Education and Labor Blog

The Fight for DC Children Continues

Press Staff — 07/13/2009 07:43

If Democrats assumed that residents of the nation's capital would quietly stand by as the federal government wiped out a scholarship program that serves the city's poorest families, they had better think again. Months after Democrats first went public with their plans to kill the program, D.C. parents and the city's own elected leaders continue to speak out against the decision that will leave children no escape route from one of the most troubled school systems in the nation.

A small victory was won earlier this year when - under public pressure - the White House announced a compromise that allows current scholarship recipients to remain in the program while denying any funding for new applicants. This group of new applicants includes 216 families who had been awarded scholarships for the upcoming academic year, only to see them rescinded on the Secretary of Education's orders.

Seven members of the D.C. City Council wrote a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty late last month urging them to continue to support the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program and restore scholarships for those 216 families.

"We believe we simply cannot turn our backs on these families because doing so will deny their children the quality education they deserve," the Council members wrote.

The D.C. City Council isn't the only one continuing to fight for low-income children in the nation's capital. Recent editorials in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal underscore the unreasonable decision to end a successful program and take scholarships back from families who were counting on them for the upcoming school year.

Thankfully, the administration did commit itself to funding the program so that children currently enrolled can continue their education uninterrupted until high school graduation. Moreover, there is still a chance that Congress could reauthorize the program.

But that doesn't help parents such as Latasha Bennett, who's in an understandable panic over where her daughter will go to kindergarten next month. She had planned on the private school where her son (already a scholarship recipient) excels, but, without the voucher she was promised, she can't afford the tuition. She looked into her neighborhood public school and discovered that less than a third of the students there are proficient in reading or math. Charters weren't an option because most had filled up by the time she learned of Mr. Duncan's decision. D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's office recommended four other places, but two have no kindergarten openings and the others are more than an hour's commute (by bus) away.

A review by D.C. Children First showed that nine out of 10 students who were shut out of the scholarship program this year are assigned to attend failing public schools. We realize that helping these 216 families is no substitute for fixing the problems that afflict D.C. and other urban schools. But, as Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Ms. Rhee work to improve the city's schools, what is to be gained by denying educational opportunities to children such as Ms. Bennett's 4-year-old Nia?

"A Plea to Mr. Duncan," Washington Post, July 10, 2009

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The D.C. Council's letter shows that support for these vouchers is real at the local level and that the opposition exists mainly at the level of the national Democratic Party. Mr. Durbin has suggested that he included the D.C. Council provision in deference to local control. "The government of Washington, D.C., should decide whether they want it in their school district," he said in March. Well now we know where D.C. stands. We will now see if the national party stands for putting union power and money above the future of poor children.

"D.C. Council Wants Vouchers," Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2009

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Real Financial Aid Reform

Education Policy Staff — 05/05/2009 11:37

Congressional Republicans have been fighting for years to shine a spotlight on the drastic increases in the cost of college and target student financial assistance in manner that ensures the funds are being spent on America’s neediest students. We have issued reports, held multiple hearings, and introduced several bills (see here, here, and here). And in response to these efforts, we were met with stiff resistance each step of the way.

Yet as college costs have continued to rise, policymakers have become more open to real reforms to finally address college affordability head-on. Solving these challenges remained among the top priorities for congressional Republicans in the recent reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and that's why we worked with Democrats to include key college cost reforms in H.R. 4137, the Higher Education Opportunity Act. For example, the bill allows students to search, sort, and compare key cost indicators for every school in the country. In addition, the bill creates lists to identify the most expensive institutions, the least expensive institutions, and the institutions with the greatest cost increases, by percentage. The schools with the greatest cost increases will be required to disclose additional information about what is driving their cost increases and what can be done to address them.

We are encouraged to learn that the Secretary of Education is willing to step up and engage colleges and universities in this conversation. In an interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education, Secretary Duncan indicated he is supportive of these ideas. We are concerned, however, with the implication that the federal government can continue blindly spending merely to keep pace with the spiraling cost of college.

The federal government does have a role to play, but it cannot be the only player. States and families must also do their part, as must individual institutions of higher education. Congress has put mechanisms in place to allow students and families to research college costs and select institutions that are right for them. We have also taken steps to ensure that states continue to do their part to fund this country’s public higher education system.

We need to let these reforms take hold before we make any drastic decisions -- such as the elimination of a long-standing student loan program -- that will have a long-term impact on the fiscal health of the nation. Similarly, changes should not be made to the campus-based aid programs, like the Perkins Loan program, until the flawed distribution formula is addressed. Currently, these limited funds flow to those institutions that have been in the program the longest, and not to those institutions who are actually serving the greatest number of needy students.

The federal government is presented with a unique opportunity at this time. With the pressure of a reauthorization behind us, we should use this opportunity to take a step back and engage in a true examination of the student aid programs. Rather than operating through the fast-tracked, arcane procedure of "budget reconciliation" to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, Congress should engage in a healthy, deliberative debate over true simplification of all federal student financial assistance.

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Scholarships vs. Politics

Press Staff — 04/14/2009 13:56

About 200 low-income children and their families in the District of Columbia were hit with bad news last week courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education. Although the children had been planning to use federally-funded scholarships to attend the private school of their choice for the upcoming school year, the Department decided after the fact that no new students would be welcome in the scholarship program, despite its growing track record of success and parental satisfaction.

The Department’s decision comes as a surprise – and a disappointment – to congressional Republicans who wrote Education Secretary Arne Duncan earlier this month urging him to allow as many students as possible to participate in the scholarship program. Apparently, the decision isn’t sitting well with The Washington Post’s editorial board either. Over the weekend, the paper took issue with the decision to deny educational options to poor children and families:

“Officials who manage the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program sent letters this week to parents notifying them that the scholarships of up to $7,500, were being rescinded because of the decision by the Education Department. Citing the political uncertainty surrounding vouchers, a spokesperson for Mr. Duncan told us that it is not in the best interest of students and their parents to enroll them in a program that may end a year from now. Congress conditioned funding beyond the 2009-10 school year on reauthorization by Congress and approval by the D.C. Council. By presuming the program dead -- and make no mistake, that's the insidious effect of his bar on new enrollment -- Mr. Duncan makes it even more difficult for the program to get the fair hearing it deserves. …

“[S]cholarship officials have been upfront with parents about the risks, and the decision really should be theirs. Let them decide whether they want to chance at least one year in a high-quality private school versus the crapshoot of D.C. public schools.

“That, after all, is what this program is about: giving poor families the choice that others, with higher salaries and more resources, take for granted. It's a choice President Obama made when he enrolled his two children in the elite Sidwell Friends School. It's a choice Mr. Duncan had when, after looking at the D.C. schools, he ended up buying a house in Arlington, where good schools are assumed. And it's a choice taken away this week from LaTasha Bennett, a single mother who had planned to start her daughter in the same private school that her son attends and where he is excelling. Her desperation is heartbreaking as she talks about her daughter not getting the same opportunities her son has and of the hardship of having to shuttle between two schools.”

Republicans haven’t given up the fight, and plan to do all that they can this year to ensure children and families will continue to benefit from this popular and proven scholarship program in the nation’s capital. Although the Post rightly points out that politics are at play, it’s hard to ignore the pleas of children who just want the chance to attend a better school.

