Connie Mack: “my colleague Senator Gorton has introduced an amendment which would return federal funding for education programs…”

“my colleague Senator Gorton has introduced an amendment which would return federal funding for education programs serving grades K-12 directly to school districts. Currently, nearly one third of all the money spent on education by the federal government ends up at the Department of Education. However, of that amount, only 13.1 percent actually reaches local school districts. Mr. President, the Federal Government currently administers so many education programs which it cannot efficiently control, nor can it determine if it is money well spent. The vast number of these programs are redundant and could be easily combined. Over the years, as new ideas and innovations in education have been enacted, we have not reviewed programs currently in place which serve similar purposes. The result has been a growing Washington bureaucracy, with more federal regulations affecting the day-to-day workings of our local schools. Clearly, when it comes to the education of our young people, one size does not fit all. This amendment would remove Washington bureaucrats from what should be local decisions. Parents, teachers, and local school officials are far better prepared to determine how best to use scarce resources. We should express our confidence in parents, our teachers and our principals to decide how best to use limited resources to meet the needs of children--who ultimately are the ones we must serve.”