|
Washington DC Office:
2263 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Ph.: 202-225-5161
Fax: 202-225-5163
District Offices:
Marin Office:
1050 Northgate Drive
Suite 354
San Rafael, CA. 94903
Ph.: 415-507-9554
Fax: 415-507-9601
Sonoma Office:
1101 College Avenue
Suite 200
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Ph.: 707-542-7182
Fax: 707-542-2745
|
Legislation & Issues
Below are links to the bills written, introduced and cosponsored by Lynn in the 110th Congress. You may click on the bill number to find the actual status and summary of each legislation.
 | | |
| Education | | | |
| MAKING EDUCATION OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
Education continues to be my top priority. That’s why serving on the House Committee on Education and the Labor is so important to me.
Everyone is concerned about the rapidly increasing cost of higher education. That’s why I cosponsored H.R. 5, the College Student Relief Act of 2007. This bill, which passed the House last year and has been referred to the Senate, would reduce the interest rates on undergraduate loans by 3% by 2011. I am also a cosponsor of H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, which was signed into law in Fall 2007. This bill is the largest increase in higher education funding since the GI Bill. H.R. 2669 boosts college financial aid by about $18 billion over the next five years by raising the limits on Pell Grants, cutting interest rates in half on need-based student loans, and providing loan forgiveness for teachers, public defenders, and first responders. This legislation prevents student borrowers from facing unmanageable levels of federal student debt by guaranteeing that borrowers will never have to spend more than 15 percent of their yearly discretionary income on loan repayments and by allowing borrowers in economic hardship to have their loans forgiven after 20 years.
The Higher Education Reauthorization Act was signed into law in August. This bill included three provisions that I championed. The first, the Patsy T. Mink Fellowships would provide fellowships to women and minorities who pursue graduate degrees in underrepresented fields such as the math and sciences. The second is the ‘Bridges from Jobs to Careers Grant Program.’ The program will provide funding for community colleges to improve remedial education. Finally, the bill includes my amendment on Business Workforce Partnerships. This program provides funding to partnerships between colleges and business groups to provide students with the opportunity to receive college credit and financial aid while gaining experience in the workplace. It would also help with making college schedules more flexible for working students.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) remains the hottest topic in elementary and secondary education. Congress may be rewriting the legislation next year and I am working with local and national educators and parents to prepare significant changes to NCLB to fix the law’s many problems. I also am an original cosponsor of legislation both to fully fund NCLB and to suspend its sanctions if it is not fully funded. My priorities will be to make the law fair, flexible, and fully funded.
Full funding also is essential to the success of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In the past, the Republican majority continually refused to fully fund IDEA, but I worked successfully with Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) in 2004 to require states to pass any increase in federal IDEA funds down to local schools. When school districts have to struggle to make sure they have enough funds, it can pit student against student and parent against parent. It doesn't have to be that way. If the federal government steps up to its responsibility to students with special needs, every student will win.
We reauthorized Head Start, which became law in December 2007. With the reauthoriazation of Head Start, Congress has ensured that local agencies continue to receive the funding they need to provide high quality early childhood education. The bill also will allow for the expansion of Head Start sites, giving more children access to this important program. During this Congress, I once again fought to prevent Head Start grantees from discriminating in hiring based on religion.
This Congress, I introduced bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1363), to ensure that all food sold in schools meets high nutritional standards. The school lunch and breakfast programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program all depend on federal funding, as does the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). With our economy in such a fragile state, it’s more important than ever that we make sure that all the children and families who rely on these programs can continue to benefit from them. These programs also give us a good opportunity to encourage healthy eating habits and reduce childhood obesity.
Children are 25% of our nation’s population and 100% of its future. There is no better investment we can make than investing in our children, particularly in their education. I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with the new Majority is finally making education a real priority. You can count on me to keep speaking out for children and their families, and to make them a federal priority.
(updated Sept. 2008) |
|
|