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GAO on Enforcement of Wage and Hour Laws

Press Staff — 03/25/2009 14:50

McKeon: Rather than trying to score political points, let’s get serious about protecting workers and enforcing the law

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) today testified before Congress about the findings of its undercover investigation into ineffective and inconsistent enforcement of the nation’s wage and hour laws. According to GAO, its investigation “revealed sluggish response times, a poor complaint intake process, and failed conciliation attempts, among other problems.”

Republicans were harshly critical of the Department for its alleged failures to fully enforce the law, and are calling for quick action to ensure stepped up enforcement and accountability. However, Republicans also chastised congressional Democrats for attempting to score political points on the backs of vulnerable workers by focusing their efforts on assigning political blame on the previous Administration rather than calling the Department of Labor before the Committee to account for its failures.

Republicans requested that the Democratic majority – which determines which witnesses will testify before Congress – bring Department of Labor officials before the panel to account for the alleged widespread failures uncovered by GAO. However, only the GAO testified today, leaving critical questions unanswered.

“At our urging, I understand that the majority requested that a Department of Labor official testify here today. I’m told the Department declined. I’m not sure how persistent we were in pressing the Department on this point, Mr. Chairman. But personally, I don’t think we should have taken ‘no’ for an answer,” said McKeon.

“If we’re serious about enforcing the law – and not just scoring political points – we should insist on bringing the individuals who are responsible for investigating wage-and-hour violations here to account for their actions,” McKeon continued.

Under questioning, the GAO confirmed that it has no evidence linking these enforcement failures to appointees or the leadership of the previous Administration. Rather, the failures appear to be systemic, driven by a lack of internal controls, training, resources, or simply human failure.

Republicans are committed to effective enforcement of our nation’s laws. They’re also committed to standing up for American workers who fall victim to nameless, faceless federal bureaucrats who fail to meet workers’ needs.

Watch the clips below for key excerpts from today’s hearing.

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Budgets Are About Priorities

Education Policy Staff — 03/25/2009 06:19

This morning, the House Budget Committee will consider the budget resolution for fiscal year 2010, which is a blueprint for determining tax and spending policy for the upcoming fiscal year. While all of the talk in Washington has been on the President’s budget request that was released in February (filled with massive tax increases, mammoth new government programs, and trillions – not billions – of dollars added to the national debt), the budget resolution passed by the House and Senate is of much greater consequence in the real world. That’s because the policies it sets out are binding as Congress sets funding levels for each agency of the federal government. You can see our views on the budget here.

As Congress begins the budget process, we hope that the Democratic Majority will join Republicans in rejecting the President’s budget because it spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much. Instead, Democrats should put forth a budget that reaffirms the responsibility of policymakers to act as good stewards of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.

Even though many Americans are tightening their belts, the Administration’s budget grows the size of government by almost 10 percent. Under the President’s plan, total government spending would be set at a staggering $3.9 trillion, or 28 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). That’s the highest level since World War II. These facts were confirmed last Friday when the nonpartisan and independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest estimate of the nation’s budget situation. CBO projects that, because of the President’s policies, this year’s federal deficit will hit a post-World War II record of $1.8 trillion, 13.1 percent of GDP. The agency also projects that the President’s new policies would double the federal debt to $14.5 trillion over the next 10 years. With CBO’s new estimate, it has become more imperative than ever that Congress must make sure that the nation’s budget focuses on reducing wasteful government spending, unnecessary new programs, and bureaucratic federal mandates.

One area of great concern is the President’s plan to grow the size of government by nationalizing the student loan program. His budget requires student loans to be made solely by the federal government and eliminates the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, the public-private partnership that has been in place for more than four decades and has a strong record of making students’ dreams of a college education possible. The federal government’s $4 billion investment in FFEL programs leverages more than $60 billion in student loans, which provides important college opportunities to 6.2 million students attending over 4,400 institutions each year.

These students also receive extensive financial literacy counseling, financial aid counseling, and default prevention services that help students repay their student loans. Eliminating this public-private partnership in favor of a one-size-fits-all Washington solution is likely to cost the country more than 30,000 current jobs, and it will surely have a ripple effect on thousands more. It will eliminate any sort of choice in lender for millions of students across the country, and it will jeopardize the ability of institutions of higher education to tailor programs that best fit their students’ needs. We hope that Congress will reject the Administration’s extreme proposal and examine the student loan programs in terms of what is best for students.

If history is any guide, we’re sure that the budget resolution that will be passed by the Democrats on the House Budget Committee will call for greater government involvement fueled by higher taxes and deeper deficits. Republicans will fight this irresponsible budget and propose a better plan that focuses on pro-growth policies that foster innovation and job creation, promote American competitiveness, and ensure accountability, state and local flexibility, parental choice, and funding for what works in education.

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Can't We Agree on Reading?

Education Policy Staff — 03/12/2009 11:05

Yesterday, President Obama signed into law a massive omnibus spending bill that contains funding for the nine appropriations bills that were not completed last year, including programs at the Department of Education. While the bill includes funding for a whole host of programs that have been singled out for elimination by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), it eliminates funding for the highly successful Reading First program.

To put it plainly, Democrats have eliminated a program to help students, including disadvantaged students and students with disabilities, learn how to read. Everyone knows that a young child’s ability to read is essential to their academic achievement and success in the later grades and other subjects. That’s why elimination of this program is so stunning, and short-sighted.

Reading First provides funding to our nation’s highest need schools to implement scientifically-based reading instruction programs in grades K-3. It serves more than 1.6 million students. And results from the program are clear. Nationally, the percentage of third graders in Reading First schools scoring proficient on state reading assessments has grown nearly eight percent, much faster than overall growth. In addition, state-reported performance data released last year indicates impressive gains in reading comprehension, with improvements seen by nearly every grade and subgroup of students. 28 of 37 states that reported data experienced an increase in the percentage of students proficient in reading comprehension. Recent reports by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Inspector General, and the Center on Education Policy have all found widespread support for the program among the states. In one Center on Education Policy report, 97 percent of Reading First school districts said that the program was an important or very important cause for increases in students’ reading scores.

In eliminating the funding for the program, Democrats point to a series of reports from the Department of Education’s Inspector General in late 2006 and early 2007 documenting management errors by the Department in the early implementation of the program. This, however, ignores the fact that, over two years ago, the Department implemented all of the Inspector General’s recommendations for improving oversight of the program; actions that the Inspector General has stated addressed his concerns.

As this blog is being written, the U.S. Secretary of Education is testifying before the House Budget Committee on the President’s budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year. While congressional Democrats have succeeded in ending this vital reading program for now, the Obama Administration could easily restore it by calling for funding in FY 2010. Unfortunately, the budget blueprint released late last month is silent on whether Reading First should be funded. We think this is a glaring omission, and one that deserves follow-up during the Secretary’s testimony this morning.

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WTOP on D.C. Opportunity Scholarships

Press Staff — 03/04/2009 12:23

It’ll take an act of Congress to keep two classmates of the President’s daughters in school…

This morning on WTOP radio, Cal Thomas commented on congressional Democrats’ plans to destroy the Washington D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

Click HERE to listen to the audio.

