Bernard Sanders: “I stand in strong support for this small State amendment to H.R. 6 and thank the chairman and his staff for working with…”

“I stand in strong support for this small State amendment to H.R. 6 and thank the chairman and his staff for working with us to reach a successful compromise. Mr. Chairman, as you know, the State of Vermont is subject to a $2 million cut in funds this year for its Chapter 1 Program because of existing law, and there is nothing we can do today to fix this. That's a 15-percent cut in our funds, and is a terrible blow to education in our State. This catastrophic cutback in Vermont's funding will threaten the stability of our program and certainly make it very difficult for Vermont to carry out the intent of this legislation. Confronting this painful cut, I have joined with Mr. Castle and Mr. Swett and worked closely with your staff to offer a modest amendment, which will restore the $2 million in funds in the following school year and prevent an additional cut of $800,000. Our amendment will help Vermont and other small States who have lost funding this year by restoring those funds, preventing further cuts and making it possible for small States to continue to operate their Title I Programs in the future.”