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Mike on Education

Federal support for our nation's public schools is insufficient. In 2001, Congress and President Bush had an opportunity to change that with consideration of "No Child Left Behind (NCLB)." Unfortunately, this legislation did little to improve our public schools. I was one of only 41 members of the House to vote against NCLB because at the time, I did not think the federal government was fulfilling its current obligations and would not do enough to help states meet the additional requirements imposed under NCLB. Unfortunately, these concerns proved to be well founded. In the years since NCLB became law, President Bush and the Republican controlled Congress have consistently under funded NCLB by billions of dollars. I am fighting for additional funding for our schools and am working to ensure that our federal government fulfills its obligation to adequately educate all of our children.

The role of the federal government in the education of our children should not stop with a high school diploma. With 32 Colleges and Universities in my district I recognize the important role higher education plays in today's economy and its role in keeping America competitive in the global marketplace. I have consistently supported student aid programs like Pell Grants, GEAR UP, and TRIO in order to keep college affordable for all Americans. One of our country's founding principles was a belief that anyone can achieve greatness. In order to make this ideal a reality and help our students compete, we must work to make college more affordable and accessible for all of our students. Under the current Administration, federal support for college tuition has diminished through a reduction in funding for student loan programs. Recently, the program suffered the largest reduction in its history at $14.3 billion. I am working to reverse this trend so that more young people have access to some form of financial assistance.

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