[Senate Hearing 112-717]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 112-717
THE IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION ON EDUCATION
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HEARING
before a
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
SPECIAL HEARING
JULY 25, 2012--WASHINGTON, DC
__________
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COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman
PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi
TOM HARKIN, Iowa MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky
BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama
HERB KOHL, Wisconsin KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas
PATTY MURRAY, Washington LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California SUSAN COLLINS, Maine
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana MARK KIRK, Illinois
JACK REED, Rhode Island DANIEL COATS, Indiana
FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey ROY BLUNT, Missouri
BEN NELSON, Nebraska JERRY MORAN, Kansas
MARK PRYOR, Arkansas JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
JON TESTER, Montana RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
Charles J. Houy, Staff Director
Bruce Evans, Minority Staff Director
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Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education, and Related Agencies
TOM HARKIN, Iowa, Chairman
DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama
HERB KOHL, Wisconsin THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi
PATTY MURRAY, Washington KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
JACK REED, Rhode Island MARK KIRK, Illinois
MARK PRYOR, Arkansas LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland JERRY MORAN, Kansas
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
Professional Staff
Erik Fatemi
Mark Laisch
Adrienne Hallett
Lisa Bernhardt
Michael Gentile
Robin Juliano
Laura A. Friedel (Minority)
Sara Love Rawlings (Minority)
Jennifer Castagna (Minority)
Administrative Support
Teri Curtin
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Opening Statement of Senator Tom Harkin..........................
1..............................................................
Sequestration's Across-the-Board Cut.............................
1..............................................................
Sequestration's Impact on Nondefense Jobs and Services...........
1..............................................................
Report on Sequestration's Impact.................................
2..............................................................
Sequestration Study Shows Negative Impact on Gross Domestic
Product........................................................
2..............................................................
Statement of Senator Richard C. Shelby...........................
3..............................................................
Too Few Facts From Administration on Precise Impacts.............
3..............................................................
Chairman's Sequestration Report..................................
3..............................................................
Budget Control Act of 2011.......................................
4..............................................................
Indiscriminate Cuts to Programs..................................
4..............................................................
Federal Deficit..................................................
4..............................................................
Education Budget Request.........................................
5..............................................................
Prepared Statement of Senator Barbara A. Mikulski................
5..............................................................
Impact of Sequestration on Education.............................
5..............................................................
Statement of Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, Department of
Education......................................................
6..............................................................
Timeframe for Sequestration......................................
7..............................................................
Arbitrary Cuts Affect Effective and Ineffective Programs.........
7..............................................................
Short-Term Fix to Long-Term Budget Problems......................
7..............................................................
Sequestration Cuts Would Undermine Equity and Reform.............
8..............................................................
Cuts to Education Impact Military Preparedness...................
8..............................................................
K-12 Education Impact Would Begin in Fall 2013...................
8..............................................................
7.8-Percent Cut and Some Specific Impacts........................
8..............................................................
Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act Impact...........
8..............................................................
Special Education Impact.........................................
9..............................................................
Impact Aid Cuts Would Take Effect January 2......................
9..............................................................
Student Loans Impact.............................................
9..............................................................
Other Federal Agency Cuts Also Impact Education..................
9..............................................................
Head Start Program Impact........................................
9..............................................................
National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation
Impact.........................................................
9..............................................................
Sequestration Should Be Avoided..................................
9..............................................................
Prepared Statement of Arne Duncan................................
10.............................................................
Congressional Budget Office Estimate of Sequestration Impact.....
10.............................................................
Impact on State Formula Grant Programs...........................
11.............................................................
Impact on Student Aid Administration.............................
11.............................................................
Immediate Effect on Impact Aid and Vocational Rehabilitation.....
12.............................................................
Effect on Education if Defense Is Made Exempt....................
12.............................................................
Congressional Budget Office Estimates--Basis for Projected
Education Cuts.................................................
13.............................................................
Priorities Assuming Cuts.........................................
14.............................................................
Education Budget an Investment in the Future.....................
14.............................................................
Pell Grant Exempt From Sequestration.............................
15.............................................................
Joint Subcommittee on Deficit Reduction..........................
15.............................................................
Damaging Impact on Families and Communities......................
16.............................................................
Impact of Sequestration on U.S. Competitiveness..................
60.............................................................
Foreign Countries Increasing Their Competitiveness...............
61.............................................................
Balanced, Bipartisan Action Needed...............................
61.............................................................
Impact of Exempting Defense From Sequestration...................
62.............................................................
Sequester's Impact on Already Tight State/Local Budgets..........
62.............................................................
Important To Maintain Current Reform Efforts.....................
63.............................................................
Competitiveness Important to National Security...................
63.............................................................
Impact of Sequester on School Reform.............................
63.............................................................
Broad, Indiscriminate Impact on Education in All Local Education
Agencies.......................................................
64.............................................................
Potential To Undermine Reforms Achieved and Planned..............
65.............................................................
Change Since the Last Balanced Budget............................
65.............................................................
Examples of Impact on Chicago Schools............................
66.............................................................
Access to After-School Activities Among Cuts.....................
66.............................................................
Relationship Between After-School Activities and Drop in Crime...
66.............................................................
All Options for Fiscal Cuts Must Be on the Table.................
67.............................................................
Importance of Compromise.........................................
67.............................................................
Implementation of Education Budget Cuts..........................
67.............................................................
Across-the-Board Cut to Education................................
68.............................................................
Global Competitors Increasing, Not Cutting Budgets...............
68.............................................................
Education Cuts Absent Sequestration..............................
68.............................................................
Education Is an Investment, Not an Expense.......................
69.............................................................
Guidance to Local Education Agencies If Sequester Is Enacted.....
69.............................................................
Impact on Rural Areas and Students With Disabilities.............
69.............................................................
Sequestration Effect on Impact Aid...............................
69.............................................................
Education Budget Increases Since 2008............................
70.............................................................
Nondepartmental Witnesses........................................
71.............................................................
Statement of June Atkinson, State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Raleigh, North Carolina...........................
71.............................................................
Prepared Statement of........................................
73.........................................................
Statement of Billy Walker, Ed.D., Superintendent, Randolph Field
Independent School District, University City, Texas............
76.............................................................
Prepared Statement of........................................
77.........................................................
Statement of Neal P. McCluskey, Associate Director, Center for
Educational Freedom, The Cato Institute, Washington, DC........
79.............................................................
Prepared Statement of........................................
81.........................................................
Inflation-Adjusted Federal K-12 Spending Per Pupil and
Achievement of 17-Year-Olds, Percent Change Since 1970.........
82.............................................................
Inflation-Adjusted Cost of a Complete K-12 Public Education and
Percent Change in Achievement of 17-Year-Olds Since 1970.......
82.............................................................
Percent Change in Public School Employment and Enrollment Since
1970...........................................................
83.............................................................
Statement of Tammy L. Mann, Ph.D., President and CEO, The
Campagna Center, Alexandria, Virginia..........................
85.............................................................
Prepared Statement of........................................
87.........................................................
Additional Committee Questions...................................
97.............................................................
Questions Submitted by Senator Tom Harkin........................
97.............................................................
Are Federal Education Programs Effective? Would Sequestration
Harm Federal Education Programs?...............................
97.............................................................
Impact on Education Programs of Sequestration if Pell Grant
Program Is Exempt..............................................
97.............................................................
Question Submitted by Senator Herb Kohl..........................
98.............................................................
Sequestration Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education......
98.............................................................
Questions Submitted by Senator Mary L. Landrieu..................
98.............................................................
Impacts on Reform................................................
98.............................................................
Preparation for Sequester........................................
98.............................................................
Preventing Sequestration.........................................
99.............................................................
Questions Submitted by Senator Richard C. Shelby.................
99.............................................................
Education Program Priorities if Sequestration Takes Effect.......
99.............................................................
Actions Taken To Increase Program Efficiencies Given Potential
Sequestration..................................................
99.............................................................
Sequestration Impact on Unobligated Balances, Hold-Harmless, and
Maintenance-of-Effort Provisions...............................
100............................................................
Option for New State and Local Flexibilities Under Sequestration?
100............................................................
Sequestration Impact on Local Education Agencies With Greater
Reliance on Federal Funding....................................
100............................................................
Sequestration Impact on Origination Fees for Student Loans.......
100............................................................
Questions Submitted by Senator Mark Kirk.........................
101............................................................
Sequestration Impact on Local Education Agencies Heavily
Dependent on Impact Aid Funds..................................
101............................................................
Departmental Guidance To Impact Aid Districts on Planning For
Sequestration..................................................
101............................................................
THE IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION ON EDUCATION
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education, and Related Agencies,
Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:03 a.m., in room SD-124, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Tom Harkin (chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Harkin, Murray, Durbin, Reed, Pryor,
Mikulski, Brown, and Shelby.
opening statement of senator tom harkin
Senator Harkin. The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, and Related Agencies will come to order.
sequestration's across-the-board cut
As everyone here is aware, under the Budget Control Act of
2011, virtually all Federal programs face an across-the-board
cut in January 2013 if the Congress does not enact a plan
before then to reduce the national debt by $1.2 trillion over
the next 10 years.
So far we've heard a great deal about sequestration's
effects on Pentagon spending. The defense industry has
highlighted the potential impact of an across-the-board cut on
defense-related jobs and services. Some Members of Congress are
now demanding that we exempt the Pentagon from sequestration
either by finding offsets for the defense cuts only or by
making nondefense programs bear the full brunt of the entire
$1.2 trillion in cuts.
sequestration's impact on nondefense jobs and services
But sequestration wouldn't apply only to defense. It would
also have destructive impacts on the whole array of programs
that undergird the middle class in this country, everything
from education to job training, medical research, childcare,
food safety, national parks, border security, safe air travel,
and on and on. These essential Government services and programs
directly touch every family in America, and they will be
subject to deep, arbitrary cuts under sequestration.
Some Members of Congress warn that defense contracting
firms will lay off employees if sequestration goes into effect.
But they say nothing of the tens of thousands of teachers,
police officers, and other public servants in communities all
across America who would also lose their jobs.
As far as I'm concerned, a laid-off teacher is just as
unemployed as a laid-off defense contractor, and they're both
paid by the taxpayers.
report on sequestration's impact
So it's important that we have an accurate assessment of
the potential impact of sequestration on the nondefense side of
the budget. To that end, this morning, I am releasing a report
that provides a detailed analysis of sequestration's effects on
dozens of labor, health, education, and related programs under
the jurisdiction of this subcommittee that would happen in
fiscal year 2013. Among the highlights of this report. States
and local communities would lose $2.7 billion in Federal
funding for just three critical education programs alone, Title
I, Special Education State grants, and Head Start, that serve a
combined 30.7 million children. Nationwide, these cuts would
force roughly 46,000 employees to either lose their jobs or
rely on cash-strapped States and localities to pick up their
salaries instead.
In health, 660,000 fewer people would be tested for HIV;
49,000 fewer women would be screened for cancer; 212,000 fewer
children would be vaccinated.
At a time when the unemployment rate is still above 8
percent, 1.6 million fewer adults, dislocated workers, and at-
risk youth would receive job training, education, and
employment services. And the families of 80,000 fewer children
would receive childcare subsidies, making it harder for parents
to find work.
This report is available online and much of this
information is available on a State-by-State basis. For
example, you can go there and you can click on my State of Iowa
and see that sequestration will result in about 4,700 fewer
people being admitted to substance abuse treatment programs, or
500 fewer veterans receiving job assistance next year.
So I urge you to go to the Senate Appropriations Committee
Web site and view the report. And once you have read it, you'll
understand why my colleagues and I adamantly oppose any
unbalanced approach that protects the Pentagon and the
wealthiest 2 percent in our society while ignoring cuts to
nondefense services, including education, that's so critical to
the middle class.
I want to point out one paragraph that's in the foreword of
this study. The study is called ``Under Threat''. You can get
it on my official Web site also. We just released it this
morning.
[The information follows:]
``In fact, the economic effects of cuts to nondefense programs
could be worse than cuts to Pentagon spending. A December 2011 study
found that investing $1 billion in healthcare or education creates
significantly more jobs within the United States economy than spending
$1 billion on the military. In healthcare, the difference is 54 percent
more jobs; in education, 138 percent more jobs.''
SEQUESTRATION STUDY SHOWS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT
Senator Harkin. A July 2012 study commissioned by the
Aerospace Industries Association found that sequestration's
cuts to nondefense spending would reduce the U.S. gross
domestic product (GDP) during fiscal years 2012 to 2021 by a
greater amount than cuts to defense spending. The study
commissioned by the Aerospace Industries Association said that
sequestration's cuts to nondefense discretionary spending,
under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee, would reduce our
GDP during the next 10 years by a greater amount than cuts to
defense spending.
I did not commission that study. It was done by the
Aerospace Industries Association. The links to both of the
reports mentioned above are available in our subcommittee
report ``Under Threat''.
So a better and fairer solution is needed. That is the way
we solved our previous budget crises in 1982, 1984, 1990, 1993,
with a balanced approach that includes both spending reductions
and new revenue.
In the 5 years following the 1993 deficit-reduction law,
the U.S. economy created more than 15 million new jobs. Not
only did we balance the budget, we were on a course to
completely eliminate the national debt within a decade. So
again, we can repeat this success. We don't have to reinvent
the wheel.
So I hope that this report and today's hearing will
motivate members of both parties to embrace a spirit of
compromise. The time for ideological posturing is past. We all
agree that sequestration would be tremendously destructive. We
all want to avoid it. That means we all must come together with
good will to hammer out a balanced agreement that will not only
prevent sequestration but reduce our deficit and protect
America's families.
Today's hearing examines the impact of across-the-board
cuts specifically on education, but it could have just as
easily focused on health or labor. But I think education will
provide an instructive example of the kinds of arbitrary cuts
that would be required in nondefense services if sequestration
goes into effect.
We will hear first from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
and then from a second panel of educators who can explain the
local and State impacts of sequestration.
I now yield to Senator Shelby for his opening remarks.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD C. SHELBY
Senator Shelby. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us again today to
discuss very hot topics like sequestration on the Department of
Education.
TOO FEW FACTS FROM ADMINISTRATION ON PRECISE IMPACTS
I am disappointed that the administration to date has not
provided the Congress any details on the impact of
sequestration. While most of the attention has focused on the
devastating and disproportionate cuts to our national security,
sequestration will cause considerable impact to all parts of
our Federal budget. The across-the-board cuts that are mandated
under sequestration are not the answer to confront our fiscal
problems.
CHAIRMAN'S SEQUESTRATION REPORT
I appreciate the chairman's focus on sequestration and the
work of his staff on the sequestration report he is releasing
today. However, I am concerned this report does not present an
accurate portrayal of the impact of sequestration, because we
have not been provided any concrete information by the
administration to make these assumptions.
For example, the Congress does not know the amount of the
across-the-board cut. As the chairman's report states, it could
be anywhere between 7.8 and 8.4 percent. In real terms, this is
a difference of $1 billion in the Labor-HHS program reductions.
Second, we have no clarity on which Labor-HHS programs are
exempt from sequestration. The more programs that are exempt
Governmentwide, the higher the sequestration percentage
becomes.
Third, the report specifies job cuts across programs and
States, yet we simply have too little definitive information to
know if these numbers are accurate. The only thing we do know
is that agencies, programs, and States will have some
flexibility to determine how reductions are taken and that all
cuts will not necessarily lead to layoffs.
Finally, while the report shows some of the potential
impacts of sequestration, it makes significant assumptions,
based on unknown data, as to how these cuts will be
implemented.
While the chairman has tried to show the effects of
sequestration on Labor-HHS programs, in fact, it's only the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that can accurately
provide this type of information. Unfortunately, they have
remained silent on the issue. It is as if the administration
might want Members of Congress to be both blind and mute on
sequestration. This cannot continue.
Mr. Secretary, I look forward to us having a frank and a
specific discussion about the impact of sequestration with you.
BUDGET CONTROL ACT OF 2011
Mr. Chairman, like you, I did not vote for the Budget
Control Act of 2011. I opposed the bill, because, as we are now
seeing firsthand, it was a compromise on our financial future.
The Super Committee was a failure. It was unable to garner even
$1 of savings. And as a result, our entire Government is now
facing the possibility of severe cuts that will impact all
aspects of our society.
INDISCRIMINATE CUTS TO PROGRAMS
The across-the-board cuts that result from the Super
Committee's epic failure last year will be broad, blunt, and
slash all programs indiscriminately.
Sequestration is not the right approach, I believe, to end
our fiscal turmoil. In fact, its mere existence has caused huge
financial uncertainty around the country.
I believe we need to find a solution to this problem now
and end the uncertainty crippling school districts, small
businesses, and education providers. We should not delay a
solution to score political points.
FEDERAL DEFICIT
And while the chairman and I agree that sequestration will
have a severe and detrimental impact on the Department of
Education, we cannot forget how we got to this point in the
first place. Our Nation is $15.8 trillion in debt, a number
that grows by $42,000 every second.
EDUCATION BUDGET REQUEST
In the past few years, the Federal Government has been
recording the largest budget deficits since 1945. Yet the
Department of Education's budget request for 2013 did little to
curb spending to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable path.
In fact, it asked for an increase of $1.7 billion in
discretionary spending and then went on to request $62.9
billion in new mandatory funding for the so-called American
Jobs Act.
And while it is my understanding, Mr. Secretary, that
departments were directed to disregard the possibility of
sequestration in their budget requests, you should have not
disregarded, maybe, economic reality.
Our Nation, I believe, cannot continue to spend money we
don't have. And as we work to solve the sequestration issue,
it's important to remember that a resolution today does not
exempt programs from constraints tomorrow.
Mr. Chairman, we need to reign in Federal spending and put
our Nation back on the path to fiscal sustainability.
Senator Harkin. Thank you very much, Senator Shelby. Any
other opening remarks received will be inserted into the record
at this point.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Barbara A. Mikulski
impact of sequestration on education
Thank you, Senator Harkin, for convening this important hearing.
Senator Murray, I would also like to thank you for your ongoing efforts
to provide clarification, work on the impact of sequester cuts, and
ensure sufficient aid is being provided to nondefense discretionary
programs.
Maryland is a sequester-stressed State. Apart from our Federal
assets in defense, the National Security Agency and Bethesda Naval
Hospital, we're also home to the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
the Goddard Space Center, the Food and Drug Administration, the
National Institute of Science and Health, and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. These Federal agencies, along with the
employees that work there, make a significant difference in the lives
of Americans on a daily basis, and those agencies will unfortunately be
gutted if the sequester goes forward.
First, let's talk about what a sequester means for education and
the impact it would have on students and families. Federal spending in
education accounts for less than 10 percent of overall spending in K
through 12 education. However, the investments we do make are targeted
at making a significant difference in supporting our most vulnerable
populations. Our largest discretionary programs in this age group have
a huge impact on kids who need the most help. Most notable of these are
Title I, which helps low-income families, and the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which helps more than 100,000 kids
with disabilities in Maryland. And although IDEA pays for only 10
percent of the cost of special education in Maryland, in my rural
counties located on the Eastern Shore and in western Maryland, where
there are decreasing or seasonal populations, IDEA helps pay for more
than 20 percent of special education related costs and materials. I am
worried that they, and other counties, won't be able to make up for $16
million cut to special education programs with their limited county
budgets.
Along with Maryland's needs when it comes to education, Maryland
holds a strong military presence when it comes to bases like Fort Meade
and Fort Detrick, Andrews Air Force Base, and Naval Air Station at
Patuxent. The military and civilian personnel at these bases have
children who attend local schools. However, because they don't
contribute to local property tax, the Federal Government gives small
appropriations to districts intended for meeting the needs of military
students. With cuts to the Impact Aid program, districts will be forced
to make up the cost of children that come from military families. In
Maryland, this would mean a cut of $395,000 to a program that helps
educate children who are essentially there by directive of the Federal
Government.
In terms of health programs, we need a balanced approach to deficit
reduction that isn't a job killer and doesn't annihilate programs. An
approach that helps women and children, improves education, and
healthcare for American citizens. A sequester means that most
discretionary Department of Health and Human Services programs will be
hammered with a 7.8-percent budget cut on January 2, 2013. NIH will be
hit hard along with efforts to combat waste and fraud. Along with these
startling possibilities, sequestration will delay biomedical
innovation. 325,000 researchers at 3,000 universities and companies
could face cuts, along with a $2 billion cut to NIH's budget and a $186
million cut for the State of Maryland. This not only hurts patients but
also hinders the discovery of new cures, eliminating 2,300 research
grants and financial support of clinical trials. NIH biomedical
research investments means fewer bench-to-bedside discoveries that top
Maryland biotech companies will develop into lifesaving drugs and
diagnostics, some of which help with detecting cancer and infectious
diseases early and ensures patients get efficient care.
Mothers, infants, and children will lose access to critical
healthcare and social services when maternal and child health programs
are cut by $1 billion, a potentially devastating blow to kid's growth
and development. Patients will experience the disastrous effects of
sequestration for years to come because of cuts, ultimately limiting
kid's access to Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education program,
which trains 5,600 pediatric residents each year. As for supplemental
nutrition programs, WIC accounts for less than 0.2 percent of the
Federal budget, and yet with sequestration 750,000 people will be
thrown off this program that provides nutritional food to mothers and
their children.
I'm for fiscal discipline--not fiscal austerity, especially when it
comes to investments we make in programs that assist our most
vulnerable populations. Today's hearing focuses on what sequestration
means for education. In a nutshell, the answer is sequestration will be
disastrous. But it won't just be disastrous for education, it will be
disastrous for all domestic programs; those which work to help families
out of poverty, children to grow up healthy, and seniors stay in their
communities. It will also be disastrous for job growth. According to
the Center on Bipartisan Policy, these cuts will result in more than 1
million jobs being lost over the course of 2 years. Sequester is no way
to govern, sequester is a way to fail. We must do better.
Senator Harkin. We'll start with our first panel.
Secretary Arne Duncan has served as Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Education since 2009. He was confirmed by the
U.S. Senate on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.
Prior to his appointment as Secretary of Education,
Secretary Duncan served as a chief executive officer of the
Chicago Public Schools, a position to which he was appointed by
Mayor Richard M. Daley from June 2001 through December 2008,
becoming the longest-serving big city education superintendent
in the country.
Secretary Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard
University in 1987, majoring in sociology. He was co-captain of
Harvard's basketball team and was named a first team Academic
All-American.
Secretary Duncan, you've been before this subcommittee many
times before. We welcome you again. Your statement will be made
a part of the record in its entirety, and we ask you just to
please proceed as you so desire.
STATEMENT OF ARNE DUNCAN, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION,
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Secretary Duncan. Thank you so much.
I want to thank the chairman, the ranking member, and other
members of the subcommittee for your support. Over the past 3
years, we have protected students at risk while investing in
education reform that supports bold and courageous leadership
at both the State and at the local level. And I welcome the
opportunity to discuss the potential devastating impact of
sequestration.
We hoped that the prospect of deep, indiscriminate, across-
the-board cuts would spur the Congress to take a balanced
approach to deficit reduction. Obviously, so far that hasn't
happened. But there is still time to act, and we remain hopeful
that we can avoid these cuts.
TIMEFRAME FOR SEQUESTRATION
Fiscal year 2013 is a little more than 2 months away, and
sequestration kicks in 3 months after that on January 2, 2013,
so it's critically important that we and the American people
fully understand the consequences of sequestration and take
steps to avoid it now.
As all of you here know, sequestration will force across-
the-board budget cuts on almost every discretionary program.
Education, Defense, Homeland Security, and all other Federal
agencies would indiscriminately cut services that are essential
to every State and community.
ARBITRARY CUTS AFFECT EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE PROGRAMS
The sequestration will put at risk all that we have
accomplished in education and weaken programs that help
children, that serve families, that send young people and
adults to college, and make the middle-class American dream
possible.
Sequestration is absolutely the wrong way to make policy.
It does not let the Congress or the administration set
priorities. It attacks both ineffective and effective programs
with the same blunt budget knife.
SHORT-TERM FIX TO LONG-TERM BUDGET PROBLEMS
Perhaps worst of all, it is another short-term fix to our
long-term budget challenges. If sequestration happens, it
simply means we didn't do our jobs in Washington, that we
shirked our collective responsibility, and the people of
America will pay the price.
Essentially, we are playing chicken with the lives of the
American people--our schools, communities, small businesses,
farms, public safety, infrastructure, and national security. It
further erodes what little faith remains in our elected
leadership to put partisan politics aside and do the right
thing for children and families.
Clearly, it is time for the Congress to work together with
the administration to create a long-term plan to reduce the
deficit while simultaneously supporting the economic recovery
that is underway.
We have had 28 consecutive months of private-sector job
growth because we have been thoughtful and ambitious in the way
we balance new investments with spending cuts. Today, in fact,
domestic discretionary programs are at their lowest level as a
share of GDP since the Eisenhower administration.
The Congress now has 5 months to work together to create a
deficit reduction plan. President Obama has proposed a
responsible way to do that when he submitted a plan that
includes more than $4 trillion in deficit reduction. It
maintains the Budget Control Act of 2011 caps, and calls for
significant, yet targeted, cuts in discretionary spending.
We've tightened our belts in a responsible way.
Most importantly, the President's plan is a long-term fix.
It will put an end to the seesaw budgeting that leaves State
and local officials wondering if they can count on the Federal
Government to be a partner with them on education and other
vital programs.
Let me begin with education. President Obama and I, and so
many Members of Congress, recognize that education is the
cornerstone to our economy. A good education leads to a good
job and a lifetime of higher earnings. A strong educational
system and a strong economy, those two things are inextricably
linked.
SEQUESTRATION CUTS WOULD UNDERMINE EQUITY AND REFORM
Over the past 3 years, we've made investments in Race to
the Top, the Investing in Innovation Fund, and other efforts to
reform our schools so today's students are truly prepared to
succeed in the global economy and to keep high-wage, high-
skilled jobs right here in the United States.
Sequestration sends a signal that the United States is
backtracking on its commitment to reform and its long-standing
promise to promote equity for poor children through Title I and
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to
support students with special needs.
CUTS TO EDUCATION IMPACT MILITARY PREPAREDNESS
Education is also essential for our military preparedness.
A staggering 75 percent of young Americans today are unable to
enlist in the military because they have either failed to
graduate from high school, they have a criminal record, or they
are physically unfit.
And I've met with so many military leaders who recognize
that the best way to address the dropout crisis is to start
early and invest in early childhood education. They don't want
to see cuts in Head Start, Child Care and Development Block
Grants, and other programs serving children.
K-12 EDUCATION IMPACT WOULD BEGIN IN FALL 2013
The biggest impact in K-12 education will be felt starting
in the fall of 2013. And in a recent poll of school district
leaders, the vast majority, 80 percent of them, said they would
not be able to use State and local funding to replace
potentially lost Federal funds.
7.8-PERCENT CUT AND SOME SPECIFIC IMPACTS
Based on the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) projection
that sequestration will reduce programs by 7.8 percent, here's
what we know will be at risk.
TITLE I, ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT IMPACT
First, Title I funding would be cut by $1.1 billion,
cutting off funding to more than 4,000 schools serving an
estimated 1.8 million disadvantaged children. The jobs of more
than 15,000 teachers and teacher aides would be at risk.
Students would lose access to individual instruction,
afterschool programs, summer school, and other interventions
that help to close achievement gaps.
