Committee on Education and the Workforce

Chairman Goodling Responds to Gephardt Agenda

WASHINGTON – House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman Bill Goodling (R-PA) issued the following statement today in response to Minority leader Richard Gephardt’s (D-MO) speech outlining an education agenda for the 107^th Congress:

            “I’m pleased that the Minority Leader has laid out his education vision for the next Congress, because it clearly outlines a big government, Washington-knows-best approach to dealing with local education issues.  Americans know better.  They care about education, and they are concerned with whether students are learning, whether they can read at grade level and whether they are learning to add and subtract.

            “Mr. Gephardt has made it clear that in a Democrat Congress, the education focus would once again shift back to quantity and process.  Under Republican leadership, we have placed the focus on quality and results.

“Republicans emphasize local flexibility, not a federal straitjacket, so that schools can decide if they need to hire more teachers or upgrade the skills of their existing teachers.  We promote basic academics and encourage parental involvement, not supplant the role of parents in their children’s lives.  We support locally designed accountability standards, not mandated national testing.  And we have tried to drive at least 95 cents of every federal dollar directly to the classroom, not to bureaucracies bloated by expanding the federal role in neighborhood schools.

            “In higher education, we have increased Pell Grant assistance to the highest level ever, making it possible for disadvantaged students to pursue postsecondary studies or training.

            “Mr. Gephardt’s agenda is out of touch with the needs of parents, students, and local schools.”

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Education Accomplishments
House Education and the Workforce Committee
106^th Congress

Education Flexibility Act (P.L. 106-25) – This law allows States and school districts to bypass certain burdensome requirements of federal education programs so as to provide greater flexibility with accountability in trying innovative education reforms.

Teacher Empowerment Act (H.R. 1995; Passed the House) – The bill would combine funds from the Eisenhower Professional Development Program, Goals 2000, and the President’s class size reduction program to provide funds giving schools more flexibility to increase teacher quality and to hire quality teachers to reduce class size.

The Student Results Act (H.R. 2; Passed the House) – This legislation revises Title I (for educationally disadvantaged students) and other programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  The bill provides for more accountability to parents; allows parents to transfer their children from failing Title I schools to other public and charter schools; and improves the quality of Title I teachers and teachers’ aides.  The bill also reforms the bilingual education program, Indian education programs, and rural education assistance in ESEA.

Academic Achievement for All Act (Straight A's) (H.R. 2300; Passed the House) - The bill would allow up to 10 states maximum flexibility in how they use federal K-12 funds, in exchange for states being held strictly accountable for improving academic achievement.  State participation would be optional.

The Education OPTIONS Act (H.R. 4141; Passed the Committee) – The Education OPTIONS (Opportunity to Invest in and Protect Our Nation’s Students) Act is the last major piece of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to be reauthorized by the committee.  The bill would allow states and school districts unprecedented authority to transfer federal funds among programs in ESEA to better meet their unique circumstances, including targeting students with the greatest academic needs.  The legislation also includes programs for violence and drug abuse prevention, technology in the classroom, charter schools, and several other smaller programs.

Fiscal Year 2000 Labor-HHS-Education Spending Bill (H.R. 3194; P.L. 106-113) – A negotiated agreement was reached between the White House and Congress on a Republican proposal to place more emphasis on teacher quality and to provide more flexibility for schools.  Funds can no longer be used to hire unqualified teachers; up to 25 percent of the money can be used for teacher training; and those schools with major teacher quality problems can apply for a waiver through the Education Flexibility Act to use all their funding for improving teacher training.  The agreement also provides public school choice for Title I students trapped in failing schools. An additional $134 million was added to the spending package to help school districts meet the new parental choice option, as well as to improve low performing Title I schools.

The IDEA Full Funding Act (H.R. 4055; Passed the House) – The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) became law in 1975 to provide children with disabilities access to a quality public education; it pledged federal contributions of 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure to assist states and local schools with the extra costs of educating such children.  The IDEA Full Funding Act sets a schedule for fully funding the federal government’s portion of IDEA by providing $2 billion a year increases until 2010.

Literacy Involves Families Together (LIFT) Act (H.R. 3222; Passed the House) - The LIFT Act reauthorizes and makes changes to improve the quality of family literacy services under the Even Start program.  LIFT strengthens accountability; expands the ages at which children can be served; sets standards based on scientific research; encourages coordination with other federal programs to provide better services; and provides funding for training and technical assistance to local Even Start instructors.

The Impact Aid Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3616; Passed the House) – The bill is designed to help school districts deal with the loss of tax revenue that results from a heavy presence of federally owned land and property.

The Training and Education for American Workers Act (H.R. 4402) - Major provisions were part of the H-1B legislation approved in the Senate and House.  This includes strengthening job-training projects funded through the use of H-1B non-immigrant visa fees by ensuring that such training is tied to the types of occupations being filled by H-1B non-immigrants.

Dollars to the Classroom Resolution (H. Res. 303; Passed the House) – A resolution calling for at least 95 percent of federal funding to go directly to the classroom.

Pell Grant Resolution (H. Con. Res. 88; Passed the House) - A resolution urging increased funding for the Pell Grant program and existing Campus-Based Aid programs.