Democrats, Teachers, and Students Call for Action on Education Bill
WASHINGTON, Oct. 08, 2002–At a crowded Capitol Hill rally Tuesday, Sen. Edward Kennedy urged colleagues to pass a key education spending bill before the Nov. 5 election.
More than 100 representatives of the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the United States Student Association cheered seven House and Senate Democrats who told the audience that the Bush administration and congressional Republicans have tried to divert public attention from education issues by focusing on national security.
“All of us are going to fight with every bit of our strength to make sure that that proposal comes to the floor of the U.S. Senate,” Kennedy said of the spending bill. He also said that states have cut education spending by an overall $9.l billion in the last fiscal year not only because of the weak economy but also because of a lack of federal assistance.
According to a report provided during the meeting by key congressional Democrats who focus on education, no federal help is on the way despite last year’s passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. The report said that the Bush administration’s proposed federal budget increased education spending by less than inflation and charged that the House Republican leadership plans to freeze education spending until past the election or longer in an effort to escape accountability to the voters.
In a statement, the Republican leadership of the House Education and the Workforce Committee fired back, accusing Democratic leaders and the education groups of distorting the facts about education funding. “President Bush’s fiscal year 2003 budget provides a much higher increase for education over the next five years than for defense and federal law enforcement,” the committee Republicans said in the statement. “Even amid war and concern about homeland security, President Bush’s commitment to education has not wavered.”
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