SPECIAL EDUCATION IMPACT
Funding for special education would be reduced by $900
million. That would translate into the layoffs of more than
10,000 teachers, aides, and other staff who provide essential
instruction and other support to 6.6 million children with
disabilities in every one of our home States.
IMPACT AID CUTS WOULD TAKE EFFECT JANUARY 2
On January 2, schools serving our military families through
the Impact Aid program would have immediate cuts to their
budgets. For example, the Killeen Independent School District
in Texas receives about $53 million in Impact Aid and would
lose $4.6 million, directly affecting 18,000 children from
military families. And everyone here knows military families
make so many sacrifices for our country. Their children deserve
a world-class education.
STUDENT LOANS IMPACT
In higher education, our Department would need to slash
spending on contracts to support the processing and the
origination of student loans, which could cause delays that
will hurt students as they make those critical decisions about
college and could reduce services for borrowers seeking to
repay their loans.
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY CUTS ALSO IMPACT EDUCATION
In addition to these cuts at our department, other agencies
will be forced to reduce spending in ways that will slow our
Nation's educational progress.
HEAD START PROGRAM IMPACT
Up to almost 100,000 low-income children would be denied
access to the Head Start program, which is critical to
preparing them for success in kindergarten and in life. Eighty
thousand children would lose access to high-quality childcare
through the Child Care Development Block Grants.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION IMPACT
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would issue 700
fewer grants to medical researchers, slowing the progress in
the search for treatments and cures to cancer, diabetes,
Alzheimer's, and other diseases in research labs at hospitals
and universities across the country. And up to 1,500 grants
would be cut from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
SEQUESTRATION SHOULD BE AVOIDED
While it is absolutely our hope and intention to avoid
sequestration, our Department, along with all other agencies,
will be ready to implement cuts if sequestration happens. But
we all know that there are steps we can take now so we don't
have to start down the path that would put so many critical
services to students, families, and communities at risk.
Sequestration does not have to happen, and it should not
happen.
PREPARED STATEMENT
President Obama and all of us on his team stand ready to
work with you to create a long-term path to reduce the deficit
while investing in the programs that will secure our country's
economic prosperity and global leadership. Together, let's do
the right thing.
Thank you so much. I'm happy to take any questions you
might have.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Arne Duncan
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for this
opportunity to talk about the impact on America's students and teachers
of a sequestration of fiscal year 2013 funds under the Budget Control
Act of 2011. That act created a bipartisan Joint Select Committee
charged with developing a plan for comprehensive deficit reduction, in
order to avoid the prospect of deep and indiscriminate across-the-board
cuts in Federal spending, including both defense and nondefense
programs. We all hoped that the breadth and depth of these prospective
cuts would spur the Joint Committee to complete its task, through a
balanced approach to deficit reduction, and stave off the blind and
damaging cuts that would result from sequestration.
Unfortunately, the Joint Committee did not succeed in coming up
with a deficit reduction plan, and our day of fiscal reckoning is
drawing near. President Obama has been clear that the Congress must
avoid sequestration by passing a balanced measure that includes at
least as much deficit reduction as the $1.2 trillion that was required
of the Joint Committee by the Budget Control Act of 2011.
The President's fiscal year 2013 budget contains such a balanced
proposal, and we will continue to work with the members of this
subcommittee as well as others in the Congress to pursue legislation
that would implement the President's proposal and cancel sequestration.
There would still be deficit reduction but not the mindless and harmful
across-the-board cuts that could be required by sequestration.
With the beginning of fiscal year 2013 just around the corner and
no sign of meaningful progress toward a deficit reduction agreement, we
can no longer afford to ignore the dire impact of sequestration. As you
will hear from others at today's hearing, the public is appropriately
worried about sequestration, and both the business community and State
and local governments--including our school districts and institutions
of higher education--are now posing questions about what sequestration
could mean for their students, teachers, and faculty and how to plan
for this possibility. In this context, and since there is both
uncertainty and some misinformation regarding how sequestration would
work and the impact that it could have, we think it will be helpful to
outline, in broad terms, how the Department of Education and, by
implication, the Federal Government as a whole, would implement a
sequestration of fiscal year 2013 funds.
congressional budget office estimate of sequestration impact
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that
sequestration would require a 7.8-percent reduction in funding for
nondefense discretionary programs that are subject to the sequester
under the Budget Control Act of 2011. The cuts would be applied to the
funding levels available in fiscal year 2013, with most reductions
coming from fiscal year 2013 appropriations bills, which have not yet
been enacted.
The administration believes that such a large, across-the-board
reduction in spending would be extremely harmful. This should not come
as a surprise because sequestration, by design, is bad policy. The
resulting deep cuts carry the very real threat of significant harm to
the ongoing economic recovery and our current and future
competitiveness in the global economy.
It's also important to note that even without sequestration,
domestic discretionary spending has already been declining. Nonsecurity
discretionary spending is now on a path to reach its lowest level as a
share of gross domestic product (GDP) since the Eisenhower
administration. In addition, State and local spending has been cut due
to the recent financial crisis and economic downturn. At a time when we
are just starting to see signs of renewed economic growth, as well as
the positive impact of historic education reforms in programs like Race
to the Top and School Improvement Grants that will contribute to future
growth and prosperity, it just makes no sense at all to undermine this
progress through sequestration of Federal funds.
The long-term impact of sequestration could be even more damaging,
as it would jeopardize our Nation's ability to develop and support an
educated, skilled workforce that can compete in the global economy.
Indeed, it would be hard to overstate the devastating impact of
sequestration as a signal not just to the Nation but to the world, that
we are no longer able or willing to prioritize investment in the best
guarantee of our future success and prosperity: The education of our
children.
Before I talk about some specific examples of how sequestration
would affect Federal education programs, I want to clarify that because
four of our largest elementary and secondary programs are forward-
funded, most cuts in funding resulting from sequestration next January
would not hit classrooms until the 2013-2014 school year. Most Federal
support for education in the 2012-2013 school year is funded through
the fiscal year 2012 appropriation, which would be unaffected by
sequestration. This means that if sequestration occurs, States and
school districts would have roughly the first one-half of next year to
plan for the impact of reduced Federal funding beginning in the 2013-
2014 school year. We have communicated this information in a letter to
Chief State School Officers from Deputy Secretary Tony Miller.
impact on state formula grant programs
However, I want to be clear that the delay in impact does not make
the prospect of sequestration any less harmful to students, families,
teachers, or schools: A recent poll showed that 80 percent of school
districts would not be able to make up the funding lost to
sequestration. And the effect of the funding lost would be significant.
For example, a 7.8-percent reduction in funding for large State-formula
grant programs that serve more than 21 million students in high-poverty
schools and 6.6 million students with special needs could force States,
school districts, and schools to lay off teachers and reduce services
to these needy children.
More specifically, a $1.1 billion reduction to title I could mean
cutting off funding to more than 4,000 schools serving more than 1.8
million disadvantaged students, and more than 15,000 teachers and aides
could lose their jobs. Similarly, for the critical Part B Grants to
States program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA), a 7.8-percent reduction in funding would mean the loss of more
than $900 million, eliminating Federal support for about 11,000 special
education teachers, aides, and other staff providing essential
instruction and other support to children with disabilities.
impact on student aid administration
Another area where students, families, and schools would feel the
impact of sequestration is in the administration of Federal student
aid. A cut to Student Aid Administration could affect the processing of
the Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which millions
of students and families use to apply for postsecondary student
financial assistance. Our student aid contractors would likely have to
lay off or furlough many of the contract employees who work for the
Department in States with contractor facilities--such as Alabama,
Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, New Mexico, and New York--that provide customer
services to students and borrowers. This could mean that many students
would not receive financial aid determinations and awards in time to
make enrollment decisions. In addition, students who do enroll could
experience delays in the processing and origination of Federal student
loans, since the Department also could be forced to slash spending on
contracts that support these essential activities. And the Department
could be hampered in its ability to collect student debt and provide
quality services to borrowers once they are out of school, due to cuts
in the contracts with the private-sector entities that service Federal
student loans. Just to be clear about the magnitude of the risks here,
during the 2011-2012 award year the Department delivered or supported
the delivery of approximately $172 billion in grant, work-study, and
loan assistance to almost 15 million postsecondary students attending
more than 6,000 postsecondary institutions. In addition, since the
Department would likely need to furlough many of its own employees as
well, sequestration would significantly harm the Department's ability
to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in these very large, complex student
financial assistance programs.
immediate effect on impact aid and vocational rehabilitation
It is also important to point out that the impact of sequestration
would not be delayed until the 2013-2014 school year for all Federal
education programs. Sequestration would have a more immediate effect on
individuals and schools served through programs like Impact Aid and the
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State Grants, which are not forward-
funded.
The $1.2 billion Impact Aid Basic Support Payments program would
lose almost $90 million under sequestration, a significant blow in the
middle of the school year for districts that serve federally connected
children, including military dependents and Native American students.
For example, in Texas, the Killeen Independent School District receives
about $53 million in Impact Aid support for 23,000 federally connected
children--including 18,000 military dependents--who make up one-half of
the student population in the district. Sequestration would cut
Killeen's Impact Aid payment by more than $4.6 million.
The Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools in Gallup, New Mexico,
receives about $35 million from the Impact Aid program, or about 35
percent of the district's total budget, to help meet the needs of 7,500
federally connected children, including 6,700 students who live on
Indian lands. Sequestration would result in a mid-year cut of more than
$3 million to Gallup-McKinley's Impact Aid payment.
In the VR State Grants program, sequestration would require an
immediate reduction of approximately $240 million for activities that
help about 1 million individuals with disabilities at any given time to
prepare for, obtain, or retain employment. Sequestration of VR funding
would likely result in higher-counselor caseloads and increased wait
times for individuals to receive essential services. At a time when the
unemployment rate for people with disabilities is significantly higher
than the general population, this cut would be devastating.
While it is our hope and intention that we avoid sequestration, the
Department of Education, along with all other agencies, will be
prepared to implement sequestration if necessary. Reductions of this
magnitude in critical Federal education programs would betray our
longstanding commitment to improving educational opportunity for the
neediest students and their families, and are absolutely the wrong way
to address our Nation's fiscal challenges. Support for disadvantaged
elementary and secondary students in high-poverty schools; efforts to
turn around thousands of low-performing schools, including so-called
``dropout factories'' that help put nearly a million teenagers a year
at risk of social failure and a lifetime of poverty; programs that help
students and adults with disabilities meet educational and independent
living goals; work-study jobs for college students, many of them first-
generation college students--all would be put at risk by sequestration.
I hope you will agree that sequestration is no way to achieve our
shared goal of fiscal responsibility, and no way to set priorities for
Federal spending, either in education or any other area of the Federal
budget. I also hope that this hearing will help to jumpstart renewed
discussions, both here in the Congress and outside the beltway, on how
we can work together to achieve comprehensive deficit reduction while
continuing to make the investments we need to safeguard our people and
our future.
Thank you, and I will be happy to take any questions you may have.
EFFECT ON EDUCATION IF DEFENSE IS MADE EXEMPT
Senator Harkin. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. We'll
start a series of 5-minute questions.
Mr. Secretary, there's been a lot of discussion about the
impact of sequestration on national security. Senators have
been going to the floor talking about it. I understand there's
a road trip planned. But I guess, I have to say that isn't
education, and isn't a highly skilled workforce important to
our security, too?
Let me just elaborate a little bit on that. Some have
suggested that Defense alone should be exempt from
sequestration. I'm not sure that people realize that if we
exempt defense alone, the entire burden for finding the $1.2
trillion in cuts would fall on, basically, this subcommittee.
Mr. Secretary, you just described the devastating impact of
a 7.8-percent cut to education. But if nondefense programs
alone had to bear the brunt of it, and defense is exempted from
sequestration, then the cut would not be 7.8 percent but more
like 17.6 percent.
So instead of 15,000 Title I teachers that are laid off,
more than 34,000 would lose their jobs; instead of 96,000
students losing Head Start services, the figure would be more
like 217,000.
So can you give us just a sense, in your own mind, what
this would mean for our Nation's education system and our
national security?
Secretary Duncan. It's staggering to think what that impact
would be. And we're at a time when, Mr. Chairman, we have to
get better educationally faster than ever before. If you look
at any of the international rankings in reading and math and
other things, we're somewhere between 15th and 30th, depending
on the metric. We are 16th in the world in college graduation
rates. We have a 25-percent dropout rate in this country. None
of those facts are acceptable.
We have to again lead the world in college graduation
rates. If we have devastating cuts in early childhood
education, in K-12 reform, in access to higher education, we
are absolutely cutting off our nose to spite our face.
I always say I think a strong military is about defense. I
think a strong public education system, strong education
system, is about defense and about global competitiveness,
about economic security, and about keeping great jobs in this
country. And if we fail to make the investments, I worry
gravely about what that means for our Nation's future.
Senator Harkin. I am on the Defense Appropriations
Subcommittee. I spent a good part of my life in the military.
And it seems that the military of today and of the future is
going to be much more highly technical, much more requiring our
troops to be more highly educated and highly trained. And it's
not like the Army of even when I was there 30, 40 years ago.
And so doesn't this also mean that we have to think about
the military of the future and what we're doing today in our
educational system? So that we have the individuals who know
how to operate the systems that we're going to rely on in the
future? I've had so many military people tell me that, that
they're having a hard time finding qualified young men and
women that can actually fill those kinds of slots.
Secretary Duncan. That's exactly right, and you have
outside groups like the Council on Foreign Relations, which
recently had a task force co-chaired by Condoleezza Rice. And
in their report, they argue that educational failure in the
United States puts future economic prosperity, global position,
and our Nation's physical safety at risk. So the stakes here
are extraordinary.
Senator Harkin. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
I yield to Senator Shelby.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATES--BASIS FOR PROJECTED EDUCATION
CUTS
Senator Shelby. Mr. Secretary, before we can make
meaningful decisions, we need to understand the full scope of
the issue, don't we, on just about anything?
Secretary Duncan. Yes, Sir.
Senator Shelby. Why has your Department not provided
sequestration information to the subcommittee?
Secretary Duncan. We're happy to provide all the
information. I think the chairman put out a report today that
looks at the numbers briefly. The numbers seem to basically
correspond to where we are. And any additional information you
would like from us, we're happy to provide.
But our estimates are based upon a 7.8-percent across-the-
board cut, so the math here is, frankly, not that difficult.
Senator Shelby. Are you working with OMB in getting to
these numbers you're talking about?
Secretary Duncan. We got these numbers from CBO.
Senator Shelby. CBO.
Secretary Duncan. Yes.
Senator Shelby. Okay. And they're helpful on this regard?
Secretary Duncan. Yes. And again, to be clear, whether it's
7.8 percent or 7.9 percent, I think the point is these cuts
would be absolutely devastating. So there's no good answer
here.
PRIORITIES ASSUMING CUTS
Senator Shelby. What would be your priorities, assuming
that you're going to have to cut things in the future? And we
all believe we're going to have to do some of that. What would
be several of the areas that you believe you--you don't want to
cut, I understand that, but if you had to cut, what would----
Secretary Duncan. To be very clear, we tried to hold
ourselves accountable. We've made tough cuts. We have
eliminated 49 programs. We've created annual savings of $1.2
billion.
I have a lengthy list of programs that we have cut that we
felt were ineffective. Again, no one enjoys making those cuts,
but we're all asked to make hard decisions. And we would
absolutely continue to do that and expect you to hold us
accountable for that.
We have 49 programs here that we eliminated--and some were
politically difficult to eliminate, because we want to use
taxpayer dollars wisely.
EDUCATION BUDGET AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE
Senator Shelby. But are the programs, the money that we
appropriate in the Government's borrowing--in other words, your
spending each year is going up. It's not going down, correct?
Secretary Duncan. Well, we think, the President believes,
that education is an investment.
Senator Shelby. We understand.
Secretary Duncan. And so we need to invest in quality early
childhood education. We need to invest in K-12 reform. We need
to make college more accessible and affordable.
The fact that we're 16th in the world in college graduation
rates is nothing to be proud of, and we want to again lead the
world.
Now, money alone is never the answer, as you know, but we
have to continue to invest in reform.
PELL GRANT EXEMPT FROM SEQUESTRATION
Senator Shelby. It is my understanding that the Pell grant
program is predicted to need an additional $6 billion next
year, and it remains unclear whether the Pell grant is exempt
from sequestration. What's your judgment on that?
Secretary Duncan. We think the Pell grant is exempt.
Senator Shelby. Is exempt.
Secretary Duncan. Yes, Sir.
Senator Shelby. Do you believe it's in the best interest of
this country to try to deal with our fiscal challenges now or
kick the can down the road?
Secretary Duncan. Now, Sir.
Senator Shelby. Okay. That's what we're trying to do.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Harkin. Thank you.
I just might add that, a year ago in April, I went down to
the United States Chamber of Commerce. Their affiliate had
issued a report calling for more investment in this country in
early childhood education. This is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
calling upon us not to cut but to invest more in early
childhood education.
I have an order of arrival. I have Senator Murray, Senator
Reed, Senator Brown, Senator Mikulski, Senator Durbin, Senator
Pryor.
Senator Murray.
Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Chairman Harkin and
Ranking Member Shelby, for holding this hearing. I think it's
really important that we learn more about the impact of these
automatic cuts on our students and our families across the
country.
As the chairman mentioned, sequestration was included in
the bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2011 in order to give both
parties an incentive to compromise. And the goal really was to
bring both sides to the table, willing to make concessions that
were required to get to a balanced and bipartisan deal.
JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFICIT REDUCTION
Unfortunately, as we all know, it hasn't worked out yet. We
haven't been able to get to that deal. As you know, I served as
chair of that Joint Subcommittee on Deficit Reduction, and what
I saw firsthand was that, on our side, we were willing to put
some pretty tough concessions on the table when it came to
cutting budgets and entitlements. But what we were not able to
get was a comparable concession on the other side that included
revenue from the wealthiest Americans to help pay for what this
country needs to be strong both in defense and in nondefense
moving forward.
Everybody wanted all the deficit from sequestration but
without any of the shared sacrifice that is really needed to
come to a deal. And, on our side, we were not going to throw
the middle class under the bus if we did not have that balance
and bipartisan deal.
We weren't willing to do it then, and I think that's still
true today. In fact, I know it's still true today.
So we have to keep working to replace sequestration. No one
wants sequestration to happen, but that replacement has to be
bipartisan, it has to be balanced, and it is going to have to
be fair for the middle class in this country who have suffered
so much.
DAMAGING IMPACT ON FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
So, here in the District of Columbia, now we're hearing a
lot about the defense side of the equation, and it's getting a
lot of attention. But I think it's really important, Mr.
Chairman, that Americans do understand the deeply damaging
impact to families and communities on the nondefense side as
well.
About 3,000 national, State, and local organizations signed
a letter that they sent to the Congress. I have it with me and
I would like to submit it for the record, Mr. Chairman, urging
us to adopt that balanced approach onto deficit reduction that
does protect middle-class families and the most vulnerable
Americans.
So I would submit that for the record.
[The information follows:]
July 12, 2012
Dear Member of Congress:
There is bipartisan agreement that sequestration would be
devastating to the nation. The nearly 3,000 undersigned national,
state, and local organizations--representing the hundreds of millions
of Americans who support and benefit from nondefense discretionary
(NDD) programs--couldn't agree more. Congress and the President must
work together to ensure sequestration does not take effect. We strongly
urge a balanced approach to deficit reduction that does not include
further cuts to NDD programs, which have already done their part to
reduce the deficit.
NDD programs are core functions government provides for the benefit
of all, including medical and scientific research; education and job
training; infrastructure; public safety and law enforcement; public
health; weather monitoring and environmental protection; natural and
cultural resources; housing and social services; and international
relations. Every day these programs support economic growth and
strengthen the safety and security of every American in every state and
community across the nation.
NDD programs represent a small and shrinking share of the Federal
budget and of our overall economy. The NDD budget represented just 3.4
percent of our country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011,
consistent with historical levels. Under the bi-partisan Budget Control
Act, by 2021 NDD funding will decline to just 2.5 percent of GDP, the
lowest level in at least 50 years.
NDD programs are not the reason behind our growing debt. In fact,
even completely eliminating all NDD programs would still not balance
the budget. Yet NDD programs have borne the brunt of deficit reduction
efforts.
--Since fiscal 2010, NDD programs have been cut by 10 percent on
average, with many programs cut by as much as 50 percent.
--By 2021, the remaining discretionary caps (2013-2021) in the
bipartisan Budget Control Act will reduce NDD programs by an
additional 7 percent, relative to 2012 levels.
--If sequestration is allowed to take effect, nonexempt NDD programs
will be reduced by another 8.4 percent in fiscal year 2013.
In total, if Congress and the President fail to act, between fiscal
2010 and 2021 NDD programs will have been cut by 20 percent overall.
Such indiscriminate cuts threaten the entire range of bipartisan
national priorities. For example, there will be fewer scientific and
technological innovations, fewer teachers in classrooms, fewer job
opportunities, fewer National Park visitor hours, fewer air traffic
controllers, fewer food and drug inspectors, and fewer first
responders.
America's day-to-day security requires more than military might.
NDD programs support our economy, drive our global competitiveness, and
provide an environment where all Americans may lead healthy, productive
lives. Only a balanced approach to deficit reduction can restore fiscal
stability, and NDD has done its part. Please work together to find a
balanced approach to deficit reduction that does not include further
cuts to NDD programs.
If you have questions about this letter, please contact Emily
Holubowich, Executive Director of the Coalition for Health Funding
(202-484-1100 or [email protected]) or Joel Packer, Executive
Director of the Committee for Education Funding (202-383-0083 or
[email protected]). An electronic copy of this letter is also available
at http://publichealthfunding.org/index.php/action/campaigns/
ndd_united/.
national organizations (listed alphabetically)
8th Day Center for Justice
9to5, National Association of Working Women
A World Fit For Kids!
Academic Pediatric Association
Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Academy of Radiology Research
AcademyHealth
ACCESS
Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research
Adult Congenital Heart Association
Advocates for Youth
African American Health Alliance
African American Ministers in Action
AFSE
Afterschool Alliance
AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
AIDS Treatment News
AIDS United
Alliance for a Just Society
Alliance for Aging Research
Alliance for Biking & Walking
Alliance for Children and Families
Alliance for Retired Americans
Alpha-1 Association
Alpha-1 Foundation
Alzheimer's Association
Alzheimer's Foundation of America
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Neurology
American Academy of Nursing
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
American Art Therapy Association
American Association for Adult and Continuing Education
American Association for Cancer Research
American Association for Dental Research
American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
American Association for Health Education
American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy
American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
American Association of Classified School Employees
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
American Association of Community Theatre
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Association of Poison Control Centers
American Association of Port Authorities
American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists
American Association of School Administrators
American Association of School Librarians
American Association of Service Coordinators
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American Association of University Professors
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
American Association on Health and Disability
American Astronomical Society
American Brain Coalition
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Chemical Society
American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP)
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Council on Education
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
American Counseling Association
American Dental Education Association
American Diabetes Association
American Educational Research Association
American Epilepsy Society
American Federation for Medical Research
American Federation of School Administrators, AFL-CIO
American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
American Forests
American Geophysical Union
American Heart Association
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Library Association
American Lung Association
American Mathematical Society
American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association
American Medical Student Association
American Music Therapy Association
American Nephrology Nurses' Association
American Nurses Association
American Occupational Therapy Association
American Organization of Nurse Executives
American Pediatric Society/Society for Pediatric Research
American Physical Therapy Association
American Planning Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Rivers
American School Counselor Association
American Social Health Association
American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society for Engineering Education
American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
American Society of Agronomy
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Nephrology
American Society of Pediatric Nephrology
American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN)
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
American Society on Aging
American Sociological Association
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
American Statistical Association
American Therapeutic Recreation Association
American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network
American Urogynecologic Society
Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief (ANSR) Alliance
Americans for the Arts
America's Service Commissions
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
Amputee Coalition
Arthritis Foundation
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center
Asian American Justice Center, Member of Asian American Center for
Advancing Justice
Associated Universities, Inc.
Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare
Association for Career and Technical Education
Association for Prevention Teaching and Research
Association for Psychological Science
Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nurses (ARIN)
Association for Research in Otolaryngology
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Association for Women in Mathematics
Association of Academic Health Centers
Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries
Association of Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare
Association of American Cancer Institutes
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Universities
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP)
Association of BellTel Retirees, Inc.
Association of Departments of Family Medicine
Association of Educational Service Agencies
Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists
Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors
Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs
Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU)
Association of Jewish Aging
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs
Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs
Association of Minority Health Professions Schools
Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Association of Public Health Nurses
Association of Rehabilitation Nurses
Association of Research Libraries
Association of School Business Officials International
Association of School Psychologists
Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry
Association of State & Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Association of Teacher Educators
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA)
Autism National Committee
Bat Conservation International
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Be the Change, Inc.
Benetech
Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation
Berkeley Media Studies Group
Biophysical Society
Brain Injury Association of America
Bread for the World
Break the Cycle
Briar Cliff University TRIO Upward Bound
Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL)
Business Industrial Network
California Institute of Technology
Campaign for Public Health Foundation
Campaign for Youth Justice
Campaign to Invest in America's Workforce
Campus Compact
CARE
Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and
Communities
C-Change
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Employment Training
Center for HIV Law and Policy
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Center for Women Policy Studies
Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation
Charles R. Drew University
Child Care Services Association
Child Welfare League of America
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Children's Defense Fund
Children's Environmental Health Network
Children's HealthWatch
Children's Leadership Council
Children's Mental Health Network
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
Citizen Schools
Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants--Women Incarcerated
City Year
Clean Water Action
CLEARCorps USA
Climate Change is Elementary
Clinical Social Work Association
Coalition for a Secure Driver's License
Coalition for Health Funding
Coalition on Human Needs
Coalition for Imaging and Bioengineering Research
Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Coalition for Workforce Solutions
Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations
Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning
Coastal States Organization
College Board
College Summit
Colleges That Change Lives
Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE)
Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service
Committee for Education Funding
Communities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief (CAEAR) Coalition
Community Action Partnership
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
Community Economic Development Partners, LLC
Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for
the Deaf
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
Consortium for Ocean Leadership
Consortium for School Networking
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Cooley's Anemia Foundation
COPD Foundation
Corporate Hepatitis Alliance
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Corporation for Supportive Housing
Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
Council for Advancement of Adult Education
Council for Exceptional Children
Council for Opportunity in Education
Council of Administrators of Special Education, Inc. (CASE)
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Council of State Community Development Agencies
Council of the Great City Schools
Council on Social Work Education
Covenant House International
Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America
Crop Science Society of America
Defeat Diabetes Foundation
Defenders of Wildlife
Dermatology Nurses Association
Digestive Disease National Coalition
Directors of Health Promotion and Education
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
District 1199C Training & Upgrading Fund
Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children
(DEC)
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)
Dystonia Advocacy Network
Dystonia Medical Research Foundation
Early Care and Education Consortium
Earth Day Network
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
Easter Seals
Ecological Society of America
Education Industry Association
Education Law Center
Educational Talent Search
Educational Theatre Association
Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation (EHDOC)
Emergency Nurses Association
Endangered Species Coalition
Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.
Epilepsy Foundation
Equal Justice Works
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Every Child By Two--Carter/Bumpers Champions for Immunization
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing, Inc.
