WASHINGTON – The Committee on Education and the Workforce today approved resolutions calling on Congress and President Clinton to increase funds for federal special education programs and Pell Grants to low- and middle-income college students before Congress funds any new education initiatives. Both resolutions were approved by wide bipartisan margins.

"Again this year President Clinton has proposed new education programs that will help his administration meet its political and public relations goals while neglecting the real needs of students and educators," said Rep. Bill Goodling (R-PA), chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. "We must first fund ‘tried and true’ federal education efforts such as the Pell Grant Program and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act."

The Pell Grant resolution (H.Con.Res. 88) was approved by a bipartisan vote of 36 to 10. Ten Democrats voted for the legislation. The IDEA funding resolution (H.Con. Res. 84) was approved by a vote of 38 to 4. Fifteen Democrats voted for the resolution. Both measures are expected to be taken up by the House of Representatives in early- to mid-May.

The Pell Grant resolution establishes two priorities for higher education funding. The first priority is increasing the maximum Pell Grant awarded to students from low-income families to $3,525. This amount represents an increase of $400 to the maximum grant award and would be the largest increase since the inception of the program in 1972. President Clinton has proposed increasing the maximum Pell Grant by just $125. The second priority involves increased funding for the existing campus-based student aid programs. These programs provide financial aid administrators at colleges across the country with considerable flexibility in the packaging of financial aid awards that best meet the needs of students.

The Pell Grant Program is considered the foundation program for all federal student aid. Students eligible for a Pell Grant can use that money to attend one of more than 6,000 postsecondary institutions in the country. Last year, the Congress passed and the President signed H.R. 6, the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998, which increased the maximum Pell Grant authorization from $3,000 to $4,500 for academic year 1999-2000. That increase does not take effect, however, unless the funds are appropriated. 

The Pell Grant Program was created in 1972 to assist students from low-income families who would not otherwise be financially able to attend a postsecondary institution. In the first year of the program, 176,000 students received Pell Grant awards. For the upcoming academic year, almost 4 million students are expected to receive Pell Grant awards. Of these students, 90 percent have family incomes under $30,000 and 54 percent of those families have incomes under $10,000.

The IDEA funding resolution urges full funding of federal special education programs and recognizes that it should be the top funding priority at the K-12 level. House Concurrent Resolution 84 urges Congress to fully fund IDEA while maintaining its commitment to existing federal education programs. The resolution does not take funds from federal education programs currently serving students.

"Over 24 years ago, Congress committed to provide federal funding at 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure to assist states and local school districts with the excess costs of educating students with disabilities. Where are we on that commitment? We are at 12 percent and it is this high only because Republicans have insisted and fought for increased federal funds for IDEA. Since Republicans took over control of Congress in 1995, funding for IDEA has risen more than 85 percent," Goodling said.

Under his budget request, President Clinton wants to cut spending for students with disabilities from $702 dollars per child in FY1999 to $688 dollars per child in FY2000.

Once the federal government begins to pay its fair share under IDEA, local schools will no longer be forced to redirect local funds to cover the unpaid federal share. Local funds will be freed up, allowing local schools to hire and train high-quality teachers, reduce class size, build and renovate classrooms, and invest in technology.

"We must fully fund IDEA before Washington creates new education programs. We do not need to spend our limited education resources on new, unproven federal programs," Goodling said. "Let’s first live up to the promises we made more than 24 years ago and fund a program that we know works."

The Committee also reported by voice vote H.R. 905, "The Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children Protection Act." The bill provides a $10 million authorization per year for FY2000-2003 for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as an amendment to the Missing Children’s Assistance Act. The bill also modifies funding under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. It consolidates the three current funding streams for basic center grants, transitional grants and the drug education program into one streamlined authorization.

###