John Yarmuth: “last night this House acted in bipartisan fashion to reject some of the President's harmful budget cuts to important…”

“last night this House acted in bipartisan fashion to reject some of the President's harmful budget cuts to important education programs. Had this Congress simply rubber-stamped President Bush's budget, education funding would have been slashed by $1.2 billion, including a 50 percent cut in vocational education and the elimination of every student aid program except Pell Grants and Work Study. This House rejected those cuts. Instead, we invest $767 million more than the President's request for K-12 education, including targeted increases in special education, teacher quality grants, after-school programs and Head Start. We invested $575 million above the President's budget for technical training in high schools and community colleges. And we provide $1.7 billion more than the President for Pell Grants and other student aid programs. Mr. Speaker, this new Democratic Congress has prioritized the needs of children and young adults by investing in their education so they can better compete in an ever-expanding global economy.”