Bob Schaffer: “I flatly dispute, because these programs are still receiving increases over and above what they are budgeted in the…”

“I flatly dispute, because these programs are still receiving increases over and above what they are budgeted in the current fiscal year. In fact, we are, in many of these programs, increasing still above what the President had requested. As to whether doing so causes some kind of harm or endangers students, I just do not think our President would do that. I think our President has suggested a funding level that is reasonable and just, and took into full consideration the impact that his funding increases would have on America's children. The President did suggest on several occasions his support for moving toward full funding of IDEA. Although our promise to the American people, to America's schoolchildren, their teachers, their administrators, was that we would fund this Federal mandate at 40 percent, my amendment increases the amount the committee has suggested by $1 billion. That only gets us to 21 percent. We still have a long way to go to maintain the promises that we have made. I hope we can do that. But we are not hurting anyone in accomplishing the fulfillment of our obligations.”