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Editorial Pages Defend D.C. Scholarship Program

Press Staff — 02/26/2009 17:49

The Wall Street Journal editorial page today carries a harsh critique of congressional Democrats' plans to kill of the innovative Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. The program provides scholarships of up to $7,500 to low-income families in the nation's capital, helping them escape a troubled school system that is working hard to improve. But if congressional Democrats have their way, these children will be forced to return to unsafe, under-achieving schools. As the Wall Street Journal notes:

President Obama made education a big part of his speech Tuesday night, complete with a stirring call for reform. So we'll be curious to see how he handles the dismaying attempt by Democrats in Congress to crush education choice for 1,700 poor kids in the District of Columbia.

The omnibus spending bill now moving through the House includes language designed to kill the Opportunity Scholarship Program offering vouchers for poor students to opt out of rotten public schools. The legislation says no federal funds can be used on the program beyond 2010 unless Congress and the D.C. City Council reauthorize it. Given that Democrats control both bodies -- and that their union backers hate school choice -- this amounts to a death sentence.

This comes just a day after the Washington Post carried a similar editorial blasting the Democrats' decision and arguing that the phase-out of the program is an attempt to hide the truth about what they're doing.

CONGRESSIONAL Democrats want to mandate that the District's unique school voucher program be reauthorized before more federal money can be allocated for it. It is a seemingly innocuous requirement. In truth it is an ill-disguised bid to kill a program that gives some poor parents a choice regarding where their children go to school. Many of the Democrats have never liked vouchers, and it seems they won't let fairness or the interests of low-income, minority children stand in the way of their politics. But it also seems they're too ashamed -- and with good reason -- to admit to what they're doing.

Republicans created this program in 2004 with bipartisan support as part of a comprehensive plan to reform the District's school system. And since that time, we've been fighting to protect the program and ensure that while D.C. schools work to overcome decades of decline, students will have options today to access a quality education. Unfortunately, Democrats seem to be doing all that they can to take away those options.

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Save D.C. Scholarships!

Education Policy Staff — 02/24/2009 19:45

"There is no such thing as a permanent program. Every program needs to be authorized or re-authorized." So said a top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) when asked by the Examiner why Congressional Democrats inserted language into the omnibus appropriations bill that would phase out the popular D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

For the unfamiliar, a bit of background: The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program provides scholarships of up to $7,500 annually to low-income children in the nation’s capital. Since 2004, the program has proven a lifeline for struggling parents who want to enroll their children in safer, higher-achieving schools; parents who have no other way to escape the D.C. public school system, which is among the lowest-performing in the country.

Of course, anyone familiar with Washington knows that there IS such a thing as a permanent program. Most federal programs are permanent, even if they are no longer useful. And federal programs tend to live on and on, even if they have not technically been reauthorized, despite the Speaker's aide's comments to the contrary. In fact, there are currently more than 100 programs under the jurisdiction of the House Education and Labor Committee that have not been reauthorized or reformed, some as far back at 1993. Using the Democrats' logic, Congress would stop funding the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities (last passed by Congress in 1993), Americorps and other national service programs (last reauthorized in 1996), child care and development block grants (last examined in 2002), or those education programs that serve disadvantaged students in public schools under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (last reauthorized in 2001).

But in a way, this debate misses the point. The real issue shouldn't be technicalities of federal funding. What's at stake is the future of low-income children in the nation's capital. Low-income children who were trapped in dilapidated, dangerous, and dysfunctional schools. Certainly, the D.C. public school system has an ambitious leader who is committed to change. But in the mean time, do we really want to tear educational opportunity away from these children?

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Suggestions for the Budget

Education Policy Staff — 02/23/2009 09:39

This week, President Obama is set to release a “budget blueprint,” which will detail how much the federal government is going to spend in the upcoming fiscal year. In recent press reports, the Administration has indicated that the blueprint will put the federal government on a path to fiscal responsibility by, among other things, cutting the deficit in half by 2013.

This commitment to fiscal discipline could not come at a better time, although it may be hard to take it seriously given the recent record of congressional Democrats. Congress just passed a massive government spending bill cloaked in “economic stimulus” that will cost taxpayers more than $1 trillion. And later this week, as we wait for the President’s new budget to be delivered to Capitol Hill, Democrats in Congress are preparing to pass an omnibus spending bill for the current fiscal year that could add another $400 billion or more in spending.

Just to put the government’s books in perspective, here’s an excerpt from an article that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled “Deficit breaks all the records” --

The Treasury Department reported Wednesday that the deficit for October through January totaled $569 billion, more than six times larger than the imbalance during the year-ago period. The deficit for January alone totaled $83.8 billion, worse than the $78 billion economists expected. The government had run a surplus of $17.8 billion in January 2008.

With eight months left in the current budget year, the deficit already has surpassed the deficit for 2008, an imbalance of $454.8 billion that is the full-year record.

The Congressional Budget Office has forecast that the deficit for the current budget year will hit $1.2 trillion, but that estimate does not include the costs of the economic stimulus plan that President Barack Obama is pushing through Congress. Many economists are forecasting the deficit for the current year will hit $1.6 trillion.

During the campaign and since taking office a little more than a month ago, President Obama has pledged that his Administration will embrace fiscal discipline by taking a scalpel to the massive federal budget and going through it line-by-line to “stop wasteful, obsolete federal government programs that make no financial sense.” Republicans have been pursuing this goal for years, and we’re pleased to have the President join us. To help out, we have a suggestion for where he might start to use that scalpel.

The federal government currently operates hundreds of education programs, spread out over multiple agencies. This results in duplication, waste, and inefficiency, and it ties the hands of local school officials who must abide by stringent requirements to qualify for the multitude of federal programs. A number of programs have been recommended for elimination by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) after national evaluations deemed them ineffective. Other programs were pet projects created by members of the Congressional leadership or by past Administrations. Programs like these are often highly restrictive, serving only a limited group of students, or are duplicative of existing, larger federal education programs.

There’s no doubt that the resources that the federal government provides to states and school districts are important to improving student achievement. But in a time of limited resources, we should focus on programs that directly serve students, particularly disadvantaged ones, and serve the interests of the American taxpayer. We urge the Administration to examine all of the programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education and other agencies and eliminate those that do not put students first. We can support programs that serve students today without saddling them with overwhelming debt tomorrow. With a new budget on the way, now is a perfect time to reevaluate how well we’re serving students and taxpayers.

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Parental Choice as Crime?

Education Policy Staff — 02/20/2009 17:03

We’re not in the business of defending individuals who break state or local law, but something just rubs us the wrong way when parents are imprisoned for wanting the best education for their kids. Last week, Yolanda Hill appeared in the Greece Town Court in New York for a preliminary hearing to answer charges that she illegally enrolled her children in Greece schools. Though she lives in Rochester, she used her children’s grandmother’s address to establish a false residency because the Greece school system could provide a better education for her kids. According to her teenage daughter, Santazcha Hill, "My mom only did what was right because she loved us. She's not a criminal."

We’re not arguing about the merits of state residency programs, whether parents should be required to pay tuition charges to school districts if their kids aren’t residents, or the ability of states such as New York to set their own education laws. But it sure doesn't say much about educational opportunity in this country when parents feel they have no choice but to break the law in order to ensure that their kids are achieving academically.

