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.
In 1993, we looked the fiscal situation of our country in the eye. We had sustained $1.4 trillion of deficit spending under President Reagan and $1.1 trillion of deficit spending under President Bush. We put legislation on the floor and said that we need to meet our fiscal responsibilities. Not a single Republican voted for that legislation. But over the next eight years, we had a net surplus in this country—the only time in the lifetime of anyone in this body that it’s happened. Unfortunately, the last administration ran up $3.8 trillion in deficits. And we inherited an economy that was in substantial freefall. We adopted legislation that tried to stabilize the economy, and the good news is that the economy has stabilized. But we still haven’t gotten to where we want to be—far too many Americans remain out of work.
The Republican Spending Bill does not make the tough choices between necessary cuts and smart investments in our future so that we can out-educate our competitors. The Republicans have put forward an irresponsible proposal that arbitrarily cuts:
Democrats are committed to restoring fiscal responsibility and cutting spending is one part of the effort to reduce the deficit. While Democrats agree that we must reduce spending, House Republicans have introduced a short-sighted plan that does not distinguish between necessary cuts, and cuts to investments that are critical to our continued economic recovery. While Speaker Boehner has dismissed investment in long-term economic growth as “ineffective stimulus,” Democrats are focused on cutting spending without cutting smart investments in our future that create jobs, expand private sector employment and will continue growing the economy.
I strongly support the new ‘Startup America’ initiative, which goes hand-in-hand with House Democrats’ Make It In America agenda to strengthen our manufacturing sector and ensure middle-class families can succeed. I look forward to working with President Obama as we move to unleash the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that is so unique to the American economy. It is that spirit that will keep driving job creation and keep the U.S. as the world leader in the 21st century global economy.
President Obama delivered a compelling vision of how we can work together to address America’s challenges. While our economy is on the road back to health, we know we still have a long way to go—and tonight, the president discussed a strategy for getting us there.
As Congress returns to work this week, our community is still recovering from the tragedy in Tucson, Ariz., and praying for the health of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and all of the wounded. A tragedy like this doesn’t make our differences disappear; but this can, I hope, be a time to remember that the grave challenges our nation faces are common to us all and can only be overcome with common effort.
The America COMPETES Act expands support for research and development, helping the United States to remain the world’s innovation leader. It creates jobs for the short-term and lays a foundation for long-term prosperity. And it is an important part of the 'Make It In America' agenda—a series of important bills designed to help America regain its manufacturing strength.
The Republican Party has made it clear where they stand: obstructing measures that help the middle class. If they had their way, Republicans would take us back to the “exact same agenda,” as NRCC Chair Rep. Pete Sessions said, that put Big Banks, big oil companies and health insurance companies before the middle class [7/18/10].
Let's consider what would happen if Republicans had their way and this bill failed.
Today, the House passed the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, voting to help the middle class, continue creating jobs, and build a strong foundation for long-term economic prosperity.