Press Releases

The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), today held a full committee hearing to review the administration’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget request for the Department of Education.  Secretary of Education Arne Duncan served as the hearing witness, offering testimony and answering member questions about the budget proposal.

In an unusual maneuver, the administration’s budget request for the department was split into two proposals: $48.8 billion in “non-Pell discretionary spending” and an additional $41.2 billion in spending for the Pell Grant program.  Chairman Kline referred to this budgetary tactic as a “gimmick” that “attempts to conceal the true costs associated with this proposal.”

“Here is the bottom line: the department is asking to spend nearly $90 billion during the next fiscal year – a 31 percent increase in the department’s budget from the time the president took office,” said Chairman Kline.  “Winning the future is a goal we all share, but it can’t be won through record spending and record debt.  It is time we changed the status quo, not only in how we approach our fiscal future, but also in the way we support our nation’s education system.”

Concerns were also raised that the growing amount of federal dollars dedicated to the Department of Education has not enhanced student achievement.  “Despite the near tripling of overall per pupil funding since 1965, national academic performance has not improved,” said Chairman Kline.  “Math and reading scores have largely gone flat, graduation rates have stagnated, and researchers have found serious shortcomings with many federal education programs.”

While the administration’s budget request eliminates certain wasteful or duplicative programs, Chairman Kline pressed Secretary Duncan on the urgent need to go further.  “Last week, GAO released a report that found there was widespread duplication, including around 80 federal programs focused on improving teacher quality,” Chairman Kline said.  “Even though your budget request consolidates some of this, why didn’t you do more?”

Secretary Duncan acknowledged the need to do away with duplicative programs.  “We have to continue to work across the administration,” Secretary Duncan told the Committee.   “Many of these programs aren’t actually in our department, but in others, and we need to work better together. Absolutely committed to doing that.”

To watch hearing footage or read statements and testimony, visit www.republicans-edlabor.house.gov/hearings. 

 

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