| February 3, 1999 |
Contacts: Edmund
Amorosi Erin Rath 202-224-3324 202-224-4952 Fax |
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(Washington, D.C.) -- U.S. Senator Judd Gregg renewed his pledge to make the federal government pay its fair share of special education costs today at a Capitol Hill press conference. Senator Gregg, Chairman of the Children and Families Subcommittee of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has pushed to achieve full federal funding for IDEA since joining the committees in 1996. Senator Gregg was joined by Majority Leader Trent Lott and Senator Jim Jeffords (R-VT) at the press conference. Last year the Republican Congress increased federal grants to states under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by $500 million for FY 1999 for a total of $4.3 billion in IDEA funding, an increase of $2.1 billion over the past three years. When IDEA was originally enacted in 1975, the federal government promised to fund 40% of the costs. Today, funding is only at 10%. The Senate Republican leadership has made a commitment to fully fund this act. Gregg stated, "The President's budget recommendations, which were announced on Monday, continue to include brand new federal programs which purport to help the neediest students and increase the quality of education. Once again, however, the President's education plan does not include full funding for students with disabilities; it barely provides any increase in funding for IDEA at all. As with the President's proposed education budget for FY 1999, the subject of funding for special education is strangely absent from any proposal to assist local schools' funding problems. "The substantial increases in IDEA funding over the past several years allow the President to pretend that we've done enough and, therefore, he can focus his attention on spending money on other education initiatives that he deems more important. The President, in his State of the Union address, announced his intention to provide billions over the next 5 years for new education programs. Not only will these dollars fund brand new education initiatives, but in order to qualify for the funds, schools need to meet a whole new set of demands. And special education? Well, it doesn't even get honorable mention on the list of Presidential priorities. That list is made up of sound bites and grand promises. "One of the most astounding things about the President's refusal to acknowledge the role of high special education costs in the downfall of our schools is that school officials all over the country list the cost of special education as their number one budget buster. On average, special education eats up 12% of our local schools' budgets. If the President actually talked to schools about their problems, he'd hear this complaint loud and clear. "We have a long way to go in meeting our obligation, thus, I am committed to securing as much money as possible each year within the framework of a balanced budget." ***Attention Radio News Directors*** After the press conference, Senator Gregg made a floor speech on Social Security reform under President Clinton's new budget proposals. Excerpts from each event can be obtained by calling Senator Gregg's voice mailbox to receive the tape feed. 1-800-545-1267 DIAL 332 TO ACCESS SENATOR GREGG'S PERSONAL MAILBOX FOR AN ISDN FEED, PLEASE CALL 202-224-2389 ### |