DeLauro to Vote against Damaging GOP Education Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will vote today against damaging Republican legislation that would inflict the most harm on those who can least afford it: low-income children. DeLauro is the senior Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for funding the Department of Education. DeLauro spoke against the bill Wednesday on the floor of the House of Representatives. Her remarks are below and can be viewed here.

“Upon signing the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act, President Johnson described education as ‘The only valid passport from poverty.’ This bill threatens to tear up that passport. It caps federal education funding at 2015 levels – levels which are already woefully inadequate after years of drastic cuts. It makes no provision for inflation, let alone the growing need for federal education programs.

“The bill allows states to direct federal dollars away from schools and districts with the greatest poverty. It permits states to reduce education funding with no accountability. It allows schools in wealthier neighborhoods to use Title I funding, without having to target funds to the students with the greatest need. It is a blatant betrayal of the ESEA’s fundamental purpose, which is to level the playing field for low-income kids. It also weakens or eliminates many successful programs, the 21st Century Community Learning Center initiative, provides quality afterschool, summer school programs for disadvantaged children.

“Mister Speaker, it used to be that hard work, in school and on the job, was the surest ticket to the middle class. Today, that compact is broken. Millions of hardworking families do not earn enough to make ends meet, let alone move up in the world. The cuts proposed in this bill would make matters even worse. Kids from poor neighborhoods are already being neglected, while those from wealthy areas get an ever-increasing slice of the pie. These disparities reverberate throughout their lives, and create an increasingly divided, unequal society. Let me put it simply: without broad access to quality education, there is no future for the middle class. With this legislation, the Majority are saying to America’s low-income kids, ‘You are on your own.’ Mister Speaker, that is not who we are. I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill.


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