Political Quotes

“There are two ways that States are able to administer IDEA requirements. One way is for States to have $500,000 of administrative funds as part of the grant that are capped, but with an inflation adjustment; or, alternatively, States are able to use up to 20 percent of that grant for administration purposes. However, small States such as mine, New Hampshire, generally do not qualify for this provision to be able to use the 20 percent figure because it is less than the $500,000. This $500,000 cap, which was authorized as part of the reauthorization law in 1997, therefore places large administrative burdens on small States such as New Hampshire as the accountability standards of not only the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, but also the No Child Left Behind law have increased. This increases costs to small States, federally mandated costs on States such as mine. Some of the issues that are involved are greater accountability requirements, improving academic performance, expanded data collection, as well as fiscal accounting requirements. What my amendment does is lift the cap from $500,000 to $750,000. Amendment No. 3 does not increase costs to the Federal Government, as there is nothing that mandates the expenditure of these funds.”