Families USA
Family Caregiver Alliance
Family Promise of Lycoming County
Fanconi Anemia Research Fund
Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association
Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences
Federation of Materials Societies
Fellowship Health Resources, Inc.
Fight Colorectal Cancer
First Focus Campaign for Children
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Foster Family-Based Treatment Association
Franklin County Head Start
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Friends of the Earth
Friends of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Friends of National Center for Health Statistics
Friends of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD)
Friends of UNFPA
Futures Without Violence (formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund)
Gay Men's Health Crisis
Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
Genetics Policy Institute
Goodwill Industries of the Valleys
Gray Panthers
Greenpeace
Half in Ten
Harm Reduction Coalition
Health & Disability Advocates
Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition
Healthcare Leadership Council
HealthHIV
Heifer International
Helen Keller International
Hemophilia Federation of America
Hepatitis B Foundation
HIGH IMPACT Mission-based Consulting & Training
Higher Education Consortium for Special Education
HighScope Educational Research Foundation
HIV Law Project
HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA)
HIV Prevention Justice Alliance
Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Project for Girls
iCAST (International Center for Appropriate & Sustainable Technology)
Idea Fuel
IDEA Infant Toddler Coordinators Association (ITCA)
Illinois Campus Compact
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Innocence Project
Innovate+Educate
Innovations in Civic Participation
Insight Center for Community Economic Development
Institute for Educational Leadership
International Association of Jewish Vocational Services (IAJVS)
International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC)
International Essential Tremor Foundation
International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
International Myeloma Foundation
International Reading Association
International Society for Technology in Education
Interstitial Cystitis Association
Iron Disorders Institute
Jeffrey Modell Foundation
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Labor Committee
Jobs for the Future (JFF)
Joint Advocacy Coalition of ACRT, APOR, CRF, and SCTS
Juma Ventures
Jumpstart
KaBOOM!
Knowledge Alliance
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
League of Conservation Voters
Learning Disabilities Association of America
Legal Action Center
Legal Momentum
Local Initiative Support Corporation
Long-term Ecological Research Network
Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.
Lupus Research Institute
Lutheran Services in America
Magnet Schools of America
Mal de Debarquement Syndrome Balance Disorder Foundation
Manufactured Home Owners Association of America
March of Dimes
Marie Stopes International--US (MSI-US)
Marine Conservation Institute
Materials Research Society
Mathematical Association of America
Meals On Wheels Association of America
Medical Library Association
Meharry Medical College
Mental Health America
Mercy Housing, Inc.
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation
Metro TeenAIDS
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Military Impacted Schools Association
Monarch Housing Associates
Morehouse School of Medicine
NAACP
NAADAC--The Association for Addiction Professionals
NAfME: National Association for Music Education
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc.
National AIDS Housing Coalition
National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture
National Alliance of Black School Educators
National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations
(NACEDA)
National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
National Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Organization
National Assembly on School-Based Health Care
National Association for Bilingual Education
National Association for Biomedical Research
National Association for Children's Behavioral Health
National Association for College Admission Counseling
National Association for County Community and Economic Development
National Association for Geriatric Education and National Association
of Geriatric Education Centers
National Association for Hispanic Elderly
National Association for Music Education
National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information
Systems
National Association for Rural Mental Health
National Association for Sport and Physical Education
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
National Association for the Education of Young Children
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists
National Association of Community Health Centers
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental
Disabilities Directors (NACBHDD)
National Association of Development Organizations (NADO)
National Association of Drug Court Professionals
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Federally Impacted Schools
National Association of Housing Cooperatives
National Association of Human Rights Workers
National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies
National Association of Marine Laboratories
National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP)
National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA)
National Association of Private Special Education Centers
National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers
National Association of Pupil Services Administrators
National Association of Rural Mental Health
National Association of School Nurses
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education
Consortium
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs (NASOP)
National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities
National Association of Thrift Savings Plan Participants
National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB)
National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP)
National Black Nurses Association
National Center for Healthy Housing
National Center for Technological Literacy
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Center for Victims of Crime
National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Coalition for Literacy
National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity
National Coalition of STD Directors
National Community Development Association
National Community Reinvestment Coalition
National Community Tax Coalition
National Congress of American Indians
National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care
National Council for Advanced Manufacturing
National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP)
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
National Council for Workforce Education
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
National Council of State Directors of Adult Education
National Council of State Housing Agencies
National Council of Women's Organizations
National Council on Aging
National Council on Independent Living
National Disability Rights Network
National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc. (NEON)
National Education Association
National Education Association Student Program
National Employment Law Project
National Estuarine Research Reserve Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health
National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
National Fragile X Foundation
National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS)
National Head Start Association
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Healthy Start Association
National Health Care for the Homeless
National Hemophilia Foundation
National High School Equivalency Program/College Assistance Migrant
Program Association
National Hispanic Council on Aging
National Hispanic Media Coalition
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Housing Law Project
National Housing Trust
National Human Services Assembly
National Immigration Law Center
National Juvenile Justice Network
National Kidney Foundation
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence
(Alianza)
National Latino Behavioral Health Association
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
National League for Nursing
National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Lung Cancer Partnership
National Marfan Foundation
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
National Minority AIDS Council
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Network for Youth
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP)
National Network to End Domestic Violence
National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives
National Parks Conservation Association
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence
National Pediatric AIDS Network
National Psoriasis Foundation
National PTA
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition
National Rural Education Association
National School Boards Association
National Senior Corps Association
National Skills Coalition
National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association
National Spasmodic Torticollis Association
National Student Nurses' Association, Inc.
National Summer Learning Association
National Superintendents Roundtable
National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
National Title I Association
National Tourette Syndrome Association
National Transitional Jobs Network (NTJN)
National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Urban League
National Violence Prevention Network
National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable
National WIC Association
National Women's Conference Committee
National Women's Health Network
National Women's Law Center
National Writing Project
National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC)
National Youth Leadership Council
Natural Resources Defense Council
Nemours
NephCure Foundation
New Leaders
North American Primary Care Research Group
Nurse-Family Partnership
Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs
Oceana
Oncology Nursing Society
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN)
Parents As Teachers
Parkinson's Action Network
Peace Action
Pediatric Stroke Network, Inc.
People For the American Way
PFLAG National (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Points of Light
Population Action International
Population Association of America/Association of Population Centers
Population Connection
Population Institute
Positive Education, Inc.
Prevent Blindness America
Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
Professional Association of Social Workers in HIV and AIDS
Project Inform
ProLiteracy
Provincial Council of the Clerics of St. Viator (Viatorians)
Public Allies, Inc.
Public Education Network
Public Health Foundation
Public Health Institute
Public Health Solutions
Public Lands Service Coalition
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Coalition
Racine County Older Adult Nutrition Program
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)
Reading Partners
Research Allies for Lifelong Learning
Research!America
Resources for Human Development, Inc.
Restore America's Estuaries
RESULTS
Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps
Rose F. Kennedy University Center for Excellence in Developmental
Disabilities
RTI International
Rushmere Community Development Corporation
Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition
Safe States Alliance
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Save the Children
School Social Work Association of America
Scleroderma Foundation
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Sea Grant Association
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)
Senior Service America, Inc.
Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
(SIECUS)
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregational Leadership
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation
Sleep Research Society
Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Society for Medical Decision Making
Society for Neuroscience
Society for Public Health Education
Society for Women's Health Research
Society of General Internal Medicine
Society of Gynecologic Oncology
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates
Soil Science Society of America
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
Special Olympics, Inc.
Spina Bifida Association
Stand Up for Rural America
State Educational Technology Directors Association
Stem Cell Action Coalition
Strategic Applications International
STRIVE National
Student Conservation Association
Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice
Teach For America
Teaching Strategies, LLC
Technical Assistance Collaborative
Telecare Corporation
TESOL International Association
The Advocacy Institute
The AIDS Institute
The American Society for Cell Biology
The Arc of the U.S.
The Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative
The Borgen Project
The Center for the Celebration of Creation
The Coalition for the Life Sciences
The Community Builders, Inc.
The Corps Network
The Education Trust
The Eisen Group
The Endocrine Society
The Every Child Matters Education Fund
The Gerontological Society of America
The Imani Project
The Myelin Project
The National Center for Learning Disabilities
The National Center on Family Homelessness
The National Crittenton Foundation
The National Indian Head Start Directors Association
The Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation
The Salvation Army
The United Methodist Church
The Wilderness Society
Treatment Action Group
Treatment Communities of America
Treatment Systems Development
Trust for America's Health
Tufts University
Tuskegee University's College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, and
Allied Health
U.S. Water Fitness Association
U.S. Positive Women's Network
U.S. Soccer Foundation
Union for Reform Judaism
Unite 2 Fight Paralysis
United Cerebral Palsy
United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
United for Medical Research
United Neighborhood Centers of America
United Spinal Association
United States Breastfeeding Committee
UNITY, Society for the Advancement of Violence & Injury Research
Universities Research Association, Inc.
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
U.S. Climate Action Network
U.S. Hereditary Angioedema Association
USAction
VALUEUSA
Vasculitis Foundation
Vera Institute of Justice
Voices for America's Children
Voices for National Service
Voices for Progress
W. Haywood Burns Institute
WestEd
Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW)
Women Employed
Women in Film
WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease
Women's Action for New Directions
Wonderlic, Inc.
Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance
Workforce Learning Strategies
World Education, Inc.
World Wildlife Fund
Young Invincibles
YouthBuild USA
YWCA USA
ZERO TO THREE
regional, state, and local organizations (listed alphabetically, by
state)
Alabama
AIDS Alabama, Birmingham
Alabama Association for Career and Technical Education, Montgomery
Alabama Association of Secondary School Principals, Montgomery
Alabama Council of Administrators in Special Education, Guntersville
Alabama Disability Advocacy Program, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
Alabama School Counselor Association, Montgomery
Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, Tuscaloosa
Auburn Housing Authority, Auburn
Eastside Mental Health, Birmingham
Learning Disabilities Association of Alabama, Montgomery
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama, Birmingham
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Shoals, Florence
Southwest Alabama Behavioral Healthcare Systems, Monroeville
The Concerned Citizens of Atmore ``Unity in the Community,'' Atmore
Unity Wellness Center Housing Department, Auburn
VOICES for Alabama's Children, Montgomery
YWCA Central Alabama, Birmingham
Alaska
Akeela Development Corporation, Anchorage
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals, Fairbanks
Alaska Council of Administrators of Special Education, Fairbanks
Alaska Occupational Therapy Association, Anchorage
Cook Inlet Housing Authority, Anchorage
Denali Family Services, Anchorage
Disability Law Center of Alaska, Anchorage
Kawerak, Inc., Nome
Kenai Peninsula Food Bank, Soldotna
Kenai Senior Services, Kenai
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), Juneau
University of Alaska Anchorage, Center for Human Development, Anchorage
American Samoa
American Samoa Office of Protection & Advocacy for the Disabled, Pago
Pago
Arizona
Arizona Association for Lifelong Learning, Phoenix
Arizona Center for Disability Law, Tucson
Arizona Council of Administrators of Special Education, Phoenix
Arizona Housing Alliance, Phoenix
Arizona Justice Project, Phoenix
Arizona School Counselors Association, Sahuarita
Arizona State Impact Aid Association, Sacaton
Arizona Institute for Peace, Education, and Research, Tempe
Association for Career and Technical Education of Arizona (ACTEAZ),
Tucson
Association for Supportive Child Care, Tempe
Association of Arizona Food Banks, Phoenix
Blackwater Enterprises, Rdc, Higley
Booker T. Washington Child Development Center, Inc., Phoenix
Cedar Unified School District, Keams Canyon
Cocopah Head Start, Somerton
Community Intervention Associates, Inc., Yuma
Compass Affordable Housing, Tucson
Cornucopia Community Advocates, Sedona
Early Head Start, Littlefield
Fellowship Square Tucson, Tucson
Fort Thomas Unified School District, Fort Thomas
Foundation for Senior Living, Phoenix
Holbrook Unified School District #3, Holbrook
Hospice Family Care, Inc., Prescott
Housing America Corporation, Somerton
Local Initiative Support Corporation Phoenix, Phoenix
Mayer Elders Club, dba Mayer Area Meals on Wheels, Mayer
McDowell Healthcare Center, Phoenix
Old Pueblo Community Services, Tucson
Our Family Services, Tucson
Peach Springs USD #8, Peach Springs
Pinal County Public Health Services District, Florence
Prescott Meals on Wheels, Prescott
Sacaton Elementary School District #118, Sacaton
Teens, Training and Taxes, Parks
Tuba City Unified School District #15, Tuba City
Tucson Planning Council for the Homeless, Tucson
United Food Bank, Mesa
Valley Interfaith Project, Sun City
Whiteriver Unified School District, Whiteriver Unified School District
Window Rock Unified School District No. 8, Fort Defiance
Yarnell Senior Community Center, Yarnell
Arkansas
Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas, Inc., Pine Bluff
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Little Rock
Arkansas Association of Secondary School Principals, Springdale
Arkansas Association of Student Assistance Programs, Fayetteville
Arkansas Council of Administrators in Special Education, North Little
Rock
Arkansas Education Association, Little Rock
Arkansas Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health (AFFCMH),
Little Rock
Disability Rights Center of Arkansas, Little Rock
Family Violence Prevention, Inc., Batesville
Henderson State University, Arkadelphia
Little Angels Childcare, Prescott
Little Rock Community Mental Health Center, Little Rock
Pinon Unified School District #4, Pinon
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Arkansas, Springdale
Affiliate, Siloam Springs
Universal Housing Development Corporation, Russellville
California
Advocates for Peace and Justice, Irvine United Congregational Church,
Irvine
Affordable Housing Network of Santa Clara County, San Jose
Age Well Senior Services, Inc., Laguna Woods
AIDS Legal Referral Panel of San Francisco, San Francisco
AIDS Project Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Armona Union Elementary School District, Armona
Association of California School Administrators, Sacramento
California Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC),
Sacramento
California Center for Public Health Advocacy, Davis
California Coalition for Rural Housing, Sacramento
California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, Sacramento
California Council of Administrators of Special Education (CA CASE),
Santa Rosa
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies, Sacramento
California Department of Public Health, Sacramento
California Hepatitis Alliance, San Francisco
California Housing Partnership, San Francisco
California Innocence Project, San Diego
California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks
California Small School Districts' Association, Sacramento
California Teachers Association, Burlingame
California WIC Association, Sacramento
California Workforce Investment Board, Sacramento
California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO), San
Francisco
Central Union Elementary School District, Lemoore
Children Now, Oakland
Children's Defense Fund-California, Oakland
Church of All, Burbank
Citizen Schools California, Redwood City
Community Action Napa Valley, Napa
Community Action Partnership Food Bank of San Bernardino County, San
Bernardino
Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc., San Luis
Obispo
Community Research Foundation, San Diego
Council of University of California Faculty Associations, Berkeley
Desert Manna, Barstow
Disability Rights California, Sacramento
Disability Services & Legal Center, Santa Rosa
East Bay Housing Organizations, Oakland
Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California, San Francisco
Fair Housing Council of Central California, Fresno
Fair Housing of Marin, San Rafael
First Baptist Church Head Start, Pittsburg
Foundation for Successful Solutions, Los Angeles
Fresno County EOC Head Start, Fresno
HIV ACCESS, Alameda County
Housing Authority of the City of Calexico (HACC), Calexico
Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara
Housing Authority of the City of Upland, Upland
Housing California, Sacramento
Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, San Francisco
Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco, San Francisco
Interdisciplinary Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and
Related
Disabilities Training Program (CA-LEND), Los Angeles
Irvine Meals on Wheels, Irvine
Jewish Labor Committee Western Region, Los Angeles
Kalusugan (Good Health) Community Services, National City
Kings County Charter--Association of California School Administrators,
Hanford
Kings County Office of Education, Hanford
Kings River-Hardwick Elementary School District, Hanford
KyotoUSA, Berkeley
Lake Family Resource Center, Kelseyville
Lakeside Union Elementary School District, Hanford
Lemoore Union High School District, Lemoore
Lincoln Child Center, Oakland
Local Child Care Planning Council, Oroville
Local Government Commission, Sacramento
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Bay Area, San Francisco
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Local Initiatives Support Corporation San Diego, San Diego
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Los Angeles
Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego, Inc., San Diego
Mending Wheel, Fortuna
Mental Health America of California, Sacramento
Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, Montebello
Mizell Senior Center, Palm Springs
Momentum for Mental Health, San Jose
Monterey County Health Department WIC Program, Salinas
Muroc Joint Unified School District, Edwards
Napa Valley Community Housing, Napa
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Yolo County, Davis
National Council of Jewish Women, Contra Costa Section, Walnut Creek
National Council of Jewish Women, Long Beach Section, Huntington Beach
National Council of Jewish Women, Los Angeles
National Council of Jewish Women, Sacramento
National Council of Jewish Women, Topanga
New Life Advocacy, Los Angeles
Northern California Innocence Project, Santa Clara University School of
Law, Santa Clara
Oceanside Unified School District, Oceanside
Oldtimers Housing Development Corporation--IV, Huntington Park
Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE), Los Angeles
Parent Voices El Dorado County Chapter, South Lake Tahoe
Parent Voices Southern Alameda County, Hayward
Parents' Place Family Resource and Empowerment Center, West Covina
Peninsula Volunteers Inc, Menlo Park
Portia Bell Hume Behavioral Health and Training Center, Concord
PowerWorks, San Francisco
Project Sister Family Services, Pomona
RESULTS Domestic, Los Angeles
Sacramento Housing Alliance, Sacramento
San Diego Housing Federation, San Diego
San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, Inc, Van Nuys
San Gaberial Valley/Whittier Chapter of NOW, Fontana
San Mateo County HIV Program Community Board, San Mateo County
Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center Head Start, Santa Cruz
Senior Network Services, Santa Cruz
Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County, Oakland
Shasta Senior Nutrition Programs, Redding
Sierra Cascade Family Opportunities Head Start, Susanville
Sierra Cascade Family Opportunities, Inc., Quincy
Sierra Senior Providers, Inc., Sonora
Silver Valley Unified School District, Yermo
SRO Housing Corporation, Los Angeles
State of California Office of AIDS Surveillance Section, Fresno
Stop the GA Cuts Coalition, Oakland
Tarjan Center at UCLA, Los Angeles
The Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, San
Francisco
The Occupational Training Institute, Foothill-De Anza Community College
District, Cupertino
The Public Interest Law Project, Oakland
The Wall Las Memorias Project, Los Angeles
Time for Change Foundation, San Bernardino
United Administrators of San Francisco, San Francisco
University of California (U.C.) Riverside Faculty Association,
Riverside
University of California (U.C.) Berkeley Faculty Association, Berkeley
University of California at Davis Faculty Association, Davis
University of California Santa Cruz Faculty Association, Santa Cruz
University of Southern California School of Pharmacy
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Volunteers of America Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Watts/Century Latino Organization, Los Angeles
Westside Progressives, Los Angeles
Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Diseases (WORLD),
Oakland
Rural Community Assistance Corporation, West Sacramento
Colorado
Academy School District #20, Colorado Springs
Adams County School District #14, Commerce City
Adams County Workforce and Business Center, Brighton
Boulder County Network, Boulder
Colorado Association for Career and Technical Education, Denver
Colorado Association of School Executives, Englewood
Colorado Campus Compact, Denver
Colorado Center on Law and Policy, Denver
Colorado Chapter of ASPIRE, Denver
Colorado Children's Campaign, Denver
Colorado Education Association, Denver
Colorado School Counselor Association, Denver
Colorado School Social Work Association, Fort Collins
Colorado Thespians--Educational Theatre Association, Denver
Colorado Urban Workforce Alliance, Denver
Community Reach Center, Thornton
Community Strategies Institute, Denver
Denver's Great Kids Head Start, Denver
Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, Colorado Chapter,
Denver
FRESC: Good Jobs, Strong Communities, Denver
Healthy Colorado Youth Alliance, Denver
Housing Resources of Western Colorado, Grand Junction
Ignacio School District 11JT, Ignacio
LeaderQuest, Denver
Mental Health America of Colorado, Denver
Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado, Denver
Occupy Greeley, Greeley
Public Allies at Eagle Rock School, Estes Park
Regis University, Denver
Rocky Mountain Wild, Denver
Servicios de La Raza, Inc., Denver
Sexual Assault Response Advocates (S.A.R.A)., Inc., Fort Morgan
Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ignacio
The Bell Policy Center, Denver
The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People, Denver
The Pendulum Foundation, Denver
Connecticut
1199NE Training and Upgrade Fund, Hartford
All Our Kin, Inc., New Haven
BHcare, Ansonia
Bridgeport Council of Administrators and Supervisors, Bridgeport
Center for Latino Progress--CPRF, Hartford
Collaborative Center for Justice, Inc., Hartford
Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition, Hartford
Connecticut Association of Directors of Health, Hartford
Connecticut Association of School Psychologists, Bridgeport
Connecticut Association of School Social Workers (CASSW), New Haven
Connecticut Association of Schools, Cheshire
Connecticut Community College System, Hartford
Connecticut Education Association, Hartford
Connecticut Federation of School Administrators, Cromwell
Connecticut Food Bank, East Haven
Connecticut Housing Coalition, Wethersfield
Connecticut Voices for Children, New Haven
Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF), Hartford
Eastern Highlands Health District, Storrs
Family Services of Greater Waterbury, Waterbury
FSW, Bridgeport
Gilead Community Services, Middletown
Holy Family Home and Shelter, Inc., Willimantic
LAMPP Project- Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford
Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Hartford
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Farmington Valley, Avon
Norwich School Administrator's Association, Norwich
Our Piece of the Pie, Hartford
Public Assisted Housing Resident Network (PHRN), Norwalk
Region 16 Administrators Association, Prospect
Regional School District 16, Prospect
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford
Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Eastern CT, Inc., Willimantic
St. Philip House, Plainville
University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in
Developmental Disabilities Education,
Research and Service, Farmington
Village for Families and Children, Hartford
Wellmore Behavioral Health, Waterbury
Woodland Regional High School, Beacon Falls
Delaware
Delaware Association of School Psychologists, Wilmington
Delaware State Education Association, Dover
Epilepsy Foundation of Delaware, Wilmington
Ministry of Caring, Inc., Wilmington
District of Columbia
Clearinghouse on Women's Issues
Council of School Officers, American Federation of School
Administrators, Local 4, AFL-CIOD.C.
D.C. Behavioral Health Association
D.C. LEARNs
D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Defeat Poverty D.C.
District of Columbia Occupational Therapy Association
Edward C. Mazique Parent Child Center, Inc.
Georgetown University Center for Excellence in Developmental
Disabilities (UCEDD)
Georgetown Center for Poverty, Inequality and Public Policy
Georgetown University Medical Center
Living Wages Adult Education Program
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Washington, D.C.
National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies
Potomac Gardens Resident Council
Public Allies Washington, D.C.