For years, House Republicans have worked to ensure that parents are able to choose to send their children to higher performing public or private schools if their children’s schools fell short in providing a quality education. From Cleveland and Milwaukee to Florida and Washington, D.C., Congress, states, and local communities have been embracing parental empowerment in education. When Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), it made it possible for students to transfer to better performing public schools – including charter schools – within the school district or receive additional educational services, such as private tutoring. But even with these new options (which some in the education establishment are attempting to weaken, see here), it remains clear that there is more work left to do.

If Democrats in Congress and the new Administration are truly serious about education reform, they must get truly serious about giving parents the tools they need for their children to thrive. That starts by empowering parents with more choice.

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Dept. of Education Faces an Important Choice

Education Policy Staff — 02/10/2009 12:29

Yesterday Congressman Buck McKeon, the Senior Republican Member on the Committee, sent a letter to newly-installed U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan congratulating him on his appointment and confirmation as the new Secretary of Education. The letter discusses Secretary Duncan’s long commitment to improving educational opportunity, particularly for disadvantaged students, during his tenure as Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools.

More importantly, and building on Secretary Duncan’s reputation as a “reformer”, the letter also calls on the Secretary to ensure that the public school choice and Supplemental Educational Services (SES) or free tutoring provisions that were included in the final Title I regulation and guaranteed under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) are not weakened so that parents have access to and knowledge of the parental choice options guaranteed under the law. The letter states:

"Because of what I believe is our shared commitment to improving educational opportunity for disadvantaged students, I am writing to express my strong concerns over recent press reports that the Department is planning to weaken the public school choice and Supplemental Educational Services (SES) provisions that were included in the final regulation implementing Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This regulation is critically important to ensuring that parents have access to and knowledge of the parental choice options guaranteed under the law.

"President Obama spoke compellingly about the importance of parental empowerment in education during the campaign, saying that he believes we should “…foster competition within the public school system. Let's make sure that charter schools are up and running. Let's make sure that kids who are in failing schools, in local school districts, have an option to go to schools that are doing well.

"I could not agree with that sentiment more, which is why I am so troubled by reports that parental options may be in jeopardy. I firmly believe that any attempt to weaken or failure to enforce the public school choice and SES provisions of ESEA would undermine both congressional intent and the spirit of reform championed by our new President."

Prompted by the education establishment--long resistant to the parental options requirements included under the law--various news reports have quoted senior Administration officials who have stated that they were reviewing the new Title I regulations and may consider possible changes that would weaken public school choice and free tutoring options. Some have even suggested that weakening parental options is in the best interest of children, although we would argue that the opposite is clearly the case. The letter, which calls on Secretary Duncan to reject these arguments, continues Congressman McKeon’s long-held belief that federal, state, and local policies must put the interests of students and parents first. Parents must be made fully aware of the choices available for their children. We hope that the new Secretary agrees.

To learn more about the Title I regulations and the letter to Secretary Duncan to support strengthening parental options, check out the letter, our press release, and information from last year regarding the regulations.

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The True Cost of the so-called Economic Stimulus Package

Education Policy Staff — 02/02/2009 12:38

This week, the U.S. Senate is expected to consider and pass its version of the so-called economic stimulus package. If you're a regular follower of this blog, you know that this action follows House passage of a similar package that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and other experts say will not immediately stimulate the economy since the bulk of the spending in the bill will not occur until next year and beyond – with some of it not being spent until 2018. Moreover, the bill devotes hundreds of billions of dollars to government spending programs rather than the job creation and economic stimulus our country truly needs.

Regarding the roughly $145 billion in education funding proposed under the bill, what has been lost is the fact this money is supposed to be temporary: it vanishes in 2 two years. College freshmen who are slated to receive $500 more in Pell Grants to combat rising tuition rates will have to work longer in their junior and senior years to cover the shortfall. Schools that have instituted new afterschool programs with the millions in new Title I funding will have to send those students home after two short years. States that have enhanced their special education services for infants and toddlers with the new special education funding will have to pay for those services themselves.

With such dramatic consequences occurring all over the country, we know what will happen. We've been through this before. Over the last three decades, Washington has created hundreds of “temporary” education programs, with the promise that it would be for one or two years, to provide seed money for "demonstration programs" until some fashion or fad can finally can get off the ground or to help states and school districts brave bad economic times. Those federal programs, and the spending to go with them, are still with us today.

So regardless of the promises that have been made by the Congressional leadership, we know that this new "temporary" funding will be around long after the economic stimulus package has passed, long after our economy has rebounded. This case is already being made by some in the education establishment who are arguing that we need to add the new temporary funding into the federal budget's "baseline" – a mechanism in federal budget law that assumes that all of the new funding will be provided by Congress each and every year. While the “baseline” is arcane and not easily understood, it’s incredibly important in detailing what Congress has provided for all of its programs for the last fiscal year and what it is projected to provide for each program going forward.

Recently, the Committee’s Republican staff put together three charts demonstrating the impact that a new budget baseline, including the spending in the economic stimulus package, will have on the federal budget for the Pell Grant, Title I, and IDEA programs. The funding increases for three programs alone would result in a doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling of the U.S. Department of Education’s budget in a few short years.

While no one is disputing that states and school districts rely on federal dollars, it’s important to remember that the federal government has a responsibility to balance its budget and to start paying down the more than $10 trillion debt (already more than $30,000 for each person in the country). The funding included in the so-called economic stimulus package isn't "free" money; our children and grandchildren are going to be the ones who are going to have pay for these massive increases in new federal spending. It’s time for those in charge to restore fiscal discipline to Washington.

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Washington Post: Propping up Education Status Quo Wastes More Than Money

Education Policy Staff — 01/29/2009 17:43

If you’re like us, when you opened up the Washington Post editorial page this morning, you did a double-take. After all, it’s not every day that one of the nation’s premier newspapers states so clearly what we’ve been saying for years: it’s not how much money you spend on education, it’s what you spend it on. To sum it up even better: results matter. Consider, a few of the Washington Post’s editorial points from An Education Stimulus? –

“Education is poised to win big under the economic stimulus plan hurtling through Congress. But it remains to be seen whether America's schoolchildren really will be helped by the huge investment of public funds that is being planned. After all, it seems that much of the billions of dollars of new federal spending is aimed at continuing programs and policies that largely have failed to improve student achievement. For the amount of money being spent, Congress should insist on real change, not simply more of the same.”

“The plan shaped by President Obama and congressional Democrats proposes to more than double the current budget of the Education Department, with $150 billion of new federal spending over two years.”

“…Congress will not be getting its money's worth unless it insists on real reforms in what students are expected to learn and how teachers are compensated.”

“We understand the urgency of the need for spending that will jump-start the economy, but if Congress merely props up the educational status quo, it will be wasting more than money.”

The bloated, so-called “economic stimulus package” the U.S. House passed last night and the Senate is poised to pass next week is just more of the same argument that we’ve heard for years – that money will solve the problems in America’s schools. We’re not saying money isn’t important, because it is. But if more federal spending was the solution, those problems would have been solved long ago with the more than $500 billion federal dollars that have gone to elementary and secondary education since 1965. The real solution is to hold states, schools, and school districts accountable for getting academic results for all children and fostering innovative reforms, such as replicating successful charter schools. With this deceptively named economic stimulus package, Congressional Democrats are bankrupting future generations while failing in the effort to improve student achievement. Here’s hoping that saner voices prevail.

