cause
of abuse.
… Invest anticipated savings of $270 million to more than triple teacher loan
forgiveness from $5,000 to $17,500 for teachers of math, science, and -- for
the first time -- special education in high-need schools districts. Widespread
shortages exist in these disciplines, particularly in inner city and rural communities.
… Pave the way for a permanent fix during congressional reauthorization of the
Higher Education Act next year, preserving savings for student benefits.
… Protect non-profit lenders that use funds from existing 9.5-percent loans
to finance additional student benefits -- additional loans, loan forgiveness
or reduced fees -- so students do not lose existing benefits.
… Honor existing contracts with lenders.
For more information on the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act (H.R. 5186), go
to: http://edworkforce.house.gov/,
or contact the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce at 202/225-4527.
Student Test Scores Faltering, Falling in Major States, New Government Data
Reveal
(Following is a press release issued by U.S. Newswire.)
Children's reading scores have stalled or declined in the nation's largest states
since Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, according to new
data released by governors and state school chiefs.
Traveling the campaign trail, President Bush frequently reiterates support for
his controversial "No Child" school accountability reforms. In King of Prussia,
Pa. last month, Mr. Bush said, "We're making progress. We're closing the achievement
gap."
Yet many states have now released trend data, tracking children's progress in
acquiring basic reading skills through last spring's exams. Since passage of
Mr. Bush's signature education policy, student performance leveled-off or fell
in 11 of the 15 states participating in the study, according to researchers
at Stanford University and the University of California.
Tracking achievement trends is proving difficult as state education officials
switch to new tests and alter definitions of student "proficiency" to conform
to new federal rules. But the university team compiled test results for the
biggest states which have successfully tracked reading achievement over several
years.
"We could not detect any consistent gains in children's reading scores since
passage of Washington's No Child Left Behind reforms," said Aimee Scribner,
spokesperson for the university team.
Children's reading scores in elementary schools have remained unchanged or declined
in California, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Tennessee,
Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin, according to the data released by each state's
education department.
"Important gains in children's reading performance were observed through the
1990s, as many governors advanced their own school accountability initiatives,"
Scribner said.
These new findings will likely fuel debate over whether Mr. Bush's more aggressive
regulation of local schools, along with new funding, is sparking gains in teacher
effectiveness and student performance.
Mr. Bush's education secretary, Rod Paige, speaking before the Republican National
Convention in New York City, said, "All across America, test scores are rising,
students are learning, the achievement gap is closing."
"We hope the Administration's claims some day come true," Scribner said. "But
the new state data simply do not support such broad assertions."
National testing and policy experts provided independent review of the study,
including Dr. Joan Herman, UCLA (310-206-1532); Prof. Luis Huerta, Columbia
University (212-531-1638); and Prof. Robert Linn, University of Colorado (303-492-8280).