RESULTS D.C. Volunteer Group
United Way of the National Capital Area
Florida
1000 Friends of Florida, Tallahassee
Ability Housing of Northeast Florida, Inc., Jacksonville
Adult and Community Educators of Florida, Inc., Tallahassee
Bond Community Health Center, Inc., Tallahassee
Broward Meals on Wheels, Fort Lauderdale
Catholic Charities Housing, Diocese of Venice, Inc., Sarasota/Venice
Center for Independent Living of South Florida, Inc., Miami
Children's Forum, Tallahassee
Christian Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, Miami
City of Deerfield Beach, Deerfield Beach
Coalition for Independent Living Options, West Palm Beach
Community Coalition on Homelessness, Bradenton
Community Enterprise Investments Inc., Pensacola
Community Justice Project--Florida Legal Services, Miami
Dab the AIDS Bear Project, Oakland Park
Daytona State College, Daytona Beach
Department of Community Development, Miami
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), St. Cloud
disAbility Solutions for Independent Living, Inc., Daytona Beach
Documents International, St. Petersburg
Dunbar Center, Inc., Hobe Sound
Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, Miami
Familias Latinas Dejando Huellas, Tampa
Farmworker Association of Florida, Apopka
Florida Alliance of Community Development Corporations, Inc.,
Jacksonville
Florida Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance and
Sport, Parkland
Florida CASE, Archer
Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, Tallahassee
Florida Education Association, Tallahassee
Florida HIV/AIDS Advocacy Network, Oakland Park
Florida HIV/AIDS Patient Care Planning Group, Freeport
Florida School Counselor Association, Safety Harbor
Florida Supportive Housing Coalition, Tallahassee
Fusion, Wilton Manors
Gay Free If You Want To Be, Clearwater
Heart of Putnam Coalition, Palatka
Helen B. Bentley Family Health Center, Miami
Homes in Partnership, Inc., Apopka
Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, Inc., Orlando
Housing and Homeless Assistance Program, North Miami
Innocence Project of Florida, Tallahassee
Life Management Center of Northwest Florida, Panama City
Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Jacksonville
Meals on Wheels, Etc., Sanford
Miami Coalition for the Homeless, Inc., Miami
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) & Depression and Bipolar
Support Alliance, Lakeland
National Council of Jewish Woman Miami, Miami
National Council of Jewish Women Aventura, Aventura
National Council of Jewish Women Greater Miami Section, Miami
National Council of Jewish Women Hollywood, Hollywood
National Council of Jewish Women Southeast Atlantic Section, Boca Raton
Neighborly Care Network, Inc., Clearwater
North Florida Educational Development Corporation, Gretna
Northwest Florida AIDS/HIV Consortium (NOFLAC), Brent
Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast, West Palm
Beach
Positive Champions Speakers Bureau, Daytona Beach
Positively U, Inc., Davenport
Rural Neighborhoods, Inc., Homestead
Sanford Housing Authority Agency-Wide Resident Council, Sarasota
South Florida Community Development Coalition, Miami
St. Johns County Council on Aging, St. Augustine
St. Johns River Alliance, Jacksonville Beach
Sugarloaf Women's Land Trust, Sugarloaf Key
Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness, Sarasota
Tampa Housing Authority, Tampa
The Florida Housing Coalition, Tallahassee
The Good Shepherd of North East Florida, Inc., Lake City
The Mental Health Association of Okaloosa/Walton Counties, Fort Walton
Beach
United Faculty of Florida, Tallahassee
Georgia
AID Gwinnett/Ric Crawford Clinic, Duluth
Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU), Savannah
Augusta Housing Authority, Augusta
BAIN, Inc. Center for Independent Living, Bainbridge
Center for Leadership in Disability, Atlanta
DEW Consultants, Inc., Roswell
Douglas County Homeless Shelter, Douglasville
East Point Housing Authority, East Point
Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia, Atlanta
Families First, Inc., Atlanta
Family Visions Outreach, Inc., Sylvester
G-CASE, McDonough
Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness, Marietta
Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals, Thomasville
Georgia Council of Administrators for Special Education, McDonough
Georgia Parent Support Network, Inc., Atlanta
Georgia School Counselors Association, Marietta
Georgia State University Center for Leadership in Disability, Atlanta
Georgia Supportive Housing Association, Atlanta
Grady Health System, Atlanta
Here's to Life, Inc., Decatur
HOPE Atlanta Programs of Travelers Aid, Atlanta
Housing Authority of DeKalb County, Decatur
Liberty County Board of Education, Hinesville
Liberty County Public School System, Hinesville
Lou Walker Senior Center, Lithonia
Northwest Georgia Federation of Families, Rome
Peak Performance Learning, L.L.C., Atlanta
Sexual Assault Support Center, Inc., Columbus
SisterLove, Inc., Atlanta
Sisters of Mercy, Macon
South Fulton Senior Services, College Park
STEM, Inc., Covington
The Cottage, Sexual Assault Center & Children's Advocacy Center, Athens
Urban Residential Development Corporation, Atlanta
Briarcliff Oaks, Atlanta
Guam
University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
(UCEDD), Mangilao
Hawaii
Community Alliance for Mental Health, Honolulu
Good Beginnings Alliance, Honolulu
Hawaii Association of Secondary School Administrators, Honolulu
Hawaii Association of School Librarians, Honolulu
Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council, Hilo
Hawaii Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs, Honolulu
Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Honolulu
Hawaii State Department of Education, Honolulu
Hawaii State Office of Youth Services, Honolulu
Hawaii State Teachers Association, Honolulu
Lanakila Pacific, Honolulu
Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii, Honolulu
Iowa
Black Hawk-Grundy Mental Health Center, Inc., Waterloo
Chickasaw County Public Health and Home Care Services, New Hampton
Child and Family Policy Center, Des Moines
Community Health Partners of Sioux County, Orange City
Crisis Intervention Services, Oskaloosa
Disability Rights Iowa, Des Moines
Dubuque Franciscan Sisters, Dubuque
Heritage Area Agency on Aging, Cedar Rapids
Iowa Association for College Admission Counseling, Newton
Iowa Association of Community Providers, Urbandale
Iowa Coalition 4 Juvenile Justice, Des Moines
Iowa Comprehensive Human Services, Des Moines
Iowa Council of Administrators of Special Education I-CASE, Des Moines
Iowa Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, Anamosa
Iowa School Social Work Association, Des Moines
Jackson County Home and Community Health, Maquoketa
Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids
Lincoln Mental Health, Fort Dodge
Monona County Public Health, Onawa
North Fayette High School, West Union
PITCH, Milford
Positive Iowans Taking Charge, Des Moines
Siouxland District Health Department, Sioux City
Sisters of the Presentation, Dubuque
State Public Policy Group Inc., Des Moines
The Culture Buzz, Des Moines
Tri-County Child and Family Development Council, Inc., Waterloo
United Way of Central Iowa, Des Moines
Waubonsie Mental Health Center, Clarinda
Idaho
Aberdeen Education Association, Aberdeen
Boise State University, Boise
Buhl Education Association, Buhl
Cambridge-Midvale Senior Citizens Center, Cambridge
Cassia County Education Association, Burley
Castleford School District, Castleford
Challis Education Association, Challis
Coeur d'Alene Education Association, Coeur d'Alene
Family Crisis Center, Rexburg
Filer Education Organization, Filer
Gem County Education Association, Emmett
Idaho Association of School Administrators, Boise
Idaho CASE, Boise
Idaho Council for Exceptional Children, Boise
Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities, Boise
Idaho Education Association, Boise
Idaho Education Association, Coeur d'Alene
Idaho Education Association, Post Falls
Idaho Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, Boise
Kimberly Education Association, Kimberly
Lakeland Education Association, Rathdrum
Meadows Valley Education Association, New Meadows
Minidoka County Education Association, Rupert
Plummer-Worley Jt School District #44, Plummer
Post Falls Educational Association, Post Falls
Richfield IEA, Richfield
Rimrock Senior Center, Grand View
Ririe Education Association, Ririe
Rockland Education Association, Rockland
Teton Education Association, Felt
The New Meadows Senior Center, New Meadows
Twin Falls Education Association, Twin Falls
Twin Falls School District, Twin Falls
Valley Meals on Wheels, Lewiston
West Ridge Elementary, Post Falls
Illinois
ACTE, Springfield
Aging Care Connections, La Grange
AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago
AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, Chicago
Alexian Brothers AIDS Ministry, Chicago
Burr Ridge Community Consolidated School District #180, Burr Ridge
Calumet Area Industrial Commission, Chicago
Campaign for Better Health Care, Illinois, Champaign and Chicago
Canticle Ministries, Wheaton
Career Link, Bloomington
Casa Central, Chicago
Cass School District #63, Darien
Central Illinois Friends of People with AIDS, Peoria
Chicago Jobs Council, Chicago
Chicago Rehab Network, Chicago
Chicago Workforce Investment Council, Chicago
Children's Home and Aid, Chicago
Citizen Schools Illinois, Chicago
City of Chicago Department of Family & Support Services, Chicago
City of Kankakee Community Development Agency, Kankakee
Coalition for Equitable Community Development, Chicago
Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois, Springfield
Community Outreach Intervention Projects, SPH, UIC, Chicago
Connect 2 Protect Chicago, Chicago
Connections for Abused Women and their Children, Chicago
Cook County GED Testing Program, Chicago
Department of Human Services, Woodstock
DuPage Senior Citizens Council, DuPage County
DuPage Workforce Board, Lisle
East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging, Bloomington
Educational Support for Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS),
Chicago
Egyptian Mental Health Department, Eldorado
Goldie's Place, Chicago
Haymarket Center, Chicago
Housing Action Illinois, Chicago
Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb, DeKalb
Human Resources Development Institute, Inc., Chicago
IACEA: The Voice of Adult Education in Illinois, Crystal Lake
Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling, Mt. Prospect
Illinois Association of Career Tech Educators, Rockford
Illinois Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel,
Chicago
Illinois Community College Board Adult Education and Family Literacy
Program, Springfield
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, Mattoon
Illinois Lead Program, Springfield
Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition, Chicago
Illinois Migrant Council, Harvard
Illinois Principals Association, Springfield
Illinois School Counselor Association, DeKalb
Illinois School Counselors Association, Chicago
Illinois School Library Media Association, Canton
Institute on Disability and Human Development, Chicago
Interfaith Open Communities, Chicago
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Chicago
Lake County Center for Independent Living, Mundelein
Lake County Workforce Investment Board, Waukegan
Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois, Chicago
Lifescape Community Services, Inc., Rockford
Living Daylight Corporation, Elgin
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Chicago, Chicago
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Peoria, Peoria
Manufacturing Technology Institute, Richard J. Daley College, Chicago
Mary Crane League, Chicago
Mascoutah Community Unit School District #19, Mascoutah
Mascoutah Senior Services Program, Mascoutah
McHenry County Workforce Investment Board, Woodstock
McHenry County Workforce Network, Woodstock
National Council of Jewish Women, Illinois State Policy Advocacy
Committee, Chicago
New Foundation Center, Northfield
Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice, Oak Park
Open Door Clinic, Elgin
Ounce of Prevention Fund, Chicago
Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative, Chicago
Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault, Springfield
RAMP Center for Independent Living, Rockford
Randolph County Health Department, Chester
Regional CARE Association, Joliet
Rock Island County Health Department, Rock Island
Rock River Training Corporation, Rockford
Safe Kids Adams County, Quincy
SIL Radon Awareness Task Force, Inc., Mt Vernon
Southside Solidarity Network, Chicago
St. Catherine Laboure Parish, Glenview
St. Joan of Arc Social Justice & Peace, Lisle
Stroger Hospital of Cook County, Chicago
Supportive Housing Providers Association of Illinois, Springfield
Test Positive Aware Network, Publisher of Positively Aware Magazine,
Chicago
The Children's Place Association, Chicago
The Safer Foundation, Chicago
Trinity Resources Unlimited, Inc., Chicago
University of Illinois, Urbana
Vermilion County Job Training Partnership, Danville
West Suburban Jobs Council, Wheaton
Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging, Rock Island
Wheaton Franciscans, Wheaton
YWCA of the Sauk Valley, Sterling
Heartland Alliance, Chicago
Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education, Lebanon
Illinois School Counseling Association, Chicago
Illinois School Psychologist's Association, Chicago
Interfaith House, Chicago
Mary Crane Center- Head Start, Chicago
Minority AIDS Awareness Council (MAAC), Peoria
People for Community Recovery, Chicago
Senior Services Plus, Alton
St. Vincent de Paul Center, Chicago
YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, Chicago
Indiana
Area IV Head Start, Frankfort
Association of Indiana School Library Educators, Indianapolis
ATTIC, Inc., Vincennes
Brown County Schools, Nashville
Community Action of Northeast Indiana, Inc. (CANI) Head Start and Early
Head Start, Fort Wayne
Fulton County Health Department, Rochester
Housing Authority City of Richmond, Richmond
Housing Authority of South Bend, South Bend
ICASE, Madison
Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Indianapolis
Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers, Inc., Indianapolis
Indiana Council of Special Education Administrators, Indianapolis
Indiana Institute for Working Families, Indianapolis
Indiana School Counselor Association, Lafayette
Indiana School Social Work Association, Mooresville
Indiana State AFL-CIO Labor Institute for Training, Inc., Indianapolis
Indiana State Teachers Association, Indianapolis
INFBPW/Merrillville-Duneland, Schererville
Kokomo Area Special Education Cooperative, Russiaville
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Indianapolis, Indianapolis
Logansport Area Joint Special Services Cooperative, Logansport
Madison County JobSource, Anderson
Mental Health America in Cass County, Logansport
Middle Way House, Inc., Bloomington
Midwest Center for Youth and Families, Valparaiso
Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative, Crown Point
Porter-Starke Services, Inc., Valparaiso
The Riley Child Development Center, Riley Hospital for Children,
Indianapolis
Training, Inc., Indianapolis
YWCA North Central Indiana, South Bend
Kansas
Aging Projects, Inc., Hutchinson
Butler County Health Department, El Dorado
Center for Child Health and Development, Kansas City
Clinical Psychologist, Iola
COMCARE, Wichita
ECKAN, Ottawa
Geary County Unified School District #475, Junction City
Great Plains Association for College Admission Counseling, Overland
Park
HOMESTEAD Nutrition Project, Hays
Independent Living Resource Center, Wichita
Johnson County Area Agency on Aging, Olathe
Johnson County Department of Health & Environment, Olathe
Kansas Adult Education Association, Paola
Kansas Association of School Librarians, Larned
Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals, Halstead
Kansas Head Start Association, Lawrence
Kansas National Education Association, Topeka
Kansas Occupational Therapy Association, Topeka
Kansas School Social Work Association, Wichita
Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities, Lawrence
Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center, Inc., Hiawatha
Meals on Wheels Association of Kansas, Ottawa
Missouri Valley Adult Education Association, Paola
Newton Housing Authority, Newton
Olathe National Education Association, Olathe
Parsons Housing Authority, Parsons
Prairie Independent Living Resource Center, Inc., Hutchinson
Senior Services of Southeast Kansas, Inc., Coffeyville
SKIL Resource Center, Parsons
Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas, Topeka
Southwest Boulevard Family Health Care, Kansas City
Three Rivers Independent Living, Inc., Wamego
Kentucky
Appalbanc, Inc., Berea
Ashland County Community and Technical College/Boyd County Adult
Education, Ashland
Audubon Area Community Services, Inc., Owensboro
Beattyville Housing & Development Corporation, Inc., Beattyville
Central Kentucky Community Action Council, Inc., Lebanon
Central Kentucky Community Action Head Start, Lebanon
Central Kentucky Housing & Homeless Initiative, Lexington
Christian County Health Department, Hopkinsville
Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities, Frankfort
Cumberland Valley Housing Authority, Williamsburg
Florence Crittenton Home & Services, Inc., Lexington
Floyd County Health Department, Prestonsburg
Hardin County Adult Education, Elizabethtown
Head Start, Paducah
Kentucky Association for Career and Technical Education, Frankfort
Kentucky Communities Economic Opportunity Council, Corbin
Kentucky Council of Administrators of Special Education, Lexington
Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, Frankfort
Kentucky School Media Association, Frankfort
Kentucky Youth Advocates, Louisville
KY HANDS Home Visitation Program, Kentucky Department for Public
Health, Frankfort
Louisville Peace Action Community, Louisville
Louisville-Metro Senior Nutrition Program, Louisville
Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, Berea
New Beginnings Sexual Assault Support Services, Owensboro
Pathways, Inc., Ashland
People's Self-Help Housing, Inc., Vanceburg
Senior Services of Northern Kentucky, Covington
SeniorCare Experts, Louisville
The Catalytic Fund, Covington
The Kentucky Association for Psychology in the Schools, Mount
Washington
The Pulaski Adult Learning Center, Somerset
Todd County Adult Education, Elkton
University of Kentucky, Lexington
West Kentucky Allied Services, Inc., Mayfield
Western Kentucky University Department of Family and Consumer Sciences,
Bowling Green
Louisiana
A Community Voice--Louisiana, New Orleans
Advocacy Center, New Orleans
Brand New Attitude, New Orleans
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, New Orleans
Gulf Area Training Enterprises, L.L.C., New Orleans
Innocence Project New Orleans, New Orleans
Louisiana Association of Educators, Baton Rouge
Louisiana Association of Principals, Winnfield,
Louisiana Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, Inc.,
Baton Rouge
Louisiana Housing Alliance, Baton Rouge
Louisiana Lung Cancer Partnership, Lake Charles
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Human Development
Center, New Orleans
N'R PEACE, Inc., Gretna
Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council, Lake Charles
Southwest Louisiana Independence Center, Lake Charles
Tulane University, New Orleans
Maine
Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, Orono
Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), Wiscasset
Community Housing of Maine, Portland
CWS Architects, Portland
Graham Behavioral Services, Inc., Augusta
Maine Association of School Psychology, Kennebunk
Maine Children's Alliance, Augusta
Maine Marine Trades Association, Biddeford
Maine People's Alliance, South Portland
New England Association for College Admission Counseling, Kittery
New England Consortium Poverty Reduction Initiative, South Portland
New Hampshire Educational Opportunity Association, Eliot
New Hampshire Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related
Disabilities (NH-LEND), Durham
Opportunity Maine, Portland
Portland Housing Authority, Portland
The Horizon Program, Augusta
The Maine Association for Mental Health Services, Augusta
The Maine Association of Substance Abuse Programs, Augusta
TRiO at Plymouth State University, Durham
Maryland
Advocacy and Training Center, Cumberland
Advocates for Children and Youth, Baltimore
Allegany County Teachers' Association, Cumberland
Anne Arundel County Community Action Agency, Annapolis
Baltimore County Association of Senior Citizens Organizations (BCASCO),
Baltimore County
Baltimore County Public Schools--Education Support Professionals of
Baltimore County, Baltimore
Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS), Nottingham
Baltimore Workforce Investment Board, Baltimore
Calvert Association of Supervisors and Administrators, Prince Frederick
Cecil County Classroom Teachers Association (CCCTA), Elkton
Cecil County Public Schools, Conowingo
Channel Marker, Inc., Easton
Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland, Catonsville
Education Association of St. Mary's County, California
Education Support Professionals of Baltimore County (ESPBC), Baltimore
Elkton Housing Authority, Elkton
Empire Homes of Maryland, Inc., Baltimore
Frederick Association of School Support Employees, Mount Airy
Fund Our Communities, Kensington
Garrett County Community Action Committee, Oakland
Head Start of Washington County, Hagerstown
IEC Chesapeake, Odenton
Ivory House Health Services, Lutherville
Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore
Legal Aid Bureau, Inc., Baltimore
LifeLinc of Maryland, Baltimore
Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals, Ellicott City
Maryland Campus Compact, Emmitsburg
Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, Division of
Workforce Development and Adult
Learning, Baltimore
Maryland Disability Law Center, Baltimore
Maryland State Education Association, Annapolis
Maryland United for Peace & Justice, Bowie
Maryland Rural Development Corporation and MRDC Head Start, Annapolis
Montgomery County Education Association, Rockville
Montgomery Housing Partnership, Silver Spring
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Maryland, Columbia
National Council of Jewish Women Howard County, MD. Section, Columbia,
Ellicott City, Clarksville
Peace Action Montgomery, Brookeville
PeterCares House, Greenbelt
Potomac Association of Housing Cooperative, Baltimore
Prince George's County Educators' Association, Forestville
Progressive Cheverly, Cheverly
Public Justice Center, Baltimore
Reservoir Hill Mutual Homes, Inc., Baltimore
RESULTS, Laurel
Simon Publications, Bethesda
St. Bernardine's Head Start, Baltimore
The Alliance for Integrative Health Care, Baltimore
The Beacon Newspapers, Silver Spring
The Freedom Center, Frederick
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore
Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services, Elkton
Vehicles for Change, Baltimore
Veterans For Peace--Washington, D.C.-Area Chapter, Rockville
Volunteers of America Chesapeake, Inc., Lanham
Xaverian Brothers, Baltimore
YWCA Greater Baltimore, Baltimore
Massachusetts
AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Boston
AIDS Project Worcester, Worcester
Alliance of Cambridge Tenants (ACT), Cambridge
Amory Street Associates, Waltham
Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Natick
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, New England Chapter, Needham
Barnstable County HOME Consortium, Barnstable
Bedford Youth & Family Services, Bedford
Behind Locked Doors, Newton
Bellingham Housing Authority, Bellingham
Boston Public Health Commission, Boston
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, Inc., Cambridge
Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services, Cambridge
Cape Cod Children's Place, North Eastham
Career Center Initiative Board, Partnership for A Skilled Workforce,
Waltham
CareerPOINT Career Center, Chicopee
CASPAR Inc., Cambridge & Somerville
Child Tools Consulting, Fitchburg
Citizen Schools Massachusetts, Boston
Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), Boston
Conservation Law Foundation, Boston
Disability Law Center, Massachusetts, Boston
Epilepsy Foundation of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and
Maine, Inc., Boston
Family Promise Metrowest, Natick
Harbor Health Services, Inc., Boston
Heaven In View Outreach Ministry, Inc., Springfield
Homeowners Rehab, Inc., Cambridge
Housing Corporation of Arlington, Arlington
Independence Associates, Inc., Center for Independent Living, Brockton
Jewish Vocational Service: Boston, Boston
Local 201 IUE/CWA, Greenfield
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Boston, Boston
Massachusetts Advocates Standing Strong, Boston
Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change (MFOFC), Raynham
Massachusetts Music Educators Association, Inc., South Attleboro
Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, Boston
Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Boston
Massachusetts School Psychologists Association (MSPA), Boston
Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators' Association, Franklin
Massachusetts Teachers Association, Boston
Massachusetts Vocational Association, East Freetown
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
McLean Hospital, Belmont
Museum of Science, Boston
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Cape Ann, Inc., Gloucester
Natick Housing Authority, Natick
National Association of Social Workers, Dorchester
Northeast Counselors Association, Groveland
One Family, Inc., Boston
PACE, Inc. Housing Services, New Bedford
Partners HealthCare, Boston
Partnerships for a Skilled Workforce, Inc., Marlborough
Pine Street Inn, Boston
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Springfield
RCAP Solutions, Inc., Worcester/Gardner
RESULTS Boston, Boston
SkillWorks, Brookline
Somerville Homeless Coalition, Somerville
South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc., Framingham
South Shore Mental Health, Quincy
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston
Technology for Memory and Organization, Walpole
TenHoor and Associates, Duxbury
The Caleb Group, Swampscott
The Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (ASE), Cambridge
Tohn Environmental Strategies, Wayland
Training, Inc., Boston
TRI-City Community Action Program, Malden
Tri-Valley, Inc., Dudley
Wayside Youth & Family Support Network, Framingham
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole
Michigan
A2FACES: Ann Arbor Families for Autistic Children, Ann Arbor
Advocacy Services for Kids, Kalamazoo
American Cancer Society, East Lansing
American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA)--Michigan, Detroit
Ann Arbor Public Schools, Ann Arbor
Area Agency on Aging 1-B, Southfield
Association for Children's Mental Health, Lansing
Center for Civil Justice, Saginaw
Communities Overcoming Violent Encounters, Ludington
Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM), Lansing
Developmental Disabilities Institute, Detroit
Dial Help Community Support and Outreach Center, Houghton
Disruptive Innovations for Social Change, Grand Rapids
Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan, Southfield
Ferris State University College of Pharmacy, Big Rapids
Flint Strive, Flint
Focus: HOPE, Detroit
Hand Up, Inc. Nonprofit Organization, Romulus
Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, Little Lake
Jackson Area Manufacturers Association, Jackson
Jewish Labor Committee--Michigan Region, Detroit
Kent Regional Community Coordinated Child Care, Grand Rapids
Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan, Lansing
Leland Public School, Leland
Levin Energy Partners, LLC, Bloomfield Hills
LifeWays, Jackson
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Detroit, Detroit
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Michigan Statewide, Kalamazoo
Matrix Human Services, Detroit
Michigan Alliance of Cooperatives, Blanchard
Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling, East Lansing
Michigan Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and
Dance, Lansing
Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education (MAASE),
Holland
Michigan College Access Programs and Personnel, Marquette
Michigan Community Action Agency Association, Okemos
Michigan Community Service Commission, Lansing
Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, East Lansing
Michigan Music Education Association, Jackson
Michigan Protection and Advocacy Services, Lansing
Michigan School Counselor Association, Grand Rapids
Michigan's Children, Lansing
Mott Community College Workforce Development, Flint
Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency, Traverse City
Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors (OSAS) Local 28--
American Federation of School Administrators 9AFSA, Detroit
Ottawa County Great Start Collaborative, Holland
Ottawa County Great Start Parent Coalition, Allendale
Paw Paw Housing Commission, Paw Paw
Provider Alliance of the Michigan Association of Community Mental
Health Boards, Lansing
RESULTS, Greater Detroit
Saginaw County Youth Protection Council, Saginaw
Sault Area Public Schools, Sault Ste. Marie
Save Michigan Seniors, Kalamazoo
Senior Nutrition Services, Region IV, Benton Harbor
Shiawassee Regional Education Service District, Corunna
South Central Michigan Works!, Hillsdale
Southeast Michigan Census Council, Southfield
Southwest Counseling Solutions, Detroit
Superior AIDS Prevention Services, Iron Mountain
Temple B'nai Israel, Petoskey
The Arc Michigan, Lansing
Walker Firehouse Cafe/Senior Neighbors, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Watersmeet Township School District, Watersmeet
Wisdom Institute, Detroit
Minnesota
A Minnesota Without Poverty, Minneapolis
Bois Forte Tribal Government, Nett Lake
Children's Defense Fund--Minnesota, St. Paul
CROSS Meals on Wheels, Rogers
Deer River Public School District, Deer River
Education Minnesota, St. Paul
Entrepreneur Fund, Duluth
Family Life Mental Health Center, Coon Rapids
Family Service Rochester, Rochester
Hamline University, St. Paul
Houston County Public Health Department, Caledonia
Hunger Solutions Minnesota, St. Paul
Hutchinson Housing & Redevelopment Authority, Hutchinson
Innocence Project of Minnesota, St. Paul
Integrated Community Solutions, Inc., Fridley
JM Grants, Sartell
Litchfield Public Schools Early Childhood Programs, Litchfield
Little Falls Partners for Peace, Little Falls
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Duluth, Duluth
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Twin Cities, St. Paul
Local Public Health Association of Minnesota, St. Paul
McLeod County Public Health, Glencoe
Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation (MMCDC), Detroit
Lakes
Minnesota Association for Career and Technical Education, Fergus Falls
Minnesota Association for College Admission Counseling, Northfield
Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, St. Paul
Minnesota Head Start Association, Inc., Duluth
Minnesota Housing Partnership, St. Paul
Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center, Minneapolis
Minnesota Occupational Therapy Association (MOTA), St. Paul
Minnesota School Psychologists Association, Winona
Minnesota School Social Workers Association, Gibbon
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), White Bear Lake
Minnesota Workforce Council Association, Saint Paul
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota, St. Paul
Naytahwaush Community Charter School, Naytahwaush
Nett Lake School District, Nett Lake
Religious Community of Women, Little Falls
RESULTS-Twin Cites, Minnesota (Domestic), Minneapolis
Southeast Minnesota Workforce Board, Rochester
The Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers, Minneapolis
Waubun-Ogema-White Earth Public Schools, Waubun
Workforce Development, Inc., Southeast
Mississippi
Biloxi Branch NAACP, Biloxi
Disability Rights Mississippi, Jackson
Faye's Playhouse & Learning Center, Verona
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Mid South Delta, Greenville
Mississippi Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel,
Jackson
Mississippi Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and
Dance, Olive Branch
Mississippi Association of Secondary School Principals, Columbia
Mississippi Council of Administrators of Special Education (MS CASE),
Mendenhall
Mississippi Families as Allies, Jackson
Mississippi Innocence Project, Oxford
Nollie Jenkins Family Center, Inc., Lexington
Pontotoc Housing Authority, Pontotoc
Public Policy Center of Mississippi, Jackson
Missouri
Advance National Education Association, Advance
Bayless Education Association, St. Louis
Blue Springs National Education Association, Blue Springs
Bridgeway Women's Center, St. Charles
Caruthers Street Charities, Inc. dba Project HOPE, Cape Girardeau
Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) Head Start, Columbia
Central Missouri Community Action- Head Start, Laddonia
Dent County Health Center, Salem
Disabled Citizens Alliance for Independence, Viburnum
Epilepsy Foundation of Missouri and Kansas, Kansas City
Farmington National Education Association, Farmington
Ferguson-Florissant National Education Association, Ferguson
Festus Housing Authority, Festus
Head Start, Salem
Independence Housing Authority, Independence
Independence National Education Association, Independence
Jefferson County Health Department, Hillsboro
Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation, Hillsboro
Joplin Adult Education and Literacy, Joplin
Kaiden's Voice for the Abused, Springfield
Kansas City Adult Education & Literacy, Kansas City
Kansas City Criminal Justice Task Force, Kansas City
Kansas City Missouri School District Adult Education and Literacy,
Kansas City
Lindbergh National Education Association, St. Louis
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Greater Kansas City, Kansas City
Lutheran Family & Children's Services of Missouri, St. Louis
Mississippi County Health Department, Charleston
Missouri Adult Education & Literacy Administrators Association,
Jefferson City
Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education, Jefferson City
Missouri Association for Social Welfare, Jefferson City
Missouri Association of Local Public Health Agencies, Jefferson City
Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals, Columbia
Missouri Council for Exceptional Children (MO-CEC), Blue Springs
Missouri Council of Administrators of Special Education, Jefferson City
Missouri Development Disabilities Council, Jefferson City
Missouri Division of Workforce Development, St. Louis
Missouri National Education Association, Jefferson City
Missouri Public Health Association, Jefferson City
Missouri School Counselor Association, Jefferson City
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), St. Louis
National Council of Jewish Women, St. Louis Section, St. Louis
Normandy National Education Association, St. Louis
North East Community Action Corporation, Bowling Green
Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation, Springfield
Pettis County Health Center, Sedalia
Phelps/Maries County Health Department, Rolla
Second Harvest Community Food Bank, Saint Joseph
Senior Citizens Community Center, Paris
Shelby County Health Department, Shelbyville
Smithville R-II School District, Smithville
St. Francois County Health Center, Park Hills,
St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE), St. Louis
St. Louis Lead Prevention Coalition, St. Louis
Starkloff Disability Institute, St. Louis
Taney County Health Department, Branson
Waynesville R-VI School District, Waynesville
Westside Community Action Network Center, Kansas City
Youth In Need, Inc., St. Charles
Montana
ADAPT Montana, Missoula
Billings Clinic, Billings
Box Elder Public School District 13G, Box Elder
Dixon School District # 9, Dixon
Dodson Schools, Dodson
Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center, Miles City
Family Support Network--Montana, Billings
Harlem Public Schools, Harlem
Helena Indian Alliance, Helena
Lodge Grass Public School District No. 2 & 27, Lodge Grass
MEA-MFT, Helena
Montana Aspire TRIO, Great Falls
Montana Public Health Association, Choteau
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Helena
Not Dead Yet Montana, Missoula
Polson School District, Polson
Poplar School Districts 9 & 9B, Poplar
RiverStone Health, Billings
School Administrators of Montana, Helena
Teton County Health Department, Choteau
University of Montana Rural Institute: Center for Excellence in
Disability Education, Research, and Service, Missoula
Nebraska
Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership, Omaha
Head Start CFDP Inc., Hastings
Lutheran Metro Ministry, Omaha
Nebraska AIDS Project, Omaha
Nebraska Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, Minden
Nebraska Head Start Association, Hastings
Nebraska School Librarians Association, Lincoln
Nebraska State Education Association, Lincoln
Progressive Research Institute of Nebraska, Omaha
Santee Sioux Nation Head Start, Niobrara
Nebraska (Inc.)
