Washington, D.C. -— U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington), the only former state schools chief serving in Congress, today criticized President Bush’s veto of a bill that would invest in education and health initiatives.
Etheridge, who serves on the House Budget Committee, called for the President to work with Congress to enact the Labor-Health-Education Appropriations Bill.
“Education is an investment that will pay huge dividends in the future by providing a skilled workforce and a robust economy” said Etheridge. “The legislation the President has vetoed would provide the tools to ensure that each student can make the most of his or her God-given abilities and America can stay competitive in the 21st-century global economy.”
“I hope that the President will reverse his misplaced priorities and work with Congress to enact an education bill that reflects our values. The budget the President submitted to Congress would have eliminated 44 proven education initiatives and cut education spending by $1.5 billion below last year’s level. Meanwhile, the President is spending $11 billion a month in Iraq, much of which is not accounted for, and all of which is borrowed money that future generations will have to pay back with interest.”
The bill reverses spending cuts the President made in his budget to education and health care initiatives. It provides an increase of $1.6 billion for the No Child Left Behind education reform law over the 2007 funding level. It also invests in strengthening teacher quality, by providing funding to train 51,000 additional teachers. The bill will also help more middle-class families to pay for college by providing funding to increase the maximum Pell Grant level from $4,050 in 2006 to $4,925. This would benefit 5.5 million students.
The legislation will also provide a $25 million increase in funding for vocational and career education, restoring the President’s 49 percent cut to the initiative. Early education would get a boost with an additional $254 million for Head Start services.
The legislation would also provide needed increases in funding for rural health care. The bill will provided $24 million more than the 2007 funding level to provide health services to 225,000 rural residents in underserved areas and to support over 1,200 small, rural hospitals.