Education
Democrats are committed to ensuring all Americans have access to a high-quality education. If our nation is going to remain the world’s leader, we must not lag our global competitors in education. Democrats are focused on making higher education and skills training more accessible, reducing high school dropout rates, and providing students with the support they need to secure well-paying jobs. From day one, the Trump Administration has undermined protections for and disinvested in America’s students. President Trump’s budget proposes to cut teacher training and literacy programs and reduces funding for the schools and communities most in need. Congressional Republicans have also proposed extreme funding bills that dramatically cut education and job training programs, threatening our ability to build a competitive workforce and help more Americans find good-paying work. Democrats are fighting to protect families from these harmful cuts and have a strong record of making investments that will strengthen education. Democrats have increased Pell grants, cut red tape in the loan process, and made it easier to repay student loans once students join the workforce. Democrats also enacted a major reform bill that ended wasteful taxpayer subsidies to big banks and directed the savings to helping students instead. Democrats also made record investments in community colleges and minority-serving higher education institutions.
Tonight the President will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress, and discuss his “Blueprint for an America Built to Last,” a plan that will emphasize four pillars to support economic revitalization: American values, American manufacturing, American energy and skills for American workers. These pillars line up with House Democrats’ Make It In America plan, which aims to support job creation by cultivating an encouraging environment for businesses to innovate and make products here in the U.S.
This week our nation celebrates American Education Week, a time to focus on our commitment to students and educators and rededicate ourselves to ensuring all Americans can receive a quality education. While Republicans have voted several times over the past year to make reckless cuts to education and job training, Democrats remain committed to making investments in our nation’s future. For example, just two months ago, the Obama Administration awarded Community College and Career Training grants, authorized by the Reconciliation Act of 2010, to community colleges to expand and improve education and job training programs and create pathways for people who are looking for employment.
This week our nation celebrates American Education Week, a time to focus on our commitment to students and educators and rededicate ourselves to ensuring all Americans can receive a quality education. While Republicans have voted several times over the past year to make reckless cuts to education and job training, Democrats remain committed to making investments in our nation’s future. For example, just two months ago, the Obama Administration awarded Community College and Career Training grants, authorized by the Reconciliation Act of 2010, to community colleges to expand and improve education and job training programs and create pathways for people who are looking for employment.
Last night's vote demonstrated once again that Republicans in Congress are more concerned with positioning for the next election than doing what's necessary to help get Americans back to work. The bill blocked by Senate Republicans would have kept thousands of teachers in the classroom and thousands of first responders at the ready in communities across the country. Over and over, Republicans seem intent on torpedoing any proposal by the President and Democrats, even if it contains bipartisan ideas and would benefit those who are desperately seeking jobs. It is long past time for them to work together with Democrats to pass job-creating legislation like the one they blocked last night. I strongly urge Republican Leader McConnell to reconsider and allow the Senate to move forward with this and other measures to create jobs now.
Our students represent a generation of abundant promise. We can help them reach their full potential by making critical investments today, and this includes providing greater resources to teachers, engaging more parents, and turning around failing schools.
Today’s announcement by the President to provide states with flexibility in return for education reform is a positive step, and I look forward to learning more details about the Administration’s plan. Maryland and other states awarded funding through the Race to the Top grant program have been undertaking serious efforts aimed at raising graduation rates, ensuring high-quality teachers in every classroom, and closing the achievement gap in key subjects such as reading and math. I am disappointed that Congress has not yet been able to come together on a bipartisan basis to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which is a central component of Democrats’ Make it in America jobs plan. I hope doing so will be the next step as we continue seeking ways to prepare more of our students to succeed.
The deficit reduction plan put forward by the President is a balanced approach to reduce the deficit, create jobs, strengthen entitlement programs and ensure that all Americans pay their fair share. But rather than work with Democrats on a balanced plan, Republicans immediately rejected the President’s proposal because it calls on all Americans to do their part. By opposing a plan that asks the wealthy to pay their fair share, Republicans will be forced to answer the question: Who do they stand with?
While I would prefer for us to be addressing a reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, today’s legislation reflects bipartisan support for innovation in public schools and improving educational opportunities for students who still lack access to a high-quality education.
Today, the Obama Administration announced that it is taking steps to reform No Child Left Behind – a flawed law that is long overdue for reauthorization. Education is critical to our nation’s economic success, which is why the Democrats’ Make It In America agenda prioritizes investments in key areas like education. This plan aims to ensure that our nation has a workforce prepared to succeed in the global economy and that our schools have the resources they need to help our children achieve those goals. This includes maintaining accountability measures to make sure students are truly ready for college and high-paying careers with opportunity for growth; attracting the best and the brightest to the teaching profession, and compensating them appropriately; and providing schools with the tools to help them succeed. Our future as a nation depends on it.
Each July 4, we celebrate our nation’s independence and again take pride in America’s history. This pride comes from knowing that the courage, determination and hard work of generations of Americans before us — many of whom fought and died to preserve our liberty — made our country what it is today.