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Justice Team, Omaha
Somali Community Service, Inc., Omaha
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha
Western Nebraska Resources Council, Chadron
Association of Career and Technical Education of Nebraska, Lincoln
Nebraska Advocacy Services, Inc., Lincoln
Nevada
Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas
Churchill County School District, Fallon
Food Bank of Northern Nevada, Reno
Golden Rainbow, Las Vegas
Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, Inc., Reno
Nevada Adult Educators, Las Vegas
Nevada Occupational Therapy Association, Las Vegas
Nevada School Counselor Association (NvSCA), Reno, Las Vegas
Reno Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, Reno
Washoe County (Nevada) Department of Senior Services, Reno
New Hampshire
Center For Life Management, Derry
Children's Alliance of New Hampshire, Concord
Greater Nashua Mental Health Center at Community Council, Nashua
Housing Action New Hampshire, Concord
Local 119, Exeter
Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter, Inc., Nashua
New Hampshire Association of School Principals, Concord
New Hampshire Association of Special Education Administrators, Concord
New Hampshire School Library Media Association, Laconia
New Hampshire School Library Media Association (NHSLMA), Exeter
Rockingham Nutrition and Meals on Wheels Program, Brentwood,
The New Hampshire Occupational Therapy Association, Concord
University of New Hampshire/McNair (TRiO), Durham
New Jersey
Abundant Life Community Development Corporation, Edgewater Park
Advocates for Children of New Jersey, Newark
Alternatives to Domestic Violence, Hackensack
Atlantic Cape Family Support Organization, Northfield
Bergen County Youth Services Commission, Hackensack
Burlington County Workforce Investment Board, Mount Holly
Camden County Family Support Organization, Merchantville
Cape May City Elementary School, Cape May
Career and Technical Education Association of New Jersey, Pemberton
Cathedral Soup Kitchen, Inc., Camden
Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton, Trenton
Children's Aid and Family Services, South Orange
Citizen Schools New Jersey, Newark
Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Hillside
COPE Center, Inc., Montclair
Cumberland/Salem Workforce Investment Board, Bridgeton
Englewood Housing Authority, Englewood
Family Support Organization of Bergen County, Waldwick
Family Support Organization of Bergen County, Fair Lawn
Food Bank of South Jersey, Pennsauken
Garden State Employment & Training Association, Toms River
Head Start Community Program of Morris County, Inc., Dover
Homefront, Inc., Lawrenceville
Horizon Health Center, Jersey City, Bayonne
Housing Community Development Network of New Jersey, Trenton
Hudson County Housing Resource Center, Jersey City
Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, New Brunswick
JCDTOC, Inc., Cape May Court House
Kean University, Union
LEW Corporation, Mountainside
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Greater Newark, Newark
Meals On Wheels, Inc.--Linden, Linden
Monmouth County Regional Health Commission, Tinton Falls
Morris-Sussex-Warren Workforce Investment Board, Morristown
Mount Carmel Guild, Cranford
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Asbury Park
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Cherry Hill
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Gloucester County, Wenonah
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Greater Monmouth, Freehold
National Council of Jewish Women, Concordia Section, Monroe Township
National Council of Jewish Women, Union County Section, Elizabeth
National Council of Jewish Women, West Morris Section, Morristown
New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition, Englewood
New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation &
Dance, Ocean
New Jersey Association of Mental Health & Addiction Agencies, Inc.,
Mercerville
New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc.,
Hamilton
New Jersey Association of Pupil Services Administrators, Westfield
New Jersey Campus Compact, Branchburg
New Jersey Citizen Action, Newark
New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, Monroe Township
North Hanover Township Schools, Wrightstown
Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity, Toms River
Ocean County Workforce Investment Board, Toms River
Pleasantville Housing Authority, Pleasantville
Preferred Behavioral Health of New Jersey, Brick
Princeton Community Housing, Inc., Princeton
Project Live, Inc., Newark
Respond, Inc., Camden
Straight and Narrow Inc., Paterson
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/University
Behavioral HealthCare, Piscataway
Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey (VNACNJ) Community
Health Center, Inc., Asbury Park
New Mexico
Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque
Citizen Schools New Mexico, Albuquerque
Clovis Municipal Schools, Clovis
Community Against Violence, Taos
Five Sandoval Indian Pueblos, Inc. Head Start, Bernalillo
Gallup-McKinley County Schools, Ramah
Media Arts Collaborative Charter School, Albuquerque
National Education Association New Mexico, Santa Fe
National Education Association Santa Fe, Santa Fe
Native American Disability Law Center, Inc., Farmington
New Mexico Music Educators Association, Las Cruces
New Mexico Association of Secondary School Principals, Rio Rancho
New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, Albuquerque
New Mexico Council of Administrators of Special Education (NMCASE),
Dexter
New Mexico Forum for Youth in Community, Albuquerque
New Mexico Occupational Therapy Association, Albuquerque
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces
New Mexico Voices for Children, Albuquerque
Prosperity Works, Albuquerque
Pueblo of Zuni Head Start, Zuni
RESULTS-Santa Fe, Santa Fe
Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico, Albuquerque
YES Housing Inc., Albuquerque
Youth Development, Inc., Albuquerque
National Education Association--Carlsbad, Carlsbad
New York
1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds, New York
Access to Independence of Cortland County, Inc., Cortland
Advocates for Children of New York, New York
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, New York
City
Allegany County Office for the Aging, Belmont
Arbor Housing and Development, Bath
Arise, Inc., Syracuse
Boulevard Houses, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Brooklyn
Brooklyn for Peace, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Kindergarten Society, New York
Brooklyn-Queens National Organization for Women, Brooklyn
Buffalo Council of School Administrators, Buffalo
Caring for the Homeless of Peekskill, Peekskill
Cattaraugus County Department of the Aging, Olean
Center for Children's Initiatives, New York
Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York
Central New York Citizens in Action, Inc., Utica
Chenango County Area Agency on Aging, Norwich
Children's Defense Fund--New York, New York
Citizen Action of New York, Binghamton
Citizen Schools New York, New York
City of Syracuse Lead Program, Syracuse
Claire Heureuse Community Center, Inc., Jamaica
Columbia County Office for the Aging, Hudson
Community Action Planning Council of Jefferson County, New York,
Watertown
Community Service Society of New York, New York
Cortland County Health Department, Cortland
Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), New York
Delaware County Office for the Aging, Delhi
Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels, Dunkirk
Early Care & Learning Council, Albany
Empire Justice Center, Rochester
Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island, Garden City
Everyone Reading, New York
Fifth Avenue Committee, Brooklyn
Foodnet Meals on Wheels, Ithaca
Fort Greene Peace, Brooklyn
Fulton County Office for Aging, Johnstown
Fulton, Montgomery and Schoharie Counties Workforce Development Board,
Inc., Amsterdam
Future Leaders Institute Charter School, New York
Human Development Services of Westchester, Mamaroneck
Hunger Solutions New York, Albany
Innersight, Islip
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers--Local 43, Clay
Jackson Resident Association, Inc., Bronx
Joint Council for Economic Opportunity, Plattsburgh
Leake and Watts Services, Inc., Yonkers
Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Buffalo
Local Initiatives Support Corporation New York City, New York
Long Island Educational Opportunity Center, Brentwood
Madison County Office for the Aging, Inc., Canastota
Meals on Wheels of Syracuse, New York, Inc., Syracuse
Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Buffalo & Erie County,
Williamsville
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Cattaraugus, Olean
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Central Suffolk, Port Jefferson
Station
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Huntington, Huntington
National Alliance on Mental Illness--LAMP/SW Nassau, Merrick
National Alliance on Mental Illness--New York City, Staten Island,
Staten Island
National Alliance on Mental Illness--New York State, Albany
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Queens & Nassau, Manhasset
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Rensselaer County, West Sand Lake
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Rochester, Rochester
National Council of Jewish Women--Lakeville Section, Great Neck
Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of New York State, Albany
New Destiny Housing, New York
New York Annual Conference, United Methodist Church, Brooklyn
New York Association of School Psychologists, Albany
New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals (NYATEP),
Albany
New York State Association of College Admission Counseling, Red Hook
New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO), Albany
New York State Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Albany
New York State Dance Education Association, New York
New York State Head Start Association, Glens Falls
New York State Rural Housing Coalition, Albany
New York State School Counselor Association, Leicester
New York University Langone Medical Center, New York
Northern Regional Center for Independent Living, Family Support
Services, Watertown
Ontario County Office for the Aging, Canandaigua
Orleans County Office for the Aging, Albion
PathStone Corporation, Rochester
Peace Action Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Per Scholas Inc., Bronx
Program on Applied Demographics--Cornell University, Ithaca
Rape Crisis Service of Planned Parenthood of the Rochester Syracuse
Region, Batavia
Rural Ulster Preservation Company, Kingston
Safe Against Violence, Hamden
Saugerties Public Housing Agency, Saugerties
School Administrators Association of New York State, Latham
Schuyler County Office for the Aging, Montour Falls
Selfhelp Community Services, New York
Senior Services of Albany, Inc., Albany
Sexual Assault & Crime Victims Assistance Program, Troy
St. John's Riverside Hospital, Yonkers
St. Lawrence County Office for the Aging, Canton
St. Mary's Episcopal Church Food Pantry, New York
Steuben County Department of Social Services/Building Independence for
the Long Term, Bath
Supportive Housing Network of New York, New York
The Children's Aid Society, New York
The Doe Fund, New York
The Osborne Association, Bronx, Brooklyn, Beacon, Poughkeepsie
Town of Hamburg, New York, Hamburg
Trabajamos Community Head Start, Bronx
Ulster County Office for the Aging, Kingston
VillageCare, New York
Westchester Community Opportunity Program, Inc., Elmsford
Whitney M. Young Community Health Center, Albany
Wyoming County Office for the Aging, Warsaw
Citizens' Committee for Children of New York, New York
North Carolina
Aging, Disability and Transit Services of Rockingham County, Reidsville
Albemarle Commission Senior Nutrition Program, Hertford
Avery County Habitat for Humanity, Newland
Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, Chapel Hill
Charlotte Family Housing, Charlotte
Citizen Schools North Carolina, Charlotte
Clay County Senior Center, Hayesville
Crisis Council, Inc., Troy
Cumberland County Council on Older Adults, Fayetteville
Cumberland County School System, Fayetteville
disAbility Resource Center, Wilmington
Disability Rights North Carolina, Raleigh
Disability Rights & Resources, Charlotte
Durham County Department of Social Services, Durham
Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board, Inc., New Bern
Epilepsy Foundation of North Carolina, Winston-Salem
Fargo Public Schools, Fargo
Greensboro Housing Coalition, Greensboro
Harnett County Elderly Nutrition Program, Lillington
Harnett County Schools, Lillington
Healthy Homes and Lead Safety, Leicester
Jackson County Meals on Wheels, Sylva
Lincoln County Senior Services, Lincolnton
Macon Program for Progress, Franklin
McDowell County Head Start & Preschool Programs, Marion
Meals on Wheels of Wake County, Raleigh
Mental Health America of the Triangle, Durham
Mental Health Association in Greensboro, Greensboro
Mental Health Association in Wilson County, Wilson
Mental Health Association of Central Carolinas, Charlotte
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Charlotte
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Durham
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Smithfield
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Wilson
NC-LEND at The Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities,
Chapel Hill
News . . . from our Shoes, Raleigh
North Carolina Association of Educators, Raleigh
North Carolina Council of Administrators of Special Education,
Wilmington
North Carolina Council of Administrators of Special Education (NCCASE),
Greensboro
North Carolina Council of Educational Opportunity Programs (NCCEOP),
Greensboro
North Carolina Families United, Raleigh
North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership, Raleigh
North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association, Charlotte
North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals' Association,
Raleigh
North Carolina School Library Media Association, Raleigh
Pamlico County Senior Services, Alliance
Parent VOICE, Charlotte
Pender County Schools Head Start, Burgaw
Residents for Affordable Housing, Mooresville
Sarah's Refuge, Inc. Domestic Violence & Rape Crisis Center, Warsaw
Senior Resources of Guilford, Greensboro
Senior Services of Forsyth County, Winston Salem
Special Education Department Iredell-Statesville Schools, Statesville
Swain County Schools, Bryson City
Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of
North Carolina Chapel Hill (UECDD),
Chapel Hill
United Family Services, Charlotte
WAGES, Goldsboro
Warren-Vance Community Health Center/Northern Outreach Clinic,
Henderson
Watauga County Project on Aging, Boone
Western North Carolina AIDS Project, Asheville
North Dakota
Abused Adult Resource Center, Bismarck
Dunseith Public School District, Dunseith
Eastern Dakota Housing Alliance, Fargo
Ft. Yates Public School District #4, Ft. Yates
Grand Forks Housing Authority, Grand Forks
Grand Forks Senior Center, Grand Forks
Grand Forks Special Education Unit, Grand Forks
Kenmare Wheels & Meals, Kenmare
Lake Region Outreach Office, Rolla
Minot Area Homeless Coalition, Inc., Minot
Minot Commission on Aging, Minot
North Dakota Association of Secondary School Principals, Bismarck
North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People, Bismarck
North Dakota Education Association, Dickinson
North Dakota Music Educators Association, Fargo
North Dakota Reading Association, Bismarck
North Dakota School Counseling Association, Jamestown
Parshall School District #3, Parshall
Protection and Advocacy Project, Bismarck
Red River Valley Community Action, Grand Forks
Selfridge Public School District #8, Selfridge
Solen Public School District #3, Solen
South Central Adult Services, Valley City
St. John School District #3, St. John
Valley Senior Services, Fargo
Welcome House, Inc., Bismarck
YWCA Minot, Minot
Northern Mariana Islands
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, Saipan MP
Ohio
Access Center for Independent Living, Dayton
American Association of University Professors--Wright State University,
Ohio Conference, Lima
Area Agency on Aging 3, Lima
Cleveland Housing Network, Cleveland
Coalition on Homelessness & Housing in Ohio, Columbus
Cogswell Hall, Inc., Cleveland
Columbus State Community College Disability Services, Columbus
Community Counseling Center, Ashtabula
Community Development Corporation Resource Consortium, Inc., Dayton
Consortium for Healthy & Immunized Communities, Inc., Cleveland
Council for Older Adults, Delaware
Cuyahoga County Board of Health (Greater Cleveland), Parma
Elyria City Health District, Elyria
Epilepsy Foundation of Central Ohio, Columbus
Fairborn City Schools, Fairborn
Families Connected of Clermont County/Chapter of the National
Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, Batavia
Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network, Cincinnati
Guernsey County Senior Citizens Center, Inc., Cambridge
Hand 'N Hand Activity Center for Adults with Disabilities, Springfield
Hocking Hills Inspire Shelter, Logan
Holmes County General Health District, Millersburg
Housing Research & Advocacy Center, Cleveland
Housing Solutions of Greene County, Inc., Xenia
Juvenile Justice Coalition of Ohio, Bath
Lancaster Fairfield Community Action Agency, Lancaster
Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Toledo
Lorain County Workforce Development Agency, Elyria
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, Cleveland
Mad River Local Schools, Riverside
Mature Services, Inc., Akron
Meigs County Council on Aging, Inc., Pomeroy
Mobile Meals, Inc., Akron
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Seneca, Sandusky, Wyandot
counties, Tiffin
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Stark County, Canton
National Council of Jewish Women--Cleveland, Cleveland
Ohio Association for Adult and Continuing Education, Columbus
Ohio Association for Career and Technical Education, Westerville
Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, Columbus
Ohio Campus Compact, Granville
Ohio Council of Behavioral Health & Family Services Providers, Columbus
Ohio Education Association, Columbus
Ohio Educational Library Media Association, Columbus
Ohio Music Education Association, Lima
Ohio River Foundation, Cincinnati
Ohio Rural Community Assistance Program, Fremont
Ohio School Social Worker Association, Bay Village
Ohio TRiO, Mansfield
Ohio Workforce Coalition, Fremont
PowerNet of Dayton, Dayton
Public Allies Cincinnati, Cincinnati
RESULTS Columbus, Columbus
Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign, Logan Counties,
Springfield
Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley, Youngstown
Shared Harvest Foodbank, Fairfield
Stark County Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority, Canton
Summit County Public Health, Summit County
The Arc of Ohio
The Foodbank, Inc., Dayton
The MetroHealth System, Cleveland
The Ohio Head Start Association, Dayton
Toledo Fair Housing Center, Toledo
Towards Employment, Cleveland
Tri-County Independent Living Center, Inc., Akron
Trumbull Mobile Meals, Inc., Warren
United Steel Workers Local 8530, Mansfield
Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry, Youngstown
Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, Cincinnati
Working In Neighborhoods, Cincinnati
YWCA H.O.P.E. Center, Toledo
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Greater Cincinnati and Northern
Kentucky, Cincinnati
Voices for Ohio's Children, Cleveland
Oklahoma
Cherokee Strip Reading Council, Enid
Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes Head Start Program, Concho
Four Winds Iowa Tribe, Perkins
Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma Early Head Start & Expectant Families Program,
Perkins
J&J Educational Services, Kinta
New Lima Public School, Wewoka
Oaks Mission School, Oaks
Oklahoma National Association of Secondary School Principals,
Kingfisher
Oklahoma Reading Association, Enid
Oklahoma Therapeutic Foster Care Association, Oklahoma City
OSCA, Shawnee
Salina Public Schools, Salina
Wickliffe School, Salina
Oregon
American Association of University Women--Oregon, Salem
CASA of Oregon, Sherwood
Cascade AIDS Project, Portland
Centennial Education Association, Portland
University of Oregon Center on Human Development--University Center for
Excellence in
Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), Eugene
Community Alliance of Tenants, Portland
Community Information Center, Portland
Community Pathways, Inc., Portland
Corvallis Education Association, Corvallis
Crook County Health Department, Prineville
Dallas Education Association, Dallas
Disability Rights Oregon, Portland
Eugene Education Association, Eugene
Full Access, Eugene
H & W Mechanical Inc., Tigard
Head Start of Lane County, Springfield
Health Education Network, Corvallis
Hillsboro School District, Hillsboro
Homeless Against Homelessness in America, Portland
Hood River Education Association, Hood River
Job Growers, Inc., Salem
Josiah Hill III Clinic, Portland
Lane Workforce Partnership, Eugene
Madras Education Association, Madras
Mid-Columbia Children's Council, Hood River
Morrow County Education Association, Boardman
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Lane County, Eugene
National Education Association--Parkrose Faculty Association, Portland
Network For Oregon Affordable Housing, Portland
North Clackamas Education Association, Milwaukie
Northwest Oregon Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Portland
Northwest Pilot Project, Portland
Occupational Therapy Association of Oregon, Salem
Oregon Association of School Libraries, Portland
Oregon Campus Compact, Portland
Oregon Developmental Disability Coalition, Salem
Oregon Education Association, Portland
Oregon Food Bank, Portland
Oregon Head Start Association, Phoenix
Oregon Head Start Association, Salem
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
Oregon Health & Science University Institute on Development &
Disability--University Center for
Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), Portland
Oregon Military Support Network, Portland
Oregon Pathways Alliance, The Dalles
Oregon Rehabilitation Association, Salem
Oregon School Counselor Association, Cornelius
Oregon School Social Work Association, Portland
Oregon TRiO Association, Portland
Oregon Wild, Portland
Parkrose Faculty Association, Portland
Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, Portland
Partnership Project, Portland
Phoenix-Talent Education Association, Phoenix
Rogue Workforce Partnership, Medford
Salem Keizer Education Association, Salem
Southern Oregon Child & Family Council--Head Start and Early Head
Start, Medford
Tax Fairness Oregon, Portland
Umpqua Community College/JOBS Program, Roseburg
Western Farm Workers Association, Hillsboro
Worksystems, Inc., Portland
Pennsylvania
ActionAIDS, Philadelphia
Adult Literacy Program at Bayard Taylor Library, Kennett Square
Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Homestead
Allegheny Valley Association of Churches, Natrona Heights
Allegheny Valley School District, Cheswick
Area Agency on Aging, Philadelphia
Association of Pittsburgh Priests, Pittsburgh
Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania (ASPP), Doylestown
Baldwin-Whitehall School District, Pittsburgh
BFW Group, L.L.C., Philadelphia
Brentwood Borough School District, Pittsburgh
Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition, Bryn Mawr
Center for Literacy, Inc., Philadelphia
Center for Social Policy and Community Development, Philadelphia
Central Intermediate Unit 10 Development Center for Adults, Pleasant
Gap
Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, Harrisburg
Centre County Women's Resource Center, State College
Chester County Family Literacy, Kennett Square
Chester County Food Bank, Downingtown
Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture), Harrisburg
Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, Harrisburg
Clairton City School District, Clairton
Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem
Community Counseling Center of Mercer County, Hermitage
Community Development Action Corporation, Norristown
Community Education Center, Altoona
Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County, Sharon
Community Learning Center, Philadelphia
Community Organization for Mental Health and Retardation (COMHAR,
Inc.), Philadelphia
Community Services Group, Sunbury
Cornell School District, Corapolis
Coro Center for Civic Leadership, Pittsburgh
Crawford County READ Program, Titusville
Crime Victim Center of Erie County, Erie
Deer Lakes School District, Russellton
Delaware County Community College, Downingtown
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Pennsylvania, Erie
Dickinson Center, Inc., Ridgway
Disabled In Action, Philadelphia
Elizabeth Forward School District, Elizabeth
Employment and Training, Inc., Huntingdon
Employment Skills Center, Carlisle
Feast of Justice, Philadelphia
Focus On Renewal, McKees Rocks
Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh
Franklin County Headstart, Chambersburg
Garraty Workforce Investment, Hummelstown
Goodwill Literacy Initiative, Pittsburgh
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh
Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, Philadelphia
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Duquesne
Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, Pittsburgh
Greater Washington County Food Bank, Eighty Four
H & J Weinberg Food Bank, Wilkes-Barre
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
Highlands School District, Natrona Heights
Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, Glenside
Housing Authority of Chester County, Chester County
Housing Authority of the County of Dauphin, Steelton
Hunger-Free Pennsylvania, McMurray
Immigration and Refugee Services, ESL Program, Harrisburg
Institute on Disabilities--University Center for
Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), Philadelphia
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 95, Pittsburgh
Interplay Child Care Center, Pittsburgh
JEVS Human Services, Philadelphia
Just Harvest: A Center for Action Against Hunger, Pittsburgh
Kensington Hospital Early Intervention Services Department,
Philadelphia
Keystone Oaks School District, Pittsburgh
Lake Erie Region Conservancy, Erie
Lawrence County Housing Authority, New Castle
Lifelong Learning Choices, New Castle
LifeSpan, Inc., Homestead
Lincoln Intermediate Unit Franklin County Literacy Council,
Chambersburg
Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon, Lebanon
Literacy Council of Norristown, Norristown
Literacy Council of Reading-Berks, Inc., Reading
Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Philadelphia
Luzerne County Community College, Nanticoke
Marywood Adult Literacy Education Program, Scranton
McKeesport Area School District, McKeesport
Meals on Wheels of Chester County, Inc., West Chester
Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County, Allentown
Mental Health Association of Northwestern Pennsylvania, Erie
Mollie's Meals, Pittsburgh
Multicultural Community Resource Center, Erie
National Alliance for Mental Illness, Lansdale
National Alliance on Mental Illness--Chester County, West Chester
Nazareth Housing Services, Pittsburgh
Neighborhood Networks, Philadelphia
Northgate School District, Pittsburgh
Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network, Philadelphia
Penn Action, Bucks County
Penn Hills School District, Pittsburgh
Penn Medicine, Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education (PAACE) State
College Pathways Pennsylvania,
Holmes
Pennsylvania Association Council of Administrators of Special
Education, Mountain Top
Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling, Gettysburg
Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Education,
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals,
Summerdale
Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, Harrisburg
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, Harrisburg
Pennsylvania Council of Churches, Harrisburg
Pennsylvania Head Start Association, Harrisburg
Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association, Harrisburg
Pennsylvania Partners, Camp Hill
Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, Whitehall
Pennsylvania State Education Association, Harrisburg
Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council, Lords Valley
PenTrans, Philadelphia
Perkiomen School, Pennsburg
Perry County Literacy Council, Newport
Philadelphia Neighborhood Networks, Philadelphia
Phoenix Rising Counseling Services, Scranton
Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development, Pittsburgh
Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network, Saylorsburg
Plum Borough School District, Plum
ProJeCt of Easton, Inc., Easton
Providence Connections, Pittsburgh
Public Allies Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
Quaker Valley School District, Sewickley
Reading Muhlenberg Career & Technology Center, Reading
Regional Center for Workforce Excellence, Northwest WIA
Robert Morris University, Moon
Room to Grow Child Development Center/YMCA Greater Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh
Shaler Area School District, Glenshaw
South Fayette Township School District, McDonald
South Hills Interfaith Ministries, Bethel Park
South Park School District, South Park
Squirrel Hill Community Food Pantry, Pittsburgh
St. James Social Justice and Peace Committee, Wilkinsburg
Stairways Behavioral Health, Erie
Temple University Center for Social Policy and Community Development
(CSPCD), Philadelphia
The Advocacy Alliance, Zionsville
The Arc of Pennsylvania,
The Thomas Merton Center, Pittsburgh
TIU 11 Community Education Services, Lewistown
Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 Community Education Services, Lewistown
Tutors of Literacy in the Commonwealth, State College
United Methodist Church, Erie
Vita Education Services, Doylestown
West Allegheny School District, Imperial
West Chester Food Cupboard, West Chester
West Jefferson Hills School District, Jefferson Hills
West Mifflin School District, West Mifflin
Westmoreland Food Bank, Delmont
Women's Christian Alliance, Philadelphia
Won Community Center, Glenside
YWCA Lancaster, Lancaster
Puerto Rico
Centro Deambulantes Cristo Pobre, Ponce
Coalicion de Coaliciones Pro Personas sin Hogar de PR, Inc., Ponce
Head Start Program, Guaynabo
One Stop Career Center of Puerto Rico, Inc., San Juan
Rhode Island
Childhood Lead Action Project, Providence
Children's Friend, Providence
Economic Progress Institute, Providence
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Rhode Island, Providence
Mental Health Association of Rhode Island, Pawtucket
Paul Sherlock Center on Disabilities, Providence
Rhode Island Association of School Principals, Providence
Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, Pawtucket
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, Providence
Rhode Island School Psychologist Association, Providence
Tiverton Senior Center, Tiverton
Women's Development Corporation, Providence
Woonsocket Head Start Child Development Association, Inc.