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Gates Foundation Calls for Lifting State Charter School Caps

Education Policy Staff — 01/29/2009 10:52

With all the talk of massive federal spending increases Democrats have included in the so-called economic “stimulus” package (side note: what are States and school districts going to do when this money vanishes in two years?), we’ve been reading and re-reading a letter Bill Gates recently released on his foundation’s effort to improve America’s education system. While the letter is definitely a good read for all of those stakeholders interested in improving student achievement, Mr. Gates’ call for lifting the artificial caps that many States have imposed on the creation of new charter schools, which is being led by many in the education establishment, is great news and one that we hope will be seriously considered by those offending States.

“…a few of the schools that we funded achieved something amazing. They replaced schools with low expectations and low results with ones that have high expectations and high results. These schools are not selective in whom they admit, and they are overwhelmingly serving kids in poor areas, most of whose parents did not go to college. Almost all of these schools are charter schools that have significantly longer school days than other schools…

"Based on what the foundation has learned so far, we have refined our strategy. We will continue to invest in replicating the school models that worked the best. Almost all of these schools are charter schools. Many states have limits on charter schools, including giving them less funding than other schools. Educational innovation and overall improvement will go a lot faster if the charter school limits and funding rules are changed.”

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 26 States have some type of limit on charter school growth with some States imposing more than one kind of restriction. This artificial cap has and is stifling school reform movements all across the country. Iowa, for example, imposes a limit of 20 charter schools in the entire state with not more than one per district. In North Carolina, the state imposes a cap of 100 charters with five charters per district per year. It’s no surprise, we guess, that when we see news articles and read reports about school districts making significant gains in raising reading and math achievement, they’re not from these States.

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Davis-Bacon Should be a Provision of the Past

Press Staff — 01/21/2009 16:09

In response to President Obama's own words from his Inaugural Address, The Wall Street Journal today highlighted the need to repeal Davis-Bacon in the editorial, How to Save $40 Billion: One suggestion for transcending 'worn-out dogmas.' The article underscores that the Act "tangles projects in red tape and inflates federal construction costs."

"A 2008 study by Suffolk University and the Beacon Hill Institute examined local wage data for construction workers and found that the Department of Labor estimates for the "prevailing wage" in cities are about 22% above the actual wages paid in these cities. It estimates that Davis-Bacon adds slightly less than 10% federal building costs, or $8.4 billion a year."

The impact of Davis-Bacon, or federal prevailing wage, stifles an economy that greatly needs a boost by adding unnecessary spending and administrative burdens on federal construction projects. The editorial went on to say that:

"The savings for taxpayers from waiving Davis-Bacon would be even greater amid the staggering new spending contemplated for the stimulus bill. Let's say Congress spends $400 billion over the next two years on roads, mass transit or other construction. Assuming only a 10% cost savings -- the lower end of economic estimates -- would mean about $40 billion in lower spending for the same projects. Congress could either forego that spending, which would mean a smaller claim on future taxpayers, or it could spend that money to fund more projects that would hire more workers."

Education and Labor Committee Republicans hope the Senate will accept an amendment by Senator Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) to the current economic stimulus draft to suspend outdated Davis-Bacon rules for stimulus spending and follow the President's rhetorical lead to go against those "worn-out dogmas."

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Meet the NEW Members of the Committee

Press Staff — 01/14/2009 13:45

Yesterday, Senior Republican member, Buck McKeon, used his new media technology to connect the Committee to outside groups and constituencies by video recording and introducing the five newest members of the Committee.
Please take a moment to meet them yourself by following this link http://tinyurl.com/8uur36, which is also located on the Republican Committee website homepage.

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Marking the 7th Anniversary of NCLB

Press Staff — 01/08/2009 18:40

Today marks the seventh anniversary of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, a sweeping overhaul of our nation's elementary and secondary education laws. While No Child Left Behind has brought real accountability to our nation's schools -- and has helped improve student achievement and begin to close achievement gaps in the process -- the time has come for reform. We can build on this law's strengths while making it more nuanced, flexible, and responsive to state and local needs. Republicans are committed to reforming this law, and will fight to make sure it happens in the 111th Congress.

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Even with Rising Unemployment Rates, Democrats Continue Pushing Big Labor Agenda

Press Staff — 12/05/2008 14:10

Information from the Department of Labor today shows the November unemployment rate increased sharply by two-tenths of a point, bringing unemployment to a 14 year high of 6.7 percent. The New York Times reports that 533,000 nonfarm jobs were eliminated last month, "the most in one month since the mid-1970s."

What makes this scenerio even more disturbing is that Democrats seemingly have special-interest blinders on, ignoring the distressing unemployment rates and are instead gearing up to push the deceptively-named "Employee Free Choice Act" through Congress as one of the first orders of business. This "card check" legislation does nothing to spur economic growth or create new jobs for the unemployed. Rather, passing "card check" legislation would be to indulge Big Labor and special interest groups and eliminate workers’ right to a private ballot unionizing election, instead requiring workers to publicly declare whether they support a particular union by signing a card.

With an additional 500,000 Americans losing their jobs last month alone, Congress must focus on the issues at hand. That's why Republicans have submitted an economic rapid recovery plan that reduces the tax burden on citizens in an effort to stimulate consumer spending.

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"Thank the Lord" for Secret Ballots, Unless You are an American Worker

Press Staff — 11/21/2008 12:25

Could it be the House Democrats are actually thankful for the opportunity to vote by secret ballot? That's what the House Democrat Rules Committee Chair Louise M. Slaughter of New York had to say when asked about her votes on the Steering Committee in the Democrat leadership races. Rep. Slaughter was quoted early this week in CQ Today's article titled "Dingell and Waxman Express Confidence as Vote on Chairmanship Nears":

“It’s a secret ballot,” she said. “Thank the Lord.”

What's that old saying? "What's good for the goose...." Apparently the same rules that apply to congressional Democrats don't also apply to hardworking Americans. Labor unions have been openly pressing for enactment of so-called “card check” legislation in the first 100 days of the new Administration, and House Democrats are poised to do just that.

To read more, click here.

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Latest OLMS Enforcement Info Available

Press Staff — 10/31/2008 15:56

The U.S. Department of Labor announced the latest enforcement figures from the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) last week, and the results were extremely positive for rank-and-file workers. According to a Department press release, "The office's totals for fiscal year 2008 (which ended on Sept. 30, 2008) are 102 convictions and 130 indictments, with restitution of more than $3.2 million."

OLMS is the only government agency dedicated to protecting the rights of dues-paying union members. Unfortunately, the Democrat-controlled Congress has gone on the attack against OLMS, slashing its funding by some $2 million and questioning its work to protect the rights of workers and aggressively enforce federal labor law. Thankfully, as these new enforcement figures show, OLMS has not allowed the Democrats' roadblocks to stand in the way of its important work.

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Card Check = Recession?

Press Staff — 10/28/2008 14:17

Today's Wall Street Journal opinion page includes an op-ed that every Member of Congress should read. Titled "Labor Unions Prolonged the Depression," the piece chronicles the devastating economic impact of the Depression-era Wagner Act and draws parallels to the deceptively-named Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that is widely expected to be at the top of congressional Democrats' legislative agenda in 2009. The key paragraph:

If the mislabeled "Employee Free Choice Act," becomes law, it will likely have a similar effect on the economy as the original Wagner Act, transforming what could have been a recovery into a lengthy, deep recession, or worse.

