Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Senate adopted a bill containing $161 million to increase Title I education funding that is designed to help meet the needs of the nation's poorest school children, Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) announced today.

Funding allocations announced earlier this year by the Department of Education showed a reduction in Title I distributions for Mississippi and several other states.

Last April at a hearing in Jackson, Senator Cochran announced that he was aware of the shortfall and that the Senate Appropriations Committee was working to restore the funds in the Supplemental funding bill.

Cochran said, "I am pleased that our State will receive an additional $2.4 million for Title I programs which have proven to be effective in dealing with the learning problems of disadvantaged elementary and secondary school children in our state."

When differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill are negotiated, the President is expected to sign the bill.