South Carolina
Affordable Housing Coalition of South Carolina, Columbia
Berkeley County School District, Moncks Corner
Clemson University, Clemson
Florence Crittenton Programs of South Carolina, Charleston
Habitat for Humanity Georgetown County, Georgetown
Humanities Foundation, Mount Pleasant
Lowcountry Housing Trust, Charleston
Protection & Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc., Columbia
South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Columbia
South Carolina Association of School Social Workers, Columbia
South Carolina Head Start Association, Inc., Hartsville
South Carolina School Counselor Association, Eutawville
South Carolina TRiO, Greenville
Southern Association for College Admission Counseling, North Augusta
The Arc of South Carolina,
United Way of Greenville County, Greenville
Watertree AIDS Task Force, Sumter
South Dakota
Brandon Valley School District, Brandon
Center for Active Generations, Sioux Falls
Center for Disabilities, University Center for Excellence in
Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD),
Sioux Falls
Custer School District, Custer
Flandreau Public School, Flandreau
Hot Springs School District 23-2, Hot Springs
Impact Schools of South Dakota, Sioux Falls
Kadoka Area School District 35-2, Kadoka
Learning Disabilities Association of South Dakota, Chamberlain
Lyman School District, Presho
McLaughlin Public School, McLaughlin
Smee School District, Wakpala
South Central School District, Bonesteel
South Dakota ASPIRE, Mitchell
South Dakota Association for Career and Technical Education, Watertown
South Dakota Council of Administrators of Special Education, Canton
South Dakota Education Association, Pierre
South Dakota Occupational Therapy Association, Sioux Falls
Todd County School District, Mission
Wagner Community School District, Wagner
White River School District 47-1 SD, White River
Tennessee
Black Children's Institute of Tennessee, Nashville
Center for Literacy Studies, Knoxville
Clarksville Retired Teachers (TEA, NEA, ACA), Clarksville
Disability Law & Advocacy Center of Tennessee, Nashville
Disability Resource Center, Knoxville
East Tennessee State University, Johnson City
Epilepsy Foundation Southeast Tennessee, Chattanooga
Fleming Construction Co., Collierville
Kingsport Public Housing, Kingsport
Kingsport/Sullivan County Adult Education, Kingsport
Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, Memphis
Learning Disabilities Association of Tennessee, Memphis
Ledford Engineering and Planning, L.L.C., Arlington
Metro Nashville Council, Nashville
Nashville CARES, Nashville
New Level Community Development Corporation, Nashville
Regional Intervention Program-Gallatin, Gallatin
Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital & Center, Inc., Oak Ridge
Telecom Training Corporation, Nashville
Tennessee Association for Adult and Community Education, Ripley
Tennessee Association of Special Programs, Knoxville
Tennessee Education Association, Nashville
The Arc Tennessee
Volunteer Behavioral Health Care System, Murfreesboro
Texas
Arc of Greater Beaumont, Beaumont
Austin Resource Center for Independent Living, Austin
Baylor University Family Abuse Center, Waco
Builders of Hope CDC, Dallas
CASA of Southeast Texas, Beaumont
Center for Public Policy Priorities, Austin
Children's Defense Fund--Texas, Houston
Citizen Schools Texas, Houston
City Wide Community Development Corporation, Dallas
Copperas Cove Independent School District, Copperas Cove
Crisis Center of the Plains, Plainview
Denton Affordable Housing Corporation, Denton
Denton County Homeless Coalition, Denton County
Disability Rights Texas, Austin
Education Equals Making Community Connections, Plantersville
Family Health & Aids Care Services International (FAHASI), Houston
Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels, Rosenberg
Fort Sam Houston Independent School District, San Antonio
Freedom House, Weatherford
Gateway to Care, Houston
Health Care for All--Texas, Houston
Hill Country Crisis Council, Inc., Kerrville
Houston Center for Independent Living, Houston
InnerWisdom Counseling Center, Houston
K.E.E.P.S., Austin
Kaufman County Senior Citizens Services, Inc., Terrell
La Fe Policy Research and Education Center, San Antonio
Lackland Independent School District, San Antonio
Legacy Community Health Services, Houston
Lewisville Independent School District, Flower Mound
Liberty County Project on Aging, Liberty
Llano Grande Center, Elsa
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Houston, Houston
LoneStar LEND, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston,
Houston
Meals on Wheels and More, Austin
Meals on Wheels Association of Texas
Meals on Wheels of Texoma, Gainesville
Meals on Wheels, Waco
Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, Dallas
Mental Health America of Southeast Texas, Beaumont
Mental Health Association in Jefferson County, Beaumont,
Mi Escuelita Preschool, Dallas
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Lubbock
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), San Antonio
National Birth Defects Prevention Network, Houston
National Council of Jewish Women, Houston Section, Houston
Nueces County community Action Agency--Early Head Start, Corpus Christi
Nutrition and Services for Seniors, Beaumont
Parent/Child Incorporated, San Antonio
Pottsboro Independent School District, Pottsboro
Project Transitions, Austin
Senior Center of Walker County, Huntsville
Senior Community Outreach Services, Inc., Alamo
Sexual Assault Resource Center, Bryan
Tarrant County Housing, Fort Worth
Texans Care for Children, Austin
Texas Association of Local Health Officials, Austin
Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education, Austin
Texas Food Bank Network, Austin
Texas Homeless Network, Austin
Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, Austin
Texas School Public Relations Association, Austin
Texas Tenants' Union, Dallas
The Kitchen ``Meals on Wheels,'' Wichita Falls
The Woodlands Grass Roots Environmental Education Network (GREEN), The
Woodlands
TIRR Foundation, Houston
Urban Progress Community Development Corporation (UPCDC) Texas, Inc.,
Dallas
Wood County Health Department, Quitman
Gregory Housing Authority, Gregory
Utah
Brigham City Senior Center Meals on Wheels, Brigham City
Crossroads Urban Center, Salt Lake City
Disabled Rights Action Committee, Salt Lake City
Seekhaven Family Crisis & Resource Center, Moab
The Learning Center for Families, St. George
Tri-County Independent Living Center, Woods Cross
University of Utah Health Sciences, Salt Lake
Utah Association for Career and Technical Education, Salt Lake City
Utah Association of Secondary School Principals, West Jordan
Utah Developmental Disabilities Council,
Utah Education Association, Salt Lake City
Utah Food Bank, Salt Lake City
Utah Housing Coalition, Salt Lake City
Utah School Counselor Association, Murray
Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities, Logan
Utahns Against Hunger, Salt Lake City
Voices for Utah Children, Salt Lake City
Vermont
Addison County Community Trust, Vergennes
Area Agency on Aging for Northeastern Vermont, St. Johnsbury
Bennington County Head Start, Bennington
Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing, Brattleboro
Brattleboro Housing Authority, Brattleboro
Central Vermont Council on Aging, Barre
Champlain Housing Trust, Burlington
Chelsea Area Senior Citizen's Center, Chelsea
Department of Economic Housing & Community Development, Montpelier
Franklin Central Supervisory Union, St. Albans
Galley Senior Meals Program, Barre
Greater Northfield Senior Citizens, Inc., Northfield
Hunger Free Vermont, South Burlington
Lamoille North Supervisory Union, Hyde Park
Lamoille South Supervisory Union, Morrisville, Stowe, Elmore
North Country Schools Supervisory Union, Newport City
Northgate Residents' Ownership Corporation, Burlington
Safe Kids Addison County, Vergennes
Sexual Assault Crisis Team, Barre
South Royalton Area Senior Citizen's Center, South Royalton
Twin Valley Seniors, Inc., Marshfield
United Counseling Service of Bennington County, Bennington
Vermont Adult Learning, Waterbury
Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition, Burlington
Vermont Center for Independent Living, Montpelier
Vermont Child Passenger Safety, Milton
Vermont Community Loan Fund, Montpelier
Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators, Montpelier
Vermont Education Opportunity Program (VEOP), Brandon
Vermont Educational Opportunity Programs (VEOP), Castleton
Vermont Occupational Therapy Association, Plainfield
Vermont-NEA, Montpelier
VocRehab Vermont, Williston
Voices for Vermont's Children, Montpelier
Washington West Supervisory Union, Waitsfield
Virginia
A Hope 4 Tomorrow, Inc., Portsmouth
Beach House, Inc., Virginia Beach
Byrd Elementary School, Richmond
Coalition for Justice, Blacksburg
Community Housing Partners, Christiansburg
ENDependence Center of Northern VA, Arlington
Families & Allies of Virginia's Youth, Arlington
FeedMore, Inc., Richmond
Learning Disabilities Association of Virginia, Richmond
Local Office on Aging, Roanoke
Mental Health America, Charlottesville-Albemarle, Charlottesville
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) NoVa, Leesburg
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Virginia Beach
Partnership for People with Disabilities, University Center for
Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
(UCEDD), Richmond
Potomac & Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling,
Virginia Beach
Prince George County Public Schools, Prince George
Public Housing of Residents, Charlottesville
Richmond Public Schools, Richmond
Sexual Assault Victims Advocacy Services (SAVAS), Woodbridge
Social Action Linking Together (SALT), Vienna
The Virginia School Counselor Association, Manassas
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Virginia Association of Centers for Independent Living, Roanoke
Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, Richmond
Virginia Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel,
Wytheville
Virginia Association of School Librarians, Richmond
Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, Richmond
Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education (VCASE),
Hopewell
Virginia Education Association, Richmond
Virginia Housing Coalition, Richmond
Virginia Organizing, Charlottesville
Voices for Virginia's Children, Richmond
Virginia Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Richmond
Virgin Islands
St. Croix Educational Administrators' Association, St. Croix, U.S.
Virgin Islands
Washington
Above The Line: The Poverty Project, Lacey
Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington, Spokane
API Chaya, Seattle
Asian Counseling & Referral Service, Seattle
Association of Washington School Principals, Odessa
Campion Foundation, Seattle
Career Path Services, Spokane
Cascadia Community College, Bothell
Center for Independence, Tacoma
Children's Alliance, Seattle
Church of Steadfast Love, Seattle
Columbia River Economic Development Council, Vancouver
Community Psychiatric Clinic, Seattle
Compass Housing Alliance, Seattle
Conscious Talk Radio, Issaquah
Food Lifeline, Seattle
Frontier Behavioral Health, Spokane
Heartlandz L.L.C., Bellingham
HomeStep, Seattle
Immanuel Community Services, Seattle
Impact Capital, Seattle
Inchelium School Board, Inchelium
Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), Seattle
International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Seattle
Islamic Civic Engagement Project, Seattle
Kitsap Mental Health Services, Bremerton
Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Seattle
Lutheran Community Services Northwest, Spokane
Mount Adams School District #209, White Swan
Nespelem School District #14, Nespelem
Northwest Harvest, Seattle
Northwest Health Law Advocates, Seattle
Office of Rural & Farmworker Housing, Yakima
Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling, Seattle
Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights, Olympia
Pend Oreille County Counseling Services, Newport
Pierce County Housing Authority, Tacoma
Port Gamble Elder's Program, Kingston
Port Gamble S'Klallam Housing Authority, Kingston
Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe Early Childhood Education Program Policy
Council, Kingston
Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans, Seattle
Puget Sound ESD, Renton
Sacred Heart Social Justice Ministry, Pullman
Save A Life, Puyallup
Seattle BioMed, Seattle
Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and Institute for Systems
Biology, Seattle
Seattle Jobs Initiative, Seattle
Seattle RESULTS, Seattle
Sexual Assault and Family Trauma Response Center, Spokane
Skagit Habitat for Humanity, Mount Vernon
Solid Ground, Seattle
Sound Mental Health, Seattle
The Arc of King County, Seattle
The Arc of Snohomish County, Everett
The Arc of Tri-Cities, Richland
The Arc of Washington State,
Triumph Treatment Services, Yakima
Washington Association for Career and Technical Education, Olympia
Washington CAN!, Seattle
Washington Community Mental Health Council, Seattle
Washington ElderCare Alliance, Olympia
Washington Global Health Alliance, Seattle
Washington Library Media Association (WLMA), Seattle
Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, Bellevue
Washington State Council on Aging, Spokane
Washington State TRIO Association, Seattle
Wellpinit School District, Wellpinit
Willapa Behavioral Health, Long Beach
Women's Coalition of Washington, Yakima
WorkForce Central, Tacoma
Workforce Development Council Seattle-King County, Seattle
Yakima Valley System of Care, Yakima
Valley Cities Counseling, Kent
West Virginia
Boone County Community Organization, Madison
CommunityWorks in West Virginia, Inc., Charleston
Huntington Area Food Bank, Huntington
Mason County Schools, Point Pleasant
Mountain Community Action Project of West Virginia, Inc., Buckhannon
Northern West Virginia Center for Independent Living, Morgantown
Pocahontas County Health Department, Marlinton
The Fairmont Morgantown Housing Authority, Fairmont
Valley HealthCare System, Morgantown
West Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (WVASSP),
Charleston
West Virginia Campus Compact, Morgantown
West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, Inc., Weston
West Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education, Franklin
West Virginia TRiO Association, Huntington
West Virginia University, Morgantown
Wisconsin
Access to Independence, Madison
Ashland County Aging Unit, Inc., Ashland
Association of Wisconsin School Administrators, Madison
ASTOP Sexual Abuse Services, Fond du Lac
Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
City of Kenosha Housing Authority, Kenosha
CWC HIV/AIDS Advocacy, Policy & Procedure Consultant Service, Milwaukee
Family Forum, Inc., Superior
Grassroots Empowerment Project, Madison
HAVEN, Inc., Merrill
Independent Living Council of Wisconsin, Inc., Madison
La Crosse Wisconsin WIC Program, La Crosse
Learning Disabilities Association of Wisconsin, Kiel
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Milwaukee, Milwaukee
Marquette University, Milwaukee
Menominee Indian School District, Keshena
Mental Health America of Wisconsin, Madison
Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board (MAWIB), Milwaukee
Northwest Wisconsin Concentrated Employment Program (CEP, Inc.),
Ashland
Northwest Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board, Inc., Ashland
Polk County Health Department, Balsam Lake
Reach Counseling Services, Inc., Neenah
Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, Platteville
Wisconsin Association for College Admission Counseling, Madison
Wisconsin Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel
(WAEOPP), Superior
Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Services, Madison
Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, Madison
Wisconsin Education Association Council, Madison
Wisconsin Manufactured Home Owners Association, Inc., Marshall
Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, Milwaukee
Wisconsin School Social Work Association, Milwaukee
Wisconsin WIC Association, Oshkosh
Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin, Madison
Wyoming
Fremont County Public Health, Lander
Fremont County School District #14, Ethete
Fremont County School District #21, Fort Washakie
Natrona County Meals On Wheels, Casper
Wyoming Association of Secondary School Principals, Laramie
Wyoming Children's Action Alliance, Cheyenne
Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless, Cheyenne
Wyoming Occupational Therapy Association, Casper
Wyoming Protection & Advocacy System, Inc., Cheyenne
Wyoming School Counselors Association, Worland
Senator Murray. And those organizations are very, very
concerned about the domestic side and the impact on our
country.
Everybody believes sequestration is a terrible thing. We
cannot let it happen. We have to come up with a balanced
proposal, one that we all know has to include something from
both sides, including revenue from the wealthiest Americans.
They have to be willing to participate in this and pay their
fair share.
So I think the answer is in front of us. It's just going to
take the political will from both sides to say that we know
that's what we need to do.
IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION ON U.S. COMPETITIVENESS
But I do think, Mr. Secretary, we have to focus on our
economic competitiveness. You talked about it in your opening
statement. And I think the investments that we make are
absolutely crucial to our country recovering from this
recession and creating jobs that are so important.
And I wanted to ask you today what you think that
sequestration coupled with the appropriations for education and
the reductions in spending that we have been seeing will have
on the effect of our competitiveness.
Secretary Duncan. So I worry tremendously today that, in
tough economic times, we have 2 million at least, I think, 2
million high-wage, high-skilled jobs that are unfilled. And I
can't tell you how many Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) that
I've met with and the President's met with who say we're trying
to hire right now, and we can't find the employees with the
skills that we're looking for.
I think we, in education, have to look ourselves in the
mirror and be very self-critical and say we have to do a much
better job.
CEOs want to keep those jobs here. They want to hire. They
want to keep their companies in the United States. But they're
going to go to where the knowledgeable workers are, and that's
going to be right here or that's going to be India, China,
South Korea, or Singapore.
And so, for me, this fight is about so much more than
education. It is absolutely about economic competitiveness. And
if we think being 16th in the world or 20th in the world in
college graduation rates is going to lead to a strong economy,
I just fundamentally reject that.
If we can again lead the world in college graduation rates,
then I become very hopeful about our economic competitiveness
and having a lower unemployment rate.
So these two things I said earlier are just absolutely
inextricably linked. You can't separate them out. We have to
educate our way to a stronger economy.
FOREIGN COUNTRIES INCREASING THEIR COMPETITIVENESS
Senator Murray. What about those countries that are nipping
at our heels, China and India, South Korea? Are they increasing
or decreasing their investments in education?
Secretary Duncan. Senator, they are not scaling back, I
would say. It's not like folks are waiting around for us to
pass them by.
These guys are innovating. They're creative. They're
putting more resources behind this. They're doing things at a
scale and with a sense of urgency that I think stuns people
here.
And I'm spending more and more of my time with my
international counterparts, because that's where the
competition is.
And anyone who thinks that the rest of the world is going
to stand idly by and watch us try and catch up fundamentally
doesn't understand how seriously these countries are taking
their need to educate, to innovate, to be creative, to be
entrepreneurial. And our competition is very, very strong.
Senator Murray. Mr. Chairman, I think all of us should
really listen to that. If we want our country to be the top in
the global economic world that we live in, we're going to have
to make investments just like our competitors do. And this
sequestration and this budget deal that is in front of us
offers us a stark choice today. We can move forward and invest,
or we can just hide behind cutting, and I just do not believe
that's the right way to go.
BALANCED, BIPARTISAN ACTION NEEDED
There is no magic to this. Revenue has to be on the table.
And I hope that as more members learn about the impacts of the
choices that we have in front of us that it will get us to a
balanced, bipartisan, and fair deal where every American
participates in our future.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Harkin. Thank you, Senator Murray.
Senator Reed.
Senator Reed. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you, Mr. Secretary.
IMPACT OF EXEMPTING DEFENSE FROM SEQUESTRATION
And I want to underscore some points that were made by the
chairman and by Senator Murray.
First of all, we have already made $1 trillion in cuts to
discretionary spending as a way to begin to approach the
deficit.
And as the chairman pointed out, we're at the lowest
percentage of discretionary spending since the 1950s. So the
issue of out-of-control spending has to be put in the context
of deep cuts already and the lowest percentage of discretionary
spending for all of these programs in 60 years.
But the point, I think, the chairman made is very well
taken, which is when you listen to our Republican colleagues,
they're talking about exempting defense, they're talking about
no revenue, which means that the 7.8-percent cut you're talking
about is probably closer to 15 percent. And the worst-case
plans that are frightening at this moment become absolutely
horrible.
SEQUESTER'S IMPACT ON ALREADY TIGHT STATE/LOCAL BUDGETS
But the point I want to make, Mr. Secretary, is that when
you get down to the education situation, at the local level,
they're already suffering. States are also trying to deal with
this dilemma. So we will be doubling down on our cuts at a time
when States and localities are facing similarly difficult cuts.
Can you give us the context from both those convergent
local pressures and a huge, in fact, doubling probably,
doubling down of cuts?
Secretary Duncan. It's a great point. And as I talked to
educators who have been in the business, who have been working
with children for 10, 20, 30, 40 years, many from across the
country say this is the toughest economic climate that they
have ever worked in, more constrained in resources.
We were thrilled that the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) saved a couple of hundred thousand
jobs, but we also lost a couple hundred thousand jobs across
this country.
And with class size going up; after-school programs being
eliminated; some school districts going to 4-day weeks rather
than 5-day weeks; art, dance, drama, music, physical education
going away; early childhood cutbacks; none of these things are
good for children or good for education or ultimately good for
our country.
So you're exactly right. In the midst of a very, very tough
economic time, 40 States, last year, 80 percent of the
country--Republican, Democrat--40 States cut funding to higher
education. Again, we're trying to lead the world in college
graduation rates. That doesn't help us get where we need to go.
So at the early childhood level, the K-12 level, at the
higher education level, these are very, very, very difficult
economic times. And to compound those challenges, to compound
those difficulties, is inconceivable to me.
Senator Reed. In effect, you know, what we're doing is not
only in the short run shedding a significant number of jobs. I
don't have the exact numbers, but we've seen private employment
grow consistently over the last several years under the
President's program. But what we've seen after ARRA was
exhausted is public sector employment shrink dramatically,
particularly in education, and that would accelerate,
presumably, if these cuts went through and moreover were
doubled because we've exempted defense.
Secretary Duncan. Yes.
IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN CURRENT REFORM EFFORTS
Senator Reed. So in the short run, you lose jobs, which
means the economy continues to languish. But in the longer run,
I think all of your efforts, the Race to the Top, commendable
efforts, all of your tough calls about how do we reform
education, will be lost.
And rather than sort of trying to catch up with China,
India, et cetera, we'll fall, in your view, let me ask you,
further and further behind?
Secretary Duncan. I think that's exactly right. And again,
at a time when we have to get better, faster, despite the tough
economic times, we can't afford to go in the opposite
direction. We can't afford to do that.
COMPETITIVENESS IMPORTANT TO NATIONAL SECURITY
Senator Reed. Just a final point, as my colleagues have
pointed out, Secretary Rice, as you pointed out, Secretary
Rice, military leaders, everyone talks about how this is now a
global competition for the best-educated people in the world.
If we lose that competition, then our fundamental sort of
foundation of national security will quickly erode.
And we won't invent the new technologies. We won't have the
sophisticated military and associated personnel to use it. And
essentially, not just in terms of national security, but in
terms of the fabric of our country, it will deteriorate.
Secretary Duncan. That's exactly right. I'll just quickly
add, Mr. Chairman, that I know our children are as talented, as
creative, as entrepreneurial, as innovative, as children
anywhere in the world. I just want to level the playing field
for that. I just want to give them a chance to fulfill their
potential. And if we fail to give them the chance to fulfill
their academic and social potential, shame on us.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Senator Harkin. Thank you, Senator Reed.
Senator Brown.
Senator Mikulski.
IMPACT OF SEQUESTER ON SCHOOL REFORM
Senator Mikulski. Mr. Chairman, thank you, and thanks for
holding this hearing to really highlight what a sequester
means, because there's a lot of chest pounding going on about
the impact on defense, but it's really the impact on our
economy both today and in the future.
Mr. Secretary, I want to ask you a question about the
impact of sequester on reform. You know, in my own home State
of Maryland, we boast a State that wins Blue Ribbon Schools,
Nobel Prizes, and has one of the greatest land grant colleges,
the University of Maryland, and an iconic institution like
Johns Hopkins University, and a Governor who's been really
committed to school reform.
So, I want to ask you, you came in to the administration as
a reformer and you shook it up. And we've now been steadily
working on reform, how to improve our educational system for
the 21st century.
Could you tell us, if we go to sequester, not targeted
fiscal discipline initiatives but swashbuckling across
departments, what will be the impact on reform both today and
how you would see its impact, say, 3 to 5 years from now?
Secretary Duncan. It would be a massive step backward. So
everything we tried to do to drive reform would be affected,
whether it's more money for early childhood education through
the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge, whether it's been
Race to the Top at the State level, whether it's been school
money to turn around chronically underachieving schools. We're
seeing unprecedented creativity and courage from States like
Maryland that's been at the forefront of this movement and from
States from around the country.
And they want to improve. No one is making excuses. No one
is saying the status quo is good enough. But we have to be a
good partner. We have to be there for them. And we have to
continue to support that great leadership and creativity at the
local level.
And if we walk away from the table, again, we'll just see a
massive step in the wrong direction.
Just one quick example. We talked about the dropout rate.
Our School Improvement Grants, thanks in part to them, and to
other things as well, have helped, so that today, we have
700,000 fewer children enrolled in ``dropout factories'' than
just a couple of years ago. Now those schools have a long way
to go, but that's real progress.
Do you want to see that go south, or do you want to
continue to see those numbers of children going to very low
performing schools, dropout factories, do you want to see those
numbers continue to go down?
The answer is obvious: We have to continue to drive reform.
BROAD, INDISCRIMINATE IMPACT ON EDUCATION IN ALL LOCAL EDUCATION
AGENCIES
Senator Mikulski. So the lack of funding would impact, say,
a school district like Baltimore or Prince George's County or
even one of my rural school districts?
Secretary Duncan. It would impact every single school
district in the country.
Senator Mikulski. And how would it do that?
Secretary Duncan. It would result in significantly less
resources across the board. So whether it be title I money,
whether it be title II money, whether it be money for 21st
Century Community Learning Centers, special education money,
money for career and technical education, you name it, we would
be forced to cut indiscriminately. So every single one of those
funding streams that comes from us to State and local school
districts would be cut.
POTENTIAL TO UNDERMINE REFORMS ACHIEVED AND PLANNED
Senator Mikulski. Do you think it would also sap the energy
of reform that--I don't want to put words in your mouth. God
knows I wouldn't want to do that with Secretary Arne Duncan.
But tell me, you know, there's only so much time in a day
administrators have and principals, et cetera. So if they have
to put energy into thinking about counting pencils and reusing
materials or foregoing it rather than energy into reform--do
you think it takes away from the focus, the energy, the
experimentation that was going on, that added vitality? In
other words, there was juice, there was mojo behind reform.
Secretary Duncan. As I visit schools around the country,
Senator, I've been to hundreds and hundreds of schools, I can't
ask people to work much harder. People are working so hard,
often in very, very difficult circumstances, trying to make a
difference and trying to help young people be successful
academically. To slap them in the face and say, we're going to
walk away from our investment, not just financially but to your
point, psychologically or emotionally, that's a very, very
difficult thing to ask teachers and principals or
superintendents to adjust to. And we should not be putting them
in that situation.
Senator Mikulski. So now, particularly after 4 years of
reform efforts, and let's face it, there were some tussles with
the teacher associations, but it seems like now there's been a
detente and now a focus on how we can really evaluate teachers
and move forward.
Do you feel that, gee, we're on the brink now of making
even more substantial leaps if we stick to the program?
Secretary Duncan. There's no question. I'd say more than
detente, I think there's a common interest amongst everybody
that we have to work together to lead the world in education,
and that the status quo wasn't enough.
Everyone is not going to agree on every issue, but I think
there's a tremendous convergence of agreement of what we have
to get done and what we have to get done together. And again,
to take a step backwards, to take a step in the wrong
direction, would be a huge blow to those efforts, those
collective efforts.
Senator Mikulski. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Harkin. Thank you very much, Senator Mikulski.
Senator Durbin.
Senator Durbin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. Thanks for this
hearing.
CHANGE SINCE THE LAST BALANCED BUDGET
I think it bears repeating that Senator Inouye, the
Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, gave us a yardstick
to measure what has happened in the Federal budgeting process
since the last time our budget was in balance under President
Clinton. And in that 10- or 11-year period of time, in real
dollars, or constant dollars, we have seen the following: In
nondefense discretionary spending, there has been zero
increase--zero increase--in the last 11 years. In the
entitlement mandatory area, there has been a 30-percent
increase, reflecting the arrival of the boomers and the cost of
healthcare. On the defense side, there has been, as of this
year's budget, a 73-percent increase in spending since the
budget was last in balance.
