Bill Meets Federal Commitment Promised in 1975 

WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Greg Walden today praised House passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Full Funding Act of 2000 (H.R. 4055). This bill authorizes increased funding to help local school districts with the high cost of educating disabled students, fully funding the federal share of IDEA by 2010.

"In 1975, Congress promised to pay 40% of the cost of educating disabled students. Unfortunately, for 20 years, the federal government didn’t come close to that amount. Since 1995, Congress has increased its payments significantly and this bill leads the way to keeping the promise fully. It authorizes a $115 million boost over the 1995 funding for Oregon schools to help them educate disabled students. All kids deserve the best education available and it’s about time the federal government lived up to its commitment to help our schools pay for it," Walden said.

Since 1975, when IDEA was signed into law, Congress has failed to meet its commitment. During the past four fiscal years, Congress has increased funding for IDEA by 115 percent, or $2.6 billion, for the federal share of IDEA. Even with the recent increases, however, the funding equals only 12.6% of the average per pupil expenditure to assist children with disabilities.

H.R. 4055 would authorize increases of $2 billion a year to meet the federal commitment of 40 percent by the year 2010. The Congressional Research Service estimates that more than $15 billion would be needed to fully fund IDEA. The Fiscal Year 2000 appropriation for IDEA was $4.9 billion, leaving states and school districts with an unfunded mandate of more than $10 billion.

Congressman Walden represents the Second Congressional District of Oregon, which includes the 20 counties of southern, central and eastern Oregon. Rep. Walden is a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, The House Committee on Resources and the House Committee on Government Reform.

# # #