Rodney Frelinghuysen: “I have spoken with our Governor, Christie Todd Whitman, in New Jersey about what fully funding IDEA would mean to my…”

“I have spoken with our Governor, Christie Todd Whitman, in New Jersey about what fully funding IDEA would mean to my State. In New Jersey alone there are over 210,000 students in special education programs. According to our Governor, if the Federal Government paid its full 40 percent share last year, the State would have received an additional $300 million to pay for these children's education. Our States are paying too great of an amount of our government's legal obligation to IDEA with money that otherwise could be spent to hire additional teachers, expand or maintain school facilities, pay for athletics or extracurricular activities. Mr. Speaker, until we pay our existing mandates, we should not consider paying for any new and expensive programs, any new entitlements. I support this resolution, and I urge all of my colleagues to do the same.”