And now what we are facing today is the prospect of even
deeper cuts on the nondefense discretionary side and education,
and strong calls from the other side of the aisle to leave
defense untouched.
I want the strongest military in the world. We have it. I
want to make sure that if my nephew is again deployed to
Afghanistan, he has the best, and everyone like him has the
best, to come home safely.
But it just is incredible to me that we cannot find, within
the Department of Defense and Pentagon, savings to help us
reduce our deficit. There are those who argue we can find none.
EXAMPLES OF IMPACT ON CHICAGO SCHOOLS
I would like to ask you, Secretary Duncan, go back a little
in time to your role in the city of Chicago as superintendent
of that school system, and tell me what this sequestration
would mean to the school system that you were struggling to
build into a model for urban education.
ACCESS TO AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AMONG CUTS
Secretary Duncan. The impact would be more things than I
can state now but just a couple of simple ones: Class size
would almost automatically increase. Access to summer school
for children who are struggling would decrease. Access to
after-school programming would decrease. Access for children
with special needs to the services and support they need to be
successful would decrease. Career and technical education,
vocational education, which is really important, would
decrease. Access to college counselors would decrease. Access
to extracurriculars would decrease.
And I could go on and on and on but just as a start there.
Early childhood education with chances to have children
enter kindergarten ready to succeed academically and socially,
those things would go down as well. After-school programming,
which is so hugely important in communities like Chicago, would
go down; there would just be less access.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND DROP IN CRIME
Senator Durbin. We recently have gone through a spate of
increased crime in our city of Chicago. Mayor Emanuel and the
superintendent of police, they are working hard on it. And one
of the things that they have found in the communities where
there are activities for young people, after-school programs
and activities, there's less violence. It's pretty obvious.
To a parent, it's very obvious. What was the old saying?
Idle time is the devil's workshop?
Senator Mikulski. Something like that.
Secretary Duncan. Something like that.
Senator Durbin. And what we find here then is a proposal
that when it comes to cutting at the Federal level, there will
be fewer activities for enrichment and opportunities just to
work-off energy available to students in school districts
across the country but, particularly, in urban districts where
it could have a profound impact on the quality of life.
Secretary Duncan. In poor communities, be it inner-Chicago
or rural or remote areas, we need more opportunities for
students during the school day, before school, after school,
Saturdays, weekends, summers, whatever it might be. We need
more opportunities, not less.
There is no way these kinds of massive cuts can lead to
more opportunities. It is impossible.
ALL OPTIONS FOR FISCAL CUTS MUST BE ON THE TABLE
Senator Durbin. I cannot imagine that we believe we can
build a stronger America and cut education. That is just
counterintuitive to all of us in our lives, and
counterintuitive to the American story, where people came to
this country and succeeded because parents said to their kids,
I may not have much education, but you're going to get the best
and you better come home with a good report card. That was my
family story and the story of America. And now we have those
who want to walk away from it.
I'm all for bringing this budget deficit under control.
There are ways to do it. But if we don't go back to a model
that puts everything on the table, including revenue, including
defense, if we don't put it all on the table, we're going to
find ourselves paying a heavier price than even the price of
interest on our debt.
IMPORTANCE OF COMPROMISE
Secretary Duncan. I think our democracy was built on the
value or the notion of compromise, and you don't have a vibrant
democracy without a willingness to compromise. And if somehow
that's become a dirty word, that's very, very troubling to me.
Senator Durbin. Thank you.
Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Harkin. Thanks, Senator Durbin.
Senator Pryor.
Senator Pryor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to ask Senator Durbin why he turned to Senator
Mikulski to ask her about the devil's workshop. That's what I
want to know.
Senator Durbin. Similar Catholic backgrounds.
Senator Mikulski. I know a lot about that. See me later.
Senator Pryor. You're our in-house expert.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here.
IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATION BUDGET CUTS
I have seen the numbers from fiscal year 2011, fiscal year
2012, the Senate number from fiscal year 2013, and the
sequestration numbers.
And if you look at fiscal year 2011, fiscal year 2012,
you've already taken about a $230 million cut. That's real
money. And we know the Senate number. We don't know what the
final number will be for fiscal year 2013 yet, but
sequestration obviously is going to have a negative impact on
what you're able to do and how we are going to be able to
educate our children.
ACROSS-THE-BOARD CUT TO EDUCATION
I would like to ask a little bit about the logistics
though. I've seen the estimates that CBO talks about, a 7.8-
percent reduction. When people talk about sequestration, they
talk about an across-the-board cut.
I'm wondering, within your Department, do you see this as
an across-the-board cut or will you pick and choose certain
things to cut to try to implement the reductions in a smart
way?
Secretary Duncan. I don't think we have a lot of
flexibility there, Senator. You know, I mentioned a number of
items. I would add TRIO to that list, Gaining Early Awareness
and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), School
Improvement Grants. We would have to cut across the board.
Senator Pryor. So if the number, for example, was 7.8
percent, you would just have to take each program----
Secretary Duncan. Regardless of impact, regardless of
efficacy, regardless of effective versus ineffective. It is a
horrendous way to think about budget choices.
GLOBAL COMPETITORS INCREASING, NOT CUTTING BUDGETS
Senator Pryor. And one of the points I think you made
earlier is that our competitors in this global economy are not
cutting. In fact, they're doing the opposite. Is that fair to
say?
Secretary Duncan. That is exactly right. They are
investing, they are innovating, they are committed to making
sure their young people have a very high-quality education.
EDUCATION CUTS ABSENT SEQUESTRATION
Senator Pryor. Now, if we are able to avoid sequestration,
which I think is actually possible, we are going to have a lot
of work to do late this year on the budget and taxes to get the
deficit where it needs to be. This is going to be a huge
undertaking by the Congress. I hope that the Congress and the
House and Senate both will be serious about it when we get to
that point.
But I think it's possible that we'll avoid sequestration,
or at least limit it in some way. But you will probably still
be looking at some cuts in education.
Do you have a game plan for that? Are you just going to
wait on the Congress to act?
Secretary Duncan. So again, we've cut over the past couple
of years more than $1.2 billion of our budget and have been
trying to, again, take money out of programs that we think are
less than optimally effective and go other ways. And our budget
team is as smart and talented as I think any team in any
agency. And we would go through that exercise every single
year.
And, frankly, whether we have a budget increase or a budget
cut, we make those tough calls. And so we would be prepared to
do that going forward. We just want to have the ability to do
this in a thoughtful way.
EDUCATION IS AN INVESTMENT, NOT AN EXPENSE
At the end of the day, we fundamentally think of education
as an investment, not as an expense. I think that's part of the
value of the debate that our country is having, is education an
expense, that we should cut back on early childhood education
and K-12 reform and access to higher education? Or is this an
investment in young people, in our country, in our country's
economic future?
That's the challenge, that's the debate, I think, our
country is looking at.
GUIDANCE TO LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES IF SEQUESTER IS ENACTED
Senator Pryor. Let me praise you here just for a minute,
because I've been meeting with some of our principals, and
teachers, and educators, and folks involved in that back in
Arkansas. And you have sent out a letter to school officials
alerting them that this may be coming. And I think that's good
to be in touch with them.
But they say that your letter or the communications with
the Department of Education have not given a whole lot of
guidance, real specific guidance on what to do.
Is the plan that, if we have to do sequestration and we
have to implement it fully, will you guide them through this
process?
Secretary Duncan. We will do everything we can, Senator, to
be a good partner. Obviously, the vast majority of our energy
now is to avoid sequestration. And my understanding is
sequestration was set up so that it was so bad, sort of mutual
self-destruction, that neither side would want to go down that
path.
Senator Pryor. Do you agree it is that bad?
Secretary Duncan. I do think it's that bad.
And so the vast majority of our time and energy over these
next 5 months is to do everything we can to be a good partner
to avoid this happening. And if it does happen, we'll do
everything we can to instruct and to guide, and to lead folks
at the State and local level.
But, Senator, we should not go down that path as a country.
Senator Pryor. You know, when I look at your education
funding, your budget, your programs, all the things you do,
everything is important. I mean, the goals were good. We're
trying to educate our children for all kinds of good reasons to
do that.
IMPACT ON RURAL AREAS AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
But there are two areas that I'm really concerned about
with sequestration. That would be the impact on rural America.
And as you know, a lot of those schools are struggling already,
and you look at all the test scores, look at all the funding,
look at all the issues they're dealing with, rural America is
really struggling. And then disabilities, students with
disabilities.
I'm just worried that cuts in those--they're going to be
devastating everywhere, but in those two areas, they really,
really could be harsh.
SEQUESTRATION EFFECT ON IMPACT AID
Secretary Duncan. No question. And obviously, there's so
many things to add to the list, but Impact Aid, to think that
we would walk away from funding for the children of
servicemembers who are risking their lives every single day
overseas and somehow say we'd give less funding to those
children's schools is inconceivable to me.
Senator Pryor. Mr. Chairman, thank you.
Senator Harkin. Thank you, Senator Pryor.
Senator Shelby.
EDUCATION BUDGET INCREASES SINCE 2008
Senator Shelby. Mr. Secretary, we've been hearing numbers
here about the education budget. It is my understanding, and
you correct me if I'm wrong on this, that since 2008, the
education budget has increased $7.2 billion from $59.2 billion
to $68.4 billion. Are those figures right?
Secretary Duncan. I think those figures should be about
right. We fundamentally think education is an investment, not
an expense.
Senator Shelby. But it is an appropriation, so it's deemed
as an expense of some kind. It might be an investment. We all
like that. But it is an appropriation, is it not? It's money.
Secretary Duncan. Absolutely. We have to educate our way to
a better economy.
Senator Shelby. Sure. Thank you.
Senator Harkin. Mr. Secretary, first of all, thank you
again, for being here and for your very eloquent statement and
answers to our questions. Thank you for your great stewardship
for the Department of Education, and for so many of the reforms
that you have made. And for ensuring that our kids are the best
educated in the world.
We're going to have some tough months ahead of us, but I
think what we've heard is that, in education, sequestration
would be devastating, for present day and for the future of
this country. And I think you put that in pretty stark terms.
Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, unless you had
something else to add.
Secretary Duncan. Thank you for the opportunity, and thank
you for your leadership.
Senator Harkin. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
Senator Harkin. And now we'll call our second panel.
I'm sorry. Senator Landrieu was hoping to attend today.
However, she had a prior commitment. She would like to express
her apologies and would like to submit some questions for the
record. Without objection, that will be accommodated.
Our next panel I'll introduce as they are taking their
seats.
June Atkinson has served as the State superintendent of the
Public Schools of North Carolina since 2005. She was the first
woman elected to this position. Dr. Atkinson received her
master's degree in business education from Radford University,
a master's degree in vocational and technical education from
Virginia Tech, and a doctorate in educational leadership and
policy from North Carolina State University.
Billy Walker is currently serving his fifth year as
superintendent for the Randolph Field Independent School
District in Universal City, Texas. Dr. Walker received his
bachelor's degree in sociology and physical education from East
Texas Baptist University and both his master's in education
administration and his education doctorate in educational
leadership from Lamar University.
Mr. Neal McCluskey is the associate director of the Cato
Institute Center for Educational Freedom. Mr. McCluskey holds a
master's degree in political science from Rutgers University.
Tammy Mann serves as the president and CEO of the Campagna
Center--I hope I pronounced that right--Campagna Center in
Alexandria, Virginia, which administers Head Start and Early
Head Start for more than 400 children. Dr. Mann was recently
appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to
serve on the advisory committee for Head Start Evaluation. She
received her bachelor's degree from Spelman College and
completed her master's and doctorate in clinical psychology at
Michigan State University.
To all of you, I thank you for being here and testifying
today. Each of your statements will be made a part of the
record in their entirety. We'll go from left to right. And if
you could sum up in 5 minutes or so your basic testimony and
leave some room for some questions, we'd appreciate that.
So, Ms. Atkinson, welcome and please proceed.
STATEMENT OF JUNE ATKINSON, STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
Dr. Atkinson. Thank you, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member
Shelby. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you
today about the impact of sequestration on education.
I am June Atkinson, State superintendent of public
instruction for the great State of North Carolina, and I'm also
a board member for the Council of Chief State School Officers.
The council just completed its annual summer conference last
week, and the issue of sequestration came up numerous times. My
colleagues across the Nation share my concern about the impact
of these drastic cuts.
There are two fundamental issues I want to address. First,
my strong opposition to automatic, across-the-board funding
cuts that will be detrimental to education reform and
remodeling occurring across the country. In North Carolina, as
in other States, reforms supported by Federal funds are focused
on raising student achievement and helping to ensure that our
students graduate college, career and citizenship ready.
Second, the immediate need for clear and complete guidance
from the Federal Government on how sequestration will work, in
the event that it goes into effect.
Fortunately, we have received some initial guidance late
last week from the administration regarding how portions of
advanced funding of title I, title II, IDEA part B, and career
and technical education appropriations will be treated. But
States need to have the complete picture.
Chief State school officers across the country are focused
on education reform efforts such as implementing the common
core State standards, developing new assessments to better
gauge student learning, and developing new teacher and leader
evaluation systems to help drive improvements across our
educational workforce.
We are focusing on the use of technology systems to improve
the effectiveness and efficiency of student and teacher
learning.
We have taken on these tasks in the best interests of our
students even during some of the toughest economic times.
Simultaneously, though, our education obligations grow, with
States expecting to educate 540,000 more K-12 students.
Let me give you some examples from North Carolina. Sixteen
percent of our education budget comes from the Federal
Government. An across-the-board cut would dramatically stifle
our remodeling efforts underway to personalize education so
that each student will graduate prepared for options. And let
me give you some examples.
We are making tremendous success in turning around our low-
performing schools under the School Improvement Grants program.
With a cut, we would have an impact upon 1,000 students in
North Caroline alone.
We are also implementing a blended learning approach of
face-to-face and online instruction for our students with
disabilities using IDEA funds, which would be subjected to a
loss of more than $900 million nationally, with an impact upon
more than 13,000 students in North Carolina.
North Carolina also leads the Nation in credentialing
students with Microsoft certification. During the last 18
months, 51,225 certifications were issued to our students and
some teachers. Without support from Career and Technical
Education funds for this initiative, we could not have prepared
students to facilitate this important initiative for our
students.
And I must also mention that our graduation rate of our
students who complete a career technical sequence is 90
percent.
Every summer, our students who come from homes where no one
is reading to them or without books to read lose 2\1/2\ to 3
months of reading progress. They come back to school in the
fall and the teachers have to re-teach what the students have
lost. Through title I funding, many of our title I schools such
as H.C. Bellamy Elementary School in Wilmington, North
Carolina, offer reading programs to help with the reading loss.
States such as mine are strategically addressing the need
of our students, especially our most vulnerable students.
PREPARED STATEMENT
In order for us to move forward, we need specific and
complete guidance about the cuts. Please look at sequestration
and how it will hurt States such as mine. Education is a tiny
fraction of the Federal budget but with enormously high impact
on our Nation's future. Teachers and students are not
responsible for sequestration, yet they must suffer if
sequestration goes into effect.
Students and educators are not to blame for our Nation's
fiscal problems, and they deserve better. I ask for the
Congress's action for the good of the country, our schools, and
our children.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of June Atkinson
Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Shelby, and members of the Labor,
Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Subcommittee: Thank you for inviting me to testify here
today on the impact of sequestration on education reform and
programming. I am June Atkinson, State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, for the great State of North Carolina and a board member
for the Council of Chief State School Officers. The Council just
completed its annual summer conference last week and the issue of
sequestration came up numerous times. My colleagues across the Nation
share my concern about the impact of these drastic funding cuts.
There are two fundamental issues I want to address today. First, my
strong opposition to automatic, across-the-board funding cuts, that
will be detrimental to education reform and remodeling occurring across
the country. In North Carolina, as in other States, reforms supported
by Federal funds are focused on raising student achievement and helping
to ensure all of our students graduate college, career and citizenship
ready. Second, the immediate need for clear and complete guidance from
the Federal Government on how sequestration will work, in the event it
does go into effect on January 2, 2013. States need to know when and
how cuts will be made to various funding streams that we receive.
Fortunately, we received some initial guidance late last week from
the administration regarding how portions of title I, title II,
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) part B, and Career
and Technical Education funds that we receive as advanced
appropriations will be treated. But States need to know the complete
picture. In the absence of complete guidance States cannot adequately
help their districts and schools prepare. The absence of such guidance
will clearly exacerbate the drastic nature of these funding cuts. I
implore you to use your congressional authority to prevent
sequestration or at the very least require that the administration
provide States with as much information as quickly as possible.
Chief State school officers across the country are focused on
education reform efforts such as implementing the common core State
standards, developing new assessments to better gauge student learning,
and developing new teacher and leader evaluation systems to help drive
improvements across our education workforce. We are focusing on the use
of technology systems to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of
student learning. We are developing technology systems to help teachers
learn and grow professionally.
We have taken on these tasks in the best interests of our students
even during some of the toughest economic times. In fact, a recent
report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities highlights that
our struggling economy impairs States' ability to fund services. States
have already faced tough choices to close a combined $540 billion in
budget shortfalls between 2009 and 2012. Moreover, according to the
report, the 2007 recession caused the largest collapse in State
revenues on record: As of the first quarter of 2012, State revenues
remained 5.5-percent below prerecession levels. Simultaneously, though,
our education obligations grow, with States expecting to educate
540,000 more K-12 students. Our State and local education agencies are
currently running on shoestring budgets, and cannot afford additional
cuts.
Let's take North Carolina as an example. Sixteen percent of our
education budget comes from Federal funding. A 7-10 percent across-the-
board cut projected for sequestration would dramatically stifle our
remodeling efforts underway to personalize education so that each
student will graduate prepared with options.
--I am proud that we are currently seeing great success in turning
around low-performing schools under the School Improvement
Grants program. Under sequestration, this program would be
subjected to a loss of more than $40 million nationally, with
an impact upon more than 1,000 students in North Carolina
alone.
--We are also implementing a blended learning approach for our
students with disabilities using IDEA funds, which would be
subjected to a loss of more than $900 million nationally, with
an impact upon more than 13,000 students in North Carolina. It
is worth noting that the Federal Government has still not lived
up to its commitment to provide 40 percent of the excess costs
of educating students with disabilities. A sequestration cut
represents a further lack of that commitment. That impact also
will hurt our innovative initiative to blend online and face-
to-face instruction for many of our students with disabilities.
Recently, North Carolina was just recognized for this exemplary
delivery of instruction to exceptional children. One of our
teachers in this program was recently recognized as the
national Virtual Teacher of the Year. In the words of one of
our students in this blended environment, ``I love the teacher
I have in the classroom and the teacher who helps me online. I
am now really understanding math.''
--We are helping our teachers implement this new blended learning
approach through online learning modules and professional
development funded through title II part A, which would be
subjected to a cut of almost $200 million nationally and could
result in nearly 100 job losses in North Carolina alone.
Businesses have gone through retooling, and if we are going to
value and respect our teachers and students, we must provide
necessary professional development to help teachers retool
their work in the classroom to reach each student.
--North Carolina also leads the Nation in credentialing students with
Microsoft certification. During the past 18 months, 51,225
certifications were issued to our students and some teachers.
Those certifications communicate to businesses that our
students are prepared for success in the workplace. Without
support from Career and Technical Education (CTE) funds for
this initiative, we could not have prepared teachers to
facilitate this important initiative to our students. The CTE
program faces a loss of nearly $90 million nationally reducing
instruction and other services for an alarming 52,000 students
in my State alone.
--Our State has experienced growth in our English language learner
population over the past 5 to 10 years. One of the most
important aspects of our Federal dollars, again, is to help our
students who need to become proficient in English. As a result
of Federal dollars, we have been able to help teachers address
in better ways the needs of this population of students and yet
the cuts to title III, English language acquisition funds would
impact the services we are offering to more than 100,000
students across North Carolina.
--Every summer, our students who come from homes where no one is
reading to them or without books to read, lose 2\1/2\ to 3
months of reading progress. These students don't have the
opportunity to go to camp, the beach, or even the next town.
They come back to school in the fall and the teachers have to
re-teach what the students have lost. Through title I funding,
many of our title I schools such as H.C. Bellamy Elementary
School in Wilmington, North Carolina, offer summer reading
programs. Last week I visited that school, talked to the
students, and to Ms. Karen Sherman who runs the program. I am
confident that the students in that program will not fall
behind this summer. To paraphrase one of the students in that
summer program, Jackson, ``I am reading everything I can.''
Such a statement should be a reason to celebrate how title I
funding helps students keep on-track in reading. Yet, under
sequestration, title I funds would be cut by more than $30
million in North Carolina alone, impacting more than 40,000
students and potentially costing my State more than 500 job
losses.
As you can see, States such as mine are strategically addressing
the needs of low-income students in underperforming schools, students
with disabilities, English language learners, students seeking industry
certification, and the professional development needs of our teaching
corps. Our work in addressing the needs of specific populations is
demonstrating positive results. Our graduation rate is at an all-time
high, and our student achievement is at an all-time high since we have
increased our expectations and standards about 4 years ago. I am
concerned that sequestration will make it harder to continue our
progress and our commitment to long-term national competitiveness.
To be clear, chief State school officers believe wholeheartedly
that we must better use our limited education funding. In fact, one of
the primary topics of the Council's summer conference was strategic
resource allocation. We need to focus primarily on proven strategies
and not continue to fund programming that does not produce results or
serve our student's needs. We will be your partners in any thoughtful
process to improve the return on investment in Federal education
funding. But, I must also be equally clear that across-the-board,
indiscriminate cuts do not help us achieve our State or national
education goals. Chief State school officers will continue to wrestle
with how we increase the efficiency and productivity of our educational
funding, but we cannot do so if we are simultaneously wrestling with
how we simply keep the lights on and continue to support effective
education programming.
Exempting some programs from sequestration is not the answer
either. Any vote to exempt some Federal funding from sequestration
while allowing education funding to be subject to sequestration stands
in stark contrast to the best interests of our children and the long-
term economic and national security of this country. You are all aware
of the recent Council on Foreign Relations report which highlights the
needs for investing in education in order to maintain our global
economic security. According to the report, intelligence agencies face
critical shortages in the number of foreign-language speakers and that
fields such as science, defense, and aerospace are at risk because of a
shortage of skilled workers.
An analysis from the Alliance for Excellent Education calculates
the economic benefit of reducing our high school dropout rate by one-
half. While our graduation rate is at an all-time high, I know that we
must continue our work to make sure that nearly 100 percent of our
students graduate. According to the Alliance, cutting our dropout rate
in one-half would result in almost $300 million in increased earnings,
more than $200 million in increased spending, $650 million in home
sales, and $28 million in new tax revenue for North Carolina. With
numbers like that for North Carolina alone, it is hard for me to
understand why there isn't a stronger nationwide commitment to educate
our children when we can clearly enjoy an economic benefit.
To my second point, without clear and complete guidance, we cannot
prepare for these cuts. I respect that the outcome of sequestration
discussions will be determined at the highest levels of our political
process. I recognize that the process is complicated by the pending
debt ceiling debate and debates on tax cut extensions. I do appreciate
the guidance we received last week from the Department of Education
about how fiscal year 2012 funding that is advanced into fiscal year
2013 will be treated. It is important for States and our school
districts to know that any impact of sequestration in title I, title
II, IDEA, and CTE will not be felt until July 2013. As I mentioned
previously, the administration has just begun answering some critical
questions, but I cannot accept the lack of clear guidance from the
Federal Government to the States on all aspects of the implementation
of sequestration. We need to know just how sequestration will affect
forwarded-funded and advanced appropriations alike.
We still need guidance that gives us the complete picture.
Specifically, we require additional information on:
--unobligated balances from fiscal year 2012 budget authority
provided in the fiscal year 2012 omnibus appropriations law;
--fiscal year 2014 budget authority that will be provided as advanced
appropriations in the fiscal year 2013 continuing resolution or
appropriations bill;
--the impact of sequestration on hold harmless and/or maintenance of
effort provisions; and
--most importantly, what will be the specific cut made to each
program.
Sequestration is also creating confusion on the programmatic side.
Currently, States can reserve 4 percent of title I funds for school
improvement activities. School districts are also assured that they
won't receive less title I funding from the previous year due to this
reservation. Under a 7-10 percent cut, States may not be permitted to
make this 4 percent school improvement reservation.
This is compounded by current efforts in the House appropriations
bill to eliminate the separate school improvement grant program. The
combination of the inability to make this 4-percent reservation and a
loss of school improvement grant funding will eliminate dedicated
Federal funding for turning around our lowest achieving schools.
Without getting the complete picture, we can speculate, but we
cannot fully advise or support our districts as they prepare budgets in
advance of the 2013-2014 school year and beyond. It is promising that
the House of Representatives passed the Sequester Transparency Act and
that Senators Murray and McCain worked in a bipartisan manner to attach
an amendment to the farm bill that would have forced the administration
to provide an even more detailed explanation.
On behalf of my State colleagues, let me also say that if we are
subjected to sequestration then I also encourage you to think about new
flexibilities you can offer States and districts in the use of their
now reduced Federal dollars. If the Federal Government does, indeed,
provide significantly less Federal funding in future years, it must
make corresponding reductions in compliance burdens placed upon States
and districts.
Sequestration came into being because of the failure of the
Congress to agree on how to resolve disagreements on fundamental issues
of revenue and spending. Education is but a tiny fraction of the
Federal budget but with enormously high impact on our Nation's future.
Teachers and students are not responsible for sequestration, yet they
will suffer the most if sequestration goes into effect. Students and
educators are not to blame for our Nation's fiscal problems, and they
deserve better.
Senator Harkin. Thank you very much, Dr. Atkinson.
And now we'll move to Dr. Walker.
Dr. Walker, welcome.
STATEMENT OF BILLY WALKER, Ed.D., SUPERINTENDENT,
RANDOLPH FIELD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT,
UNIVERSITY CITY, TEXAS
Dr. Walker. Good morning. Thank you, Sir.
Good morning, Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Shelby, and
members of the subcommittee. My name is Billy Walker, and I am
the superintendent of Randolph Field Independent School
District, and I also serve as the executive director for the
Texas Association of Federally Impacted Schools.
I would like to take just a moment, Senator Harkin, to
thank you for your support of Project Student Outreach, Access,
and Resiliency (SOAR). Randolph Field piloted SOAR at Home and
SOAR at School in 2007 and 2008, an awesome program for our
military children. And the University of Northern Iowa was a
key player in that success.
Randolph Field is a public school district located on
Randolph Air Force Base in the San Antonio, Texas, area. Our
student body is made up of children of active-duty members from
all branches of our military. We have approximately 1,200
students, equally spread between the elementary and secondary
campuses. Since our students come from military families, our
real annual mobility rate is approximately 30 percent.
My expectation for everyone in our district is to ensure
that each student learns more and at higher levels, every day.
Approximately one-half of our funding comes from Texas
through the normal State funding mechanism, and the remaining
half comes from the Department of Education through title I,
IDEA, and Impact Aid.
While Impact Aid is the lifeblood for our district--excuse
me--Title I and IDEA are important programs to school districts
nationwide. As 1 of the 7 coterminous districts in the Nation,
the boundaries of the base comprise the boundaries of our
district, meaning our school district doesn't have a local tax
base. Our district uses Impact Aid funding in lieu of the tax
dollars normally raised locally to provide salary and benefits
for our employees, transportation, and facility needs, and
among other things, fill the gaps left to the district due to
less than full IDEA funding.
