Susan Davis: “I must oppose the appropriations bill before us today because it shortchanges the children of America. This legislature…”

“I must oppose the appropriations bill before us today because it shortchanges the children of America. This legislature has promised to fund its broad mandate called No Child Left Behind, NCLB. Compared to the authorizations promised when that vote was solicited, Every Child Is Left Behind. Let me be specific for the children I represent. Title I is the foundation of NCLB. Of course, the total dollars have been increased by $1 billion. However, the administration deleted $1.5 billion worth of over 40 specific, successful programs whose continued existence had been promised to gather support for the bill. It was then suggested that those programs could be paid for under the smaller increase in Title I, which was designed to cover additional programs the federal government has mandated for those students. However, even that increase does not match the promise. Others have noted that the appropriation for Title I is more than $6 billion less than the FY 2004 authorization. For California, that is $872,616,000 less than promised for the neediest, low-income children. Similarly, when this House passed its reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, the FY 2004 authorization was to be a $2.2 billion increase. Yet, only six weeks later, you are offering an increase of only $1 billion! Why would you cut your commitment by 60% in six weeks?”