Congressional Democrats are tossing about various options for an economic recovery package, and Republicans have now countered with a pro-growth package worthy of consideration. But as the Wall Street Journal makes clear, no proposal to stimulate the economy will be sufficient to counteract the job-killing, worker right-decimating legislation now being advanced by Big Labor and their allies in the Democrat-led Congress.

Click here to read the full article.

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USA Today Criticizes 'Card Check'

Press Staff — 10/16/2008 18:30

USA Today made a compelling case in an editorial today against the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act,” a bill that would strip workers of their basic democratic rights in the workplace. As this leading national editorial board highlights, the 'card check' system undermines a core democratic principle -- the individual's right to a private ballot. This special interest power grab has consistently run afoul of public opinion, yet it remains a top priority of organized labor and their Democratic allies in Congress. Might the steady decline in union membership have something to do with the aggressive advancement of this controversial legislation? USA Today writes:

Labor has seen its role decline since the 1950s, when about a third of all private sector employees belonged to unions, compared with about 7.5oday. So it's understandably eager to find ways to expand membership, particularly at a time when workers are feeling economically vulnerable. But undermining democratic principles is not the answer.

Be sure to read the entire article by clicking here.

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Who Wants to be a Teacher? Survey says...

Press Staff — 09/12/2008 16:19

A recent survey by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation finds that a whopping 42% of college-educated 24- to 60-year-olds would consider teaching as a career. As the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) highlights in a recent article, this is great news! There has been much chatter among school administrators about the staffing challenges schools will face in the coming years due to "retirements, teacher turnover, and enrollement growth." CSM also points out that while there are many alternative pathways in teaching, 32 states still require people to have a degree in the subject they want to teach.

A bill introduced last year by Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA) would alleviate that problem and help school officials tap into the pool of folks eager to teach their trade. H.R.3242, the Strengthening America's Innovation and Competitiveness Act, is a measure that would allow school districts to recruit content specialists from among mid-career professionals with expertise in math, science, and critical foreign languages. To learn more about the initiative, please click here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.3242:.

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What's Really Behind the "Middle Class Squeeze"?

Press Staff — 09/10/2008 19:08

Given all the rhetoric these days on the "middle class squeeze," this recent article in the Washington Post, The Real Economic Scorecard, offers an interesting counterpoint when analyzing the economic report card. Robert J. Samuelson makes the case that the rising cost of health coverage and our nation's unchecked immigration problem - essentially growing the number of residents below poverty level - are the root of our nation's economic problems. Take a moment to read this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202437.html

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Paycheck Fairness?

Press Staff — 07/30/2008 20:18

As the House prepares to vote this week on the so-called Paycheck Fairness Act, it's worth taking a moment to set the record straight on exactly what the bill would do. While its supporters argue that it is needed to prevent women from being underpaid, the reality is that "equal pay for equal work" is already the law of the land. And it has been, for 45 years.

The Paycheck Fairness Act doesn't create protections against wage discrimination; it just makes it easier and more lucrative for trial lawyers to bring pay discrimination claims to court. National Review Online published a piece this morning from Carrie Lukas, vice president of Independent Women’s Voice. Her piece offers an interesting analysis that explores the flawed logic behind the bill and the potential unintended consequences it could bring. She closes with this:

Federal law already outlaws sex discrimination. This legislation would afford women few new protections against actual sex discrimination, but would raise the cost of employment and discourage workplace flexibility. It is exactly what women — and the economy — don’t need. If this is what we can expect from the rest of this Congress, Americans should hope for an early recess.

For the full article, click here.

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Energy Costs Hitting Schools Hard

Press Staff — 07/29/2008 08:05

USA Today has an alarming story out this morning detailing just how severely the nation's schools are likely to be impacted by high prices at the pump.

Fuel and energy costs are rising so quickly for the USA's public school districts that nearly one in seven is considering cutting back to four-day weeks this fall. One in four is considering limits on athletics and other extracurricular activities, and nearly one in three is eliminating teaching jobs.

Republicans have been sounding the alarm about high gas prices for months, arguing that America must be put on the path to energy independence if we are to avoid the long-term economic harm that will come from our continued dependence on costly foreign oil. As the article in USA Today makes crystal clear, our nation's students, teachers, and schools are already shouldering a heavy burden because of rising energy prices. Congress cannot afford to wait any longer.

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Video Clip: Food Costs & Energy Policy

Press Staff — 07/09/2008 11:27

Click on the video below to watch an excerpt of Rep. McKeon's opening statement delivered during today's hearing on "The Rising Cost of Food and Its Impact on Federal Child Nutrition Programs."

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Speaking of student loan interest rates...

Press Staff — 07/01/2008 18:30

A lot has been said today about the first phase of the Democrats' much-heralded interest rate "cut" taking effect. Specifically, new Subsidized Stafford Loans (federal loans made to lower-income students) issued between today and June 30, 2009 will carry an interest rate of 6.0 percent. And it's true that the 6.0 percent rate is less than the 6.8 percent in effect for loans made last year, and less than the 6.8 percent that Unsubsidized Stafford Loan borrowers -- about half of all Stafford Loans -- will continue to pay on their new loans.

But one thing that has been forgotten is that in 2005, Republicans were advocating for policies that would have produced a far better deal for today's students. Specifically, Republicans advanced legislation through the Education & Labor (then Education & the Workforce) Committee to preserve the student loan program's use of variable interest rates.

Ultimately, the move to a fixed 6.8 percent interest rate -- which had been agreed upon in bipartisan fashion back in 2001 -- took effect, and all Stafford Loans issued on or after July 1, 2006 carried a fixed interest rate. But as Democrats pat themselves on the back for bringing rates down temporarily (gradually reducing over a four year period, before returning to the 6.8 percent level), it's worth considering what might have been if Republicans had prevailed in securing variable rates.

So what would interest rates be today under the Republican plan for variable interest rates? Well, the interest rate on new Stafford Loans for all student borrowers while in school or in their grace period would be 3.61 percent. Those borrowers in repayment would have a slightly higher rate of 4.21 percent. Even parents would have been significantly better off, paying a rate of 5.01 percent instead of the 7.9 - 8.5 percent they're paying on new loans today.

Kind of makes 6.0 percent look expensive, doesn’t it?

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School Choice in the Nation's Capital

Press Staff — 06/24/2008 08:26

The Washington Post editorial page has offered some of the most thoughtful commentary on the groundbreaking D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program since its creation in 2004. A number of editorials have appeared in recent weeks defending the program against a small number of education reform opponents who seem determined to put an end to these scholarships, despite their early successes. The editorial appearing in today's Post speaks for itself. It opens:

Among the most maddening arguments used against the D.C. school voucher program is that it hurts the public schools. Any money set aside for vouchers comes on top of a generous federal allocation for the city's public and charter schools. Any effect of the vouchers on public education has yet to be established or studied. Most of all, which members of Congress would accept an argument that they should be forced to send their children to a failing school for the good of the school?

Click through for the full editorial, it's worth the read.

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Standing Up for School Choice

Press Staff — 06/12/2008 10:18

Earlier this week, it was reported that education reform opponents are setting out to do the unthinkable -- they plan to defund and abolish the successful and hugely popular D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to disadvantaged children here in D.C. so they can escape one of the most troubled school systems in the nation.

