Jim Nussle: “To increase the funding for education in the House resolution to provide for maximum feasible funding. Now, the…”

“To increase the funding for education in the House resolution to provide for maximum feasible funding. Now, the gentleman from California is a Member of the House who stands behind no one when it comes to his advocacy of education and education funding and for our students. He is a friend, he is someone who has always tried to responsibly put forward reforms and proposals on education. But to suggest that this motion to instruct somehow provides more money than what the House resolution provided is just simply not the case. Let me review with the gentleman from California and others what is in the budget that has been passed that we are defending here today. The House-passed budget accommodates not only the President's 'no child left behind' education reform, which links dollars to accountability. Simply throwing more money at the programs will not make them better. The gentleman from California even testified to that fact before me and the Committee on the Budget. It increases elementary and secondary education funding by 10 percent. It triples funding for reading programs. It improves by increasing IDEA by $1.25 billion to ensure that every child, particularly children with special needs, have access to the best possible education.”