Not surprisingly, an outcry has arisen from across the ideological spectrum. Just today, the Washington Post's editorial page offered a harsh denunciation of efforts to eliminate the program and strip away the promise of educational opportunity from low-income families in the nation's capital. As the Post editorialized:

For parents such as Patricia William, that means the probable loss of an educational opportunity that has transformed her 11-year-old son. Ms. William is not alone in her praise of the program and in her panic about the possibility of its demise. The voucher pilot is intended to measure and compare children's progress in private schools over a span of several years. But one result already is known: Poor parents do not want their children automatically consigned to failing schools any more than middle-class parents would. Talk to parents and grandparents of children afforded what should not be the luxury of choice and you'll hear stories of thanks and success -- stories of young women such as Tiffany Dunston, this year's valedictorian at Archbishop Carroll High School. Ms. Norton turned a deaf ear to these accounts during a recent meeting, dismissing the scholarship families as "befuddled." Catherine Hill, whose grandson graduated from the Academy for Ideal Education, told us that the only thing the group doesn't understand is why Ms. Norton "hates a program that works so well."

Much, though certainly not all, of the opposition to vouchers is rooted in Democratic interest-group politics and the traditional resistance of teachers unions to change. And that is what should worry [D.C. Mayor Adrian] Fenty. If this worthwhile program can be sacrificed, so can the many vital reforms he and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee are hoping to put in place.

This follows another powerful editorial in defense of this innovative program appearing yesterday in the Wall Street Journal:

Democrats in Congress have finally found a federal program they want to eliminate. And wouldn't you know, it's one that actually works and helps thousands of poor children.

We're speaking of the four-year-old Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program that provides vouchers to about 2,000 low-income children so they can attend religious or other private schools. The budget for the experimental program is $18 million, or about what the U.S. Department of Education spends every hour and a half.

This fight has nothing to do with saving money. But it has a lot to do with election-year politics. Kevin [Chavous], the former D.C. City Council member who sits on the oversight board of the scholarship program, says, "If we were going to do what was best for the kids, then continuing it is a no-brainer. Those kids are thriving." More than 90% of the families express high satisfaction with the program, according to researchers at Georgetown University.

The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program was created in 2004 with strong bipartisan backing in recognition of the extreme disadvantages facing children in the nation's capital. For families who would otherwise be trapped in underperforming schools, the Opportunity Scholarship Program offers a lifeline, and one that has proven immensely popular with students and their parents alike. Congressional leaders are rallying their support for the program. But ultimately, this is a question of children's interests vs. special interests. The choice should be clear.

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Minimum Wage and Unemployment?

Press Staff — 06/10/2008 18:04

Amid much fanfare, congressional Democrats last year drafted and hastily approved an increase in the federal minimum wage. At the time, Republicans struck a more cautious tone, expressing a concern that without proper care, the wage increase could have serious and harmful unintended consequences. For instance, Republicans offered an alternative proposal that coupled the minimum wage increase with proposals to expand access to affordable health care and protect small businesses and their workers.

Nearly a year after the first phase of the wage increase kicked in, economists have begun to notice at least one potential unintended consequence -- teen employment is down. Way down.

According to economist David Neumark of the University of California at Irvine, for every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, employment for high school dropouts and young black adults and teenagers falls by 8.5 percent. In the past 11 months alone, the United States’ minimum wage has increased by more than twice that amount.

And there's this.

It is at least possible that in addition to the more general problems in the US economy, last summer's increase in the federal minimum wage as well as the next jump coming in late July are behind the particulars here. Last July, the federal minimum wage increased to $5.85/hr and it will go up to $6.55 on July 24 of this year. With a sluggish economy, it certainly seems possible that the higher minimum wage is discouraging employers from hiring lower-skill workers whose productivity cannot justify paying them that wage, particularly if they know they will have to give them a raise come late July.

With unemployment jumping a staggering 0.5 percent last month alone, many are beginning to wonder whether the Democrats' economic proposals are doing more harm than good for the low-income workers who are struggling the most.

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More Big Labor Paybacks

Press Staff — 06/10/2008 10:30

This morning, the Wall Street Journal editorial page takes on congressional Democrats for their thinly-veiled efforts to bolster their special interest union allies by slipping Depression-era Davis-Bacon wage mandates into one piece of legislation after another. According to the Journal:

What do the farm bill, the cap-and-trade global warming bill, the clean water bill, the housing bailout bill, and the school construction bill all have in common? Not much, except that in each one and countless others the Democratic majority in Congress has inserted "prevailing-wage" requirements that amount to a super-minimum wage.

We're speaking of Davis-Bacon, the 1931 law that originally applied to road building and other federal construction projects and set a floor on wages in part to price black and Mexican workers out of the work. Today, its main impact is to require de facto union wages. Many reputable studies have estimated that Davis-Bacon inflates federal construction costs by anywhere from 5% to 39%. A Heritage Foundation analysis of wage data reports that in many cities the mandated Davis-Bacon wage is twice as high as the market wage. In Nassau-Suffolk in New York, for example, Davis-Bacon requires a minimum wage for brickmasons of $49.67 an hour, though the more common area wage for that work is $25.50.

It's an interesting piece, well worth the read.

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Card Check Fallacy Exposed

Press Staff — 05/14/2008 18:06

It seems that every day brings a new critique of the cynical "card check" legislation passed by the House last year. The latest ... Mickey Kaus writes at Slate.com:

It's a permanent structural change in the economy. With "card check," unions wouldn't have to win the right to represent workers in a regular secret ballot election. They'd merely have to collect cards from a majority of workers. ...

You can be against "card check" for all the various process reasons we normally favor secret ballot elections--privacy, freedom from intimidation--and still favor greater unionization of the American work force.

The "card check" bill isn't about helping workers, as its supporters contend, but about stripping them of their right to a secret-ballot election to boost the shrinking union ranks. This isn't the change workers deserve.

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More Bad Press for Card Check

Press Staff — 05/13/2008 09:45

Ever since it was rushed through the House last year, the Democrats' "card check" bill -- deceptively named the "Employee Free Choice Act" despite the fact that it strips workers of the right to free choice through a secret-ballot election -- has been panned by critics of all ideological stripes. The latest critique appears in today's Politico, in a piece written by John McLaughlin of McLaughlin & Associates.

Labor will spend exorbitant amounts of money to elect a Democratic president and to secure a filibuster-proof Senate, so the threat of EFCA being enacted is real. . .

Voters intrinsically support the concept of private ballot elections. They are worried about the potential of workers being coerced and intimidated under the card-check scheme. And they see little need to change the existing balance in current labor laws to make it easier for unions to organize nonunion workplaces.

More important, they resent and oppose efforts to take away an individual’s right to a private and secret ballot.

Luckily for workers, Senate Republicans last year blocked this Big Labor power grab. As Rep. McKeon noted at the time, workplace democracy is still on safe ground ... for now. Unfortunately, the threat to workplace democracy remains all too real.

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DC School Choice in the Spotlight

Press Staff — 04/29/2008 22:09

The Washington Post published an editorial today highlighting the popularity and strength of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships that allow low-income children to gain access to a private education. Enacted in 2003, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program has been a resounding success, with demand continually outpacing the supply of scholarships and parents expressing satisfaction with their new educational options. As the article notes:

"Political ideology and partisan gamesmanship should not be allowed to blow apart the educational hopes of hundreds of D.C. children. Congress must respect the judgment of District leaders in giving parents a choice in one of the most crucial aspects of their children's lives."

Congress has an opportunity to maintain support for this groundbreaking program by funding President Bush's FY 2009 funding request for education in the district, which includes $18 million for the Opportunity Scholarship Program as part of an overall $74 million request to support schools in the nation's capital. It will be an important test for educational freedom ... stay tuned.

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Education (Still) Pays

Press Staff — 04/22/2008 18:47

The New York Times published an economic 'view' today that examined the oft-discussed "wealth-gap." While much of this ground has been covered before, the piece ends with an interesting analysis about the role of education in driving upward economic mobility.

Because growth in the supply of skilled workers has slowed, their wages have grown relative to those of the unskilled . . . In 1980, each year of college raised a person’s wage by 7.6 percent. In 2005, each year of college yielded an additional 12.9 percent. The rate of return from each year of graduate school has risen even more — from 7.3 to 14.2 percent.

WHILE education is the key to understanding broad inequality trends, it is less obvious whether it can explain the incomes of the superrich. . .A top education is no guarantee of great riches, but it often helps.

Maybe educational levels are like Willie Wonka’s chocolate bars. A few of them come with golden tickets that give you opportunities almost beyond imagination. But even if you aren’t lucky enough to get a golden ticket, you can still enjoy the chocolate, which by itself is well worth the price.

As Congress prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the landmark report, "A Nation at Risk," which warned that American students' declining performance as compared to their international peers posed a long-term national security threat, it seems to be a good time to note the value of education to individuals and society.

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March Jobs Report

Press Staff — 04/04/2008 16:55

This morning, the Department of Labor reported that the U.S. economy shed 80,000 jobs in the month of March, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.1 percent (from 4.8 percent last month). It's clear that the economy is slowing and American families and small businesses are feeling the pinch. Although an important step was taken with the economic stimulus package passed earlier this year, Republicans believe Congress must remain vigilant in fostering pro-growth policies that will spur job creation. This means rejecting burdensome red tape and bureaucratic regulations that stifle economic innovation, maintaining fiscal responsibility in Washington, and avoiding tax increases on families and small businesses. In a time of economic uncertainty, the last thing the country needs is the threat of the largest tax hike in American history. Yet that's exactly what the Democrats have proposed with their FY 2009 budget. Today's jobs report should serve as a stark reminder that America's economy needs pro-growth policies, not more of the Democrats' tired tax-and-spend agenda.

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New McKeon Interview, Now Online

Press Staff — 03/20/2008 16:21

The latest episode of Rep. McKeon's cable program, The View From Washington, is now available online. All three segments can be found on our YouTube page at www.youtube.com/EdLaborRepublicans, or you can view the first segment here (be sure to view the full post to allow the video to display).

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Save Reading First!

Press Staff — 03/11/2008 14:25

Tomorrow's edition of Education Week, available online (subscription may be required), examines the challenges being faced by state directors of the Reading First program, who have seen the tremendous success of this program yet are grappling with a stunning 60 percent budget cut imposed last year by the Democratic Congress. From the article:

The federal Reading First initiative is not likely to survive if massive funding cuts are not reversed, several state directors for the program told federal officials at a meeting here this week. . .

[A]nxiety is widespread among state Reading First administrators that many of the gains they’ve made in training teachers and improving instruction in schools with large numbers of struggling students will evaporate without a continuous effort.

“Reading First has allowed us to do the kind of professional development that teachers need … to get down in the trenches and work with them,” said Debora Scheffel, the director of Colorado Reading First, which oversees grants at 49 elementary schools. “We can’t do the kind of detailed work we want to do without the kind of funding it provides.” . . .

In a lively discussion of the funding situation, state and federal officials at the Reading First meeting here all agreed that it is worth saving.

“I was a principal of a Reading First school in Crab Orchard, Kentucky,” said Jim Ward, who left the rural school to work in the state Reading First office. “I was eight years in that building, and I saw more progress with Reading First than anything I’ve seen in my 20 years in education. This process taught me how to be an instructional leader in my building.”

Republicans stand firmly in support of this program to help disadvantaged children learn to read. Stay tuned for more information about this important program and efforts to ensure it gets the funding needed to maintain effective reading programs in our nation's schools.

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Interview with Secretary Spellings

Press Staff — 02/11/2008 08:30

Recently, Education and Labor Committee Senior Republican Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) invited U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to discuss the No Child Left Behind Act. The interview covered topics from the law's implementation in states and schools across the country to opportunities for reform and prospects for reauthorization. A video clip is included in this posting, and the full interview (three segments) can be viewed on the Education and Labor Committee Republicans' YouTube page.

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House to Vote on College Costs

Press Staff — 02/07/2008 08:46

Five years after Republicans first proposed ideas to hold down the rising cost of a college education, the House is poised today to vote on a bill that would do exactly that. This morning the House will begin debate on H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. The bill includes a proposal crafted by Education and Labor Committee Senior Republican Buck McKeon to shine a spotlight on excessive tuition increases and hold colleges and states accountable for helping keep college affordable.

Rep. McKeon wrote an op-ed on the topic of college costs that appears online in today's edition of Inside Higher Ed. Click here to read his take on today's historic vote.

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Wash Times on Teacher Performance Pay

Press Staff — 01/30/2008 15:13

The Washington Times yesterday published an article with compelling first line: "Paying teachers based on their performance in the classroom has resulted in better student test scores, a recent study has found." The article examines the latest evidence showing the promise of teacher performance pay, an innovative education reform concept that is being embraced by states and local communities around the nation.

Republicans have long been champions of teacher performance pay, which rewards hardworking teachers for their successes in the classroom. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) introduced legislation in March 2007 to establish the Teacher Incentive Fund, which would provide funds to states and local school districts to help them develop performance-based compensation systems. These performance pay systems would offer teachers and principals “recognition pay” for demonstrating progress in raising student achievement levels and closing the achievement gap. Click here to read more about Rep. Price's legislation, and don't forget to read the article from the Washington Times as well, by clicking here.

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Wash Post on 'Card Check'

Press Staff — 01/24/2008 09:06

The Washington Post is carrying an op-ed today on the undemocratic 'card check' legislation, which passed the House last year over the strong objection of Republicans and despite overwhelming public opposition. From today's piece...

...a card-check system would offer even more room for intimidation of workers. A union card can be signed by workers at any time during an organizing campaign, which can take many months. Union organizers can pursue workers in their homes, at churches and civic clubs, and at watering holes after hours. Workers' family members can also be intimidated during this process. So much for a "free choice" for employees.

Be sure to read the full article here.

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Ed & Labor Republicans on YouTube

Press Staff — 01/10/2008 10:24

Education and Labor Committee Republicans are pleased to unveil a new YouTube channel! Like this blog, YouTube will allow Committee Republicans to reach the American public in new and different ways. View the full post to check out a welcome message from Senior Republican Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA).

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Welcome

Press Staff — 01/08/2008 12:44

Welcome to the Education & Labor Committee Republicans' blog. In the coming weeks and months, this blog will serve as a forum for committee Republicans to provide news, information and insight on issues facing American students, workers, and retirees. We hope you will check back often!

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