The threat of sequestration takes the complex and difficult
situation of school funding to unprecedented levels. We started
the work of reducing our budget 3 years ago as fiscal experts
projected significant reductions in the near future. Texas
reduced K-12 funding by some $5 billion over the current
biennium.
Earlier this spring, school districts in Texas were
notified that the State would be withholding 10 percent of
Federal funding because of sequestration.
We are certainly not alone. The American Association of
School Administrator's Economic Impact Series found that 71.2
percent of school districts reported a reduction in State and
local revenues over the last 2 school years, and 57 percent
anticipate a decrease for the upcoming school year.
Sequestration will exacerbate the issue of funding.
Superintendents nationwide are deeply concerned about the
impact that cuts will have on schools, programs, and students,
including our ability to fulfill the educational obligation to
children with special needs.
Last year, our school district experienced a 5-percent
reduction in IDEA funding and approximately 17-percent
reduction in title I part A revenue. Our Impact Aid revenue was
reduced by approximately 5 percent last year, and we anticipate
an additional reduction of 7 to 8 percent for the upcoming
school year.
To make matters worse, Impact Aid is the only current-year
funded education program, which means on January 2, 2013,
Impact Aid will sustain an immediate cut of more than $100
million. If by October 1, the Congress doesn't authorize full-
year spending, initial payments to Impact Aid districts could
be as low as 50 percent, significantly lower than many
districts require to operate effectively, without carrying a
fund balance or borrowing funds. No matter what happens,
children will be at school as scheduled.
PREPARED STATEMENT
Today, I'm also concerned about the law's long-term
implications. If sequestration is truly a 10-year project, the
devastating budget cuts may force us to close our doors.
Unfunded mandates have always complicated our work. Now
with the advent of further significant reductions in revenue,
children, including those who know only war and whose parents
have honorably served our country, are the ultimate lifelong
losers in a game that should give them all they need to be
successful, productive citizens.
The concept of doing more with less is admirable, but there
comes a time when there is not enough left to adequately and
equitably educate the children of America.
Thank you for this opportunity to share my district's
story.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Billy Walker, Ed.D.
Good morning Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Shelby, and members of
the subcommittee. My name is Billy Walker and I am the superintendent
of Randolph Field Independent School District and Executive Director of
the Texas Association of Federally Impacted Schools (TAFIS).
I would like to take a moment of personal privilege to thank
Senator Harkin for his support of Project Student Outreach, Access, and
Resiliency (SOAR). We had the privilege at Randolph Field Independent
School District to pilot SOAR at Home and SOAR at School in 2007-2008.
Randolph Field is a public school district located wholly on
Randolph Air Force Base in the San Antonio, Texas, area. Our student
body is made up of children of active-duty members from all branches of
our military. We have about 1,200 students--600 at the elementary
campus and 600 at the secondary campus. The demographic makeup of our
student body reflects very closely the make up of the military in
general, 9 percent of our students are economically disadvantaged, and
since our students come from military families, our real annual
mobility rate is approximately 30 percent.
My team will tell you that my expectation for everyone in our
district is to ensure that each student learns more, and at higher
levels, every day. Our district is a prime example of high expectations
and hard work paying off in excellent results in most any assessment
one might make of us.
Approximately one-half of our funding comes from Texas through the
normal State funding mechanism and the remaining one-half comes from
the Department of Education through title I, Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Impact Aid (fiscal year 2012
total: $6,102,297, fiscal year 2013 total: $5,554,019). While Impact
Aid is the lifeblood for our district, title I and IDEA are important
programs to school districts nationwide. (The net for our district to
provide all services as mandated for special needs students is
-$210,507 for fiscal year 2012.) As 1 of the 7 coterminous districts in
the Nation, the boundaries of the base comprise the boundaries of our
district, meaning our school district doesn't have a local tax base.
Impact Aid replaces the lost local revenue due to the Federal presence.
For example, our district uses Impact Aid funding in lieu of the tax
dollars that would normally be raised locally to ensure a comprehensive
academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular program, provide salary
and benefits for our employees, handle facility needs, operate our
transportation, custodial and school nutrition departments, and fill in
the gaps left to the district due to less than full IDEA funding at the
Federal level.
The threat of sequestration takes the complex and difficult
situation of school funding, both in America and in my State of Texas,
to unprecedented levels. We started the work of reducing our budget
some 3 years ago as fiscal experts at both levels of government
projected significant reductions in the near future. At the State
level, Texas reduced K-12 funding by some $5 billion over the current
biennium. This resulted in a reduction in State funding of
approximately 10 percent over 2 years (2011-2012 (5 percent) and 2012-
2013 (5 percent)). Earlier this spring, the Texas Education Agency
notified school districts that the State would be withholding 10
percent of funding because of sequestration. We are certainly not
alone: The most recent report in the American Association of School
Administrator's Economic Impact Series found that 71.2 percent of
school districts reported a reduction in State/local revenues between
the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, and 57 percent anticipate a
decrease for the 2012-2013 school year.
As we were looking to the future, my leadership team, board, staff,
and I diligently reviewed all personnel, programs, and expenditures to
make reductions to balance the budget for the 2012-2013 school year.
Based on my experiences with delayed Impact Aid funding and the
uncertainty of the appropriations process, I ultimately insisted that
the sequester reduction be built into the budget. We've done our best
to prepare for the cuts, and I could not, in good conscience, mortgage
the fiscal future of our district with obligations that we would most
likely not be able to sustain. To reach a balanced budget, we made the
following reductions:
At the campus level, eliminated:
--elementary reading specialist and librarian;
--middle school reading specialist and secretary;
--secondary English teacher, science teacher, math teacher, and the
1:1 laptop initiative; and
--the baseball, cross country, and swimming programs.
At the district level, faculty, staff, and administration did not
receive a traditional pay raise for the 2011-2012 or 2012-2013 school
years. Eliminated:
--one custodian and the custodial supervisor;
--one staff member from the curriculum department;
--facility planner/coordinator position; and
--one technology department staff member.
Additionally, we are considering not taking the band, cheerleaders, and
dance team to away football games, and eliminating field-based
excursions for all students during the 2012-2013 academic year.
In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, our school district experienced a 5-
percent reduction in IDEA funding and a 17-percent reduction in title I
part A revenue. Sequestration will exacerbate the ongoing issues
surrounding the critical issue of funding required to fulfill the
educational obligations of children with special needs. While these
programs don't comprise the majority of Federal funding for Randolph,
superintendents nationwide are deeply concerned about the impact that
cuts to these and other Federal education programs will have on
schools, programs, and students. Our level of Impact Aid revenue was
reduced by approximately 5 percent for the 2011-2012 year, and we
anticipate an additional reduction of 7 percent to 8 percent for the
2012-2013 academic year.
To make matters worse, Impact Aid is the only current-year funded
education program, which means on January 2, 2013, Impact Aid will
sustain an immediate cut of more than $100 million. If by the October 1
start of the fiscal year the Congress hasn't authorized full-year
spending, initial payments to Impact Aid districts could be as low as
50 percent. This is significantly lower than many districts require to
operate effectively, meaning school districts must either have a fund
balance capable of sustaining the district until their Impact Aid
payment arrives, or they must borrow the funds needed to ensure the
continued operation of the district. No matter what happens, the
children will be at school as scheduled.
Today, I'm concerned about the law's long-term implications. If
sequestration is truly a 10-year project, the devastating budget cuts
may force us to close our doors.
Unfunded mandates have always complicated our work. Now, with the
advent of further significant reductions in revenue, the dream of a
high-quality education for all becomes a dream unfulfilled; programs
that provide opportunities for children to discover their passion in
life languish on the shelf; and children, including those who know only
war and whose parents have honorably served our country for over a
decade, are the ultimate lifelong losers in a game that should give
them all they need to be successful, productive citizens. The concept
of doing more with less is admirable, but there comes a time when there
is not enough left to adequately and equitably educate the children of
America.
Policymakers must do everything in their power to ensure that each
child in this great Nation has the opportunity to learn more, and at
higher levels, every day.
Thank you for this opportunity to share my school district's story.
I look forward to answering any questions.
Senator Harkin. Thank you very much, Mr. Walker.
Now we will turn to Mr. McCluskey.
Mr. McCluskey, please proceed.
STATEMENT OF NEAL P. McCLUSKEY, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,
CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM, THE CATO
INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. McCluskey. Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Shelby,
thank you for inviting me to speak with you today.
My name is Neal P. McCluskey, and I am the associate
director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato
Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research
organization. My comments are my own and do not represent any
position of the institute.
Cuts such as those that would be made to Federal education
programs through sequestration are necessary. Not only does the
Federal Government have no constitutional authority to fund and
administer education programs, but the last 40-plus years of
Federal involvement are a clear demonstration of futility.
Begin with Head Start, which has existed since 1965 and has
cost roughly $180 billion through its lifespan. Despite its
longevity, it has failed to demonstrate lasting benefits.
Indeed, a 2010 Federal study found overwhelmingly that the
program has no lasting positive academic effects, and that's
not its only problem.
Head Start has long suffered from serious waste and abuse.
Indeed, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports in
2000, 2005, and 2008 found widespread noncompliance with
financial management standards and very poor efforts to
remediate the problem.
Next, Federal elementary and secondary education programs.
As the charts on my written testimony illustrate, on a per-
pupil basis, inflation-adjusted Federal spending has grown
immensely over the last several decades, ballooning to 375
percent of their original 1970 value by 2010. And this increase
did not just compensate for funding losses at the State and
local levels.
Overall, per-pupil expenditures have nearly tripled since
1970. Meanwhile, scores on the National Assessment of
Educational Progress have been almost completely stagnant for
17-year-olds, the final products of our schools.
These huge spending increases coupled with more moribund
achievement powerfully illustrate that we haven't gotten any
bang for our Federal education bucks. And those expenditures
could be reduced considerably without ill achievement effects.
Indeed, it is quite likely that Federal education dollars
have kept recipient districts from having to take politically
difficult but necessary actions to increase their efficiency
and effectiveness.
Connected to this it seems that the most pressing concern
for many people is that sequestration would reduce education
employment. High-end estimates for 2013 published by the
National Education Association predict losses of about 46,000
jobs. While no one wants to see anyone lose employment, the
Federal Government has a staggering debt that must be
addressed.
And as the third chart of my testimony illustrates, over
the last four decades, there have been huge increases in public
school staffing, but, again, outcomes have flat-lined. And
46,000 jobs, that's not even close to 1 percent of the total
public-schooling workforce.
Public schooling is supposed to educate children, but it is
instead often treated as a jobs program.
Last, higher education. Regrettably, Pell grants appear to
have been exempted from sequestration, taking roughly $42
billion off the table. While conclusive data are not available,
a reasonable estimate suggests that only around 40 percent of
first-time, full-time students receiving Pell grants complete
bachelor's degrees within 6 years.
In addition, a growing body of research indicates that
schools either raise their prices or lower their own
institutional aid in response to Pell grants.
Sequestration would, however, translate likely into higher
fees on student loans. This would be a small move in the right
direction, towards aid that places more of payment burden on
the people consuming the education.
The huge ill effects of super abundant third-party money in
higher education are revealed in sticker price inflation that
eclipses the inflation rate of even healthcare, dismal
completion rates in colleges, and one-third of bachelor's
degree holders occupying jobs that don't require the
credential. Federal financial aid, by making students less
sensitive to the real costs of their education and enabling
colleges to briskly raise prices, actually defeats its
affordability goal.
In addition to increasing fees for student loans,
sequestration would require that cuts be made to aid that
Washington provides to institutions, as well as research in
colleges and universities. The former should be of little
concern. Federal funding mainly translates into inefficiency,
and Washington provides only a minute sliver of overall funding
directly to institutions.
Regarding research, while much research is of value, it is
likely not of greater value than getting the Nation's shambles
of a fiscal house in order. In addition, research by Austan
Goolsbee, the former chairman of the Council of Economic
Advisors, found that a large portion of Federal research and
development funding translates not into greater innovation but
higher salaries for researchers.
PREPARED STATEMENT
The Federal Government has accumulated an almost
unimaginably huge debt, and sequestration offers but a small
first step toward addressing it. Thankfully, cuts can be made,
in fact, need to be made to Federal education programs.
Thank you. And I look forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Neal P. McCluskey
Chairman Harkin, members of the subcommittee: thank you for
inviting me to speak with you today. My name is Neal P. McCluskey and I
am the associate director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the
Cato Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research
organization. My comments are my own and do not represent any position
of the institute.
Cuts such as those that would be made to Federal education programs
through sequestration are both necessary and overdue. Not only does the
Federal Government have no constitutional authority to fund and
administer education programs--no mention is made of education in the
specific, enumerated powers given to the Federal Government in Article
I, Section 8--but the last 40-plus years of Federal involvement in
education provide a clear demonstration of futility.
Start with preschool. The primary Federal preschool program is Head
Start, which in fiscal year 2012 received almost $8 billion. The
program has existed since 1965 and has cost roughly $180 billion
through its lifespan. Despite its longevity, the program has failed to
demonstrate lasting benefits. Indeed, a 2010 Federal study found that
the program had only two statistically significant positive cognitive
effects that lasted through first grade, and negative mathematics
effects for kindergarten students who entered Head Start when 3 years
old.\1\ In the vast majority of measures no meaningful effects were
found one way or the other.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Michael Puma, et al., ``Head Start Impact Study Final Report:
Executive Summary,'' U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/reports/
impact_study/executive_summary_final.pdf January 2010.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately, the essentially nonexistent positive effects of Head
Start are not the program's only problem. As reports from the
Government Accountability Office (GAO), local media outlets, and other
sources have revealed, Head Start has long suffered from serious waste
and abuse. Indeed, GAO reports in 2000, 2005, and 2008 found widespread
noncompliance with financial management standards and very poor efforts
to remediate the problem.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Tad DeHaven, ``Head Start and Other Subsidies,'' Downsizing the
Federal Government, http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hhs/
subsidies#_edn3, September 2010.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next there are Federal elementary and secondary education programs,
a category that, according to the Federal ``Digest of Education
Statistics,'' accounted for almost $79 billion in 2011.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education
Statistics, 2011, Table 386, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/
tables/dt11_386.asp.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Figure 1 illustrates, on a per-pupil basis, inflation-adjusted
Federal spending on K-12 education has grown immensely over the last
several decades, ballooning to 375 percent of its 1970 value by 2010.
And this increase did not just compensate for funding losses in at the
State and local levels. As Figure 2 shows, overall per-pupil
expenditures through high school graduation have nearly tripled since
1970. Meanwhile, mathematics, reading, and science scores on the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Federal testing
regime often called ``The Nation's Report Card,'' have been almost
completely stagnant for 17-year-olds, the ``final products'' of our
elementary and secondary education system.
inflation-adjusted federal k-12 spending per pupil and achievement of
17-year-olds, percent change since 1970
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Figure 1.
inflation-adjusted cost of a complete k-12 public education and percent
change in achievement of 17-year-olds since 1970
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Figure 2.
Rightly, the primary concern for many people is that sequestration
would deal a crippling blow to academic achievement. The NAEP and
spending data, however, simply do not justify this. Indeed, they
powerfully illustrate that we haven't gotten any lasting bang for our
Federal or overall education bucks, and those expenditures could be
reduced considerably without ill achievement effects. Indeed, it is
quite likely that Federal education dollars keep recipient districts
from having to take politically difficult but necessary actions to
increase the efficiency of their operations.
Directly connected to the efficiency question, it seems that the
most pressing concern for some people is not the academic effect that
sequestration might have on education but the employment effect. And
job losses would ensue: High-end estimates of elementary and secondary
job losses from sequestration in 2013 published by the National
Education Association predict decreases of 46,000 jobs.\4\ That
certainly appears to be a large number, and no one wants to see anyone
lose employment. But the Federal Government has an immense, nearly $16
trillion debt, and as Figure 3 shows, huge increases have occurred in
school staffing relative to enrollment. Coupling that with the
achievement data in Figures 1 and 2, it is clear that much heftier
staffing has not created better outcomes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ National Education Association, ``Impact of Sequestration on
Federal Education Programs,'' http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/
Impact_of_Sequestration_on_Federal_Education_
Programs_Reformatted_06-26-12.pdf, July 12, 2012. Total was calculated
by summing total job losses in categories listed on previous page that
would likely impact elementary and secondary education.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
percent change in public school employment and enrollment since 1970
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Figure 3.
Public schooling is supposed to educate children efficiently and
effectively, but it has very much been treated as a jobs program
instead. That has done no discernible educational good and contributed
to the Nation's mammoth debt.
Originally, Federal K-12 funding was meant to operate in a
compensatory fashion. But at least the recent evidence suggests that no
major, nationwide funding inequities exist. According to the Federal
Condition of Education, districts with the highest levels of poverty
have spent essentially the same amount on a per-pupil basis as have
those with the lowest level of poverty since 1997-1998. And both have
appreciably outspent districts with middling levels of poverty since
1995-1996 (the first year for which data is available).\5\ Those
numbers should be updated (the final school year with data is 2006-
2007), but there is no meaningful evidence that the pattern has
appreciably changed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ National Center for Educational Statistics, The Condition of
Education, Figure 36-1, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/
indicator_pex.asp.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our public schools have, essentially, been on a decades-long hiring
binge with ultimately no gains to show for it. And a reduction of
46,000 jobs would be miniscule compared to overall public-school
staffing, which well exceeds 6 million people.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ The latest staffing data from the Digest of Education
Statistics, 2009 puts public-school employment at 6.36 million people.
National Center for Education Statistics, ``Digest of Education
Statistics, 2011,'' Table 85, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/
tables/dt11_085.asp.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last, let's turn to higher education.
Regrettably, Pell grants have been exempted from sequestration,
taking roughly $42 billion off the table. This might be understandable
were Pell grants shown to effectively enable low-income students to
enter and complete college without pushing sticker prices higher, but
such is not the case. While conclusive data are not available, The
Center for College Affordability and Productivity estimates that only
around 40 percent of first-time, full-time students receiving Pell
grants complete bachelor's degrees within 6 years.\7\ In addition, a
growing body of research indicates that schools either raise their
prices or lower institutional aid in response to Pell grants.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Richard Vedder, ``Only 40 Percent of Pell Grant Recipients Get
Bachelor's Degrees,'' Chronicle of Higher Education, http://
chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/only-40-percent-of-pell-grant-
recipients-get-bachelor-degrees/30139, September 6, 2011.
\8\ John D. Singell, Jr., and Joe A. Stone, ``For Whom the Pell
Tolls: The Response of University Tuition to Federal Grants-in-Aid,''
Economics of Education Review 26, no. 3 (2006): 285-95; Lesley J.
Turner, ``The Incidence of Student Financial Aid: Evidence from the
Pell Grant Program,'' Columbia University Working Paper, April 2012;
Stephanie Riegg Cellini and Claudia Goldin, ``Does Federal Student Aid
Raise Tuition? New Evidence on For-profit Colleges,'' NBER Working
Paper No. 17827, National Bureau of Economic Research, February 2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Pell grant is off-limits, sequestration will translate into
higher fees on student loans. This might seem like it would make
college less affordable for students, but it would be a very small move
in an absolutely necessary direction for Federal student aid: towards
aid that places more of payment burden on the people consuming the
education.
The huge ill effects of too much third-party money in higher
education, especially from the Federal Government, are plain to see:
--``sticker price'' inflation that eclipses even that even in
healthcare; \9\
--dismal completion rates; \10\ and
--one-third of bachelor's degree holders occupying jobs that do not
require the credential.\11\
Federal financial aid, by making students less sensitive to the real
costs of their education and enabling colleges to briskly raise prices,
defeats both the affordability goal of the aid and has helped to render
higher education extremely inefficient. Any moves in the direction of
having students bear more of the cost of their education would, perhaps
counter intuitively, result in greater long-term college affordability
by forcing schools to lower prices and cut abundant waste.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ For empirical evidence that student aid helps fuel tuition
inflation, in addition to the studies cited in note 8 see those cited
at Neal McCluskey, ``The Student Aid `Myth' Myth,'' Cato&Liberty,
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/the-student-aid-myth-myth/, December 8,
2011.
\10\ No sector of higher education has higher than 65.4 percent 6-
year graduation rates for 4-year programs, and for public 2-year
institutions (community colleges) only 20.4 percent of first-time,
full-time students finish within 150 percent of ``normal'' time.
National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education
Statistics, 2011, Table 345, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/
tables/dt11_345.asp.
\11\ Anthony P. Carnevale and Stephen J. Rose, ``The Undereducated
American,'' Georgetown University Center on Education and the
Workforce, http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/
undereducatedamerican.pdf, June 2011.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to increasing fees for student loans, sequestration
would require that cuts be made to aid that Washington provides to
institutions, and as well as to research occurring in colleges and
universities. The former cuts should be of little concern: Not only
does Federal funding mainly appear to translate into inefficiency, but
Washington provides only a small sliver of overall funding directly to
institutions. In 2011, such Federal aid tallied just slightly more than
$1 billion, versus the roughly $85 billion State and local governments
furnished to public colleges for general operating expenses in the
2011-2012 academic year.\12\ Trimming just part of this relatively tiny
Federal amount would have a negligible effect.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ Federal appropriations to schools calculated using U.S.
Department of Education, ``Education Department Budget History Table,''
http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/history/edhistory.pdf, August
5, 2011. State and local appropriations from State Higher Education
Executive Officers, ``State Higher Education Finance: fiscal year
2011,'' Figure 2, http://www.sheeo.org/finance/shef/SHEF_fiscal year
11.pdf, 2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regarding research, while much research is of value, it is very
difficult to say it is of greater value than getting the Nation's
shambles of a fiscal house in order. In addition, research by Austan
Goolsbee, the former chairman of the Obama Administration's Council of
Economics Advisors, found that a large portion of Federal funding for
research and development translates not into greater innovation but
higher salaries for researchers.\13\ Like aid to students, the benefits
seem largely to accrue to those employed by the money, not to society
or the people the aid is intended to help.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ Austan Goolsbee, ``Does Government R&D Policy Mainly Benefit
Scientists and Engineers?'' The American Economic Review 88, no. 2
(1998): 298-302.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Federal Government has accumulated an almost unimaginably huge
debt, and sequestration offers only a small first step toward
addressing spending recklessness. Thankfully, significant cuts can
almost certainly be made to discretionary spending without adversely
affecting the activities that Federal money is supposed to advance.
Education is a perfect example of this, with overwhelming evidence
revealing that Federal spending has, at best, done no overall good, and
has quite likely caused appreciable harm. It has insulated Head Start
providers, schools and districts, and colleges from pressures to become
efficient and effective, and has taken funds from taxpayers in order to
greatly increase education employment and the comfort of those working
in colleges and universities. Trimming such wasteful funding, as
sequestration would do, would be but an opening move in the right
direction.
Senator Harkin. Thank you, Mr. McCluskey.
And now we'll turn to Dr. Tammy Mann. Please proceed.
STATEMENT OF TAMMY L. MANN, Ph.D., PRESIDENT AND CEO,
THE CAMPAGNA CENTER, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA
Dr. Mann. Thank you.
Good morning, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Shelby,
thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the
potential impact of impending sequester of nondefense
discretionary programs, in particular, early childhood
education programs.
I have been privileged to serve as president and CEO of The
Campagna Center in Alexandria for the past year and have worked
in the field of early childhood education for the better part
of 20 years. The Campagna Center currently serves more than
1,700 children through a range of early childhood, school age,
youth, and family-development programs designed to empower and
engage parents as they address their children's academic and
social needs.
We, like many other early childhood centers across the
country, successfully blend, braid, and leverage a multitude of
local, State, and Federal funding with private investment and
shared community resources to provide the highest quality
services to the most vulnerable families in Alexandria.
The looming 7.8-percent cut to nondefense discretionary
programs will have serious, immediate, and disruptive impact on
vulnerable children and families we serve. Due to increases in
our operating costs over the past few years, in particular
deferred maintenance, health insurance for staff, rising
utility costs, we simply do not have the budget cushion to
withstand this large of a reduction without cutting children,
families, and staff from our program.
We know that the Congress is committed to Head Start. Over
the past few years, there has been solid bipartisan support for
the quality early childhood education, and Head Start has not
had to cut children from its programs. However, we work hand in
hand with childcare services and other early learning programs,
especially those funded or supplemented with State dollars.
Over the last year, States across the country have made
significant cuts to childcare and pre-K programs. The ripple
effects of this, combined with further cuts via sequestration,
will be devastating to early learning across the country.
In Virginia alone, it is estimated that more than 800
children and their families would no longer receive federally
funded childcare assistance. Without such assistance, families
will be faced with the difficult decision of what to do with
their children while at work, unfortunately, choices that can
lead to children being placed in unsafe environments or their
parents being forced to reduce their hours or even quit their
jobs.
For Head Start and Early Head Start, the cut would equate
to the loss of roughly 1,100 children and their families in the
State, according to the National Head Start Association.
My agency, The Campagna Center, is a delegate of the city
of Alexandria. And among the children we serve, we are funded
to provide assistance to 309 Head Start children and 108 Early
Head Start children as a grantee. A cut of this magnitude would
mean that approximately 24 fewer children would be served in
Head Start and 10 fewer in Early Head Start.
Currently, we have to raise an additional $75,000 each year
just to be able to continue providing quality services to our
Early Head Start children, because the current funding level
has not been able to address our rising costs. This is in
addition to the 20-percent non-Federal share match that we have
to provide to operate the program.
There is simply no way we could absorb a cut as deep as
proposed with other funding sources in this very challenged
economic environment.
Additionally, due to the economic woes, the need in our
community has grown much faster than our ability to provide
services.
As a city, Alexandria has deep pockets of poverty that
greatly undermine many families' abilities to pay for early
childhood services. Last year, we had 206 children on our
waitlist for Head Start and 169 for Early Head Start.
Unfortunately, we expect this number to keep growing even
without facing deep cuts.
For our program's spring enrollment fair, we had well over
500 parents seeking a spot for their children in our program.
Any cuts in funding would certainly push more families onto
long waiting lists, where the chance to gain access to early
childhood education is slim to none.
In addition to the depth of the cut, one of our greatest
fears is the timing. A January 2013 target date for these cuts
go into effect is right in the middle of the program year for
us as well as our K-12 colleagues.
Just recently, I had the opportunity to talk with a parent
that knows firsthand how much Head Start has meant to her. The
mother came to our program in 2010 after having experienced a
divorce and was in need of assistance on many levels. With very
little family support and few resources at her disposal, she
was concerned about how she was going to make ends meet and
provide for her children. In 2 short years, despite becoming
homeless, her oldest child has thrived in our program, and has
since successfully completed kindergarten, and is doing very
well in school.
This parent has been able to enter a training program that
has her close to earning her child development associate
credential, and she is gainfully employed as a teacher
assistant and very much motivated to do what it takes to
continue her own education and support her children's
education.
She credits her success to the support she has received
from teachers, home visitors, and family support staff in our
program. This mother's story reflects the story of many parents
who have come to rely on Head Start and other early care and
education programs that support child and family success.
It's clear that cuts in this area will have lasting impact.
Quality early education prepares the Nation's youngest children
for a lifetime of learning and success. In fact, studies show
that for every $1 invested in a Head Start, society earns at
least $7 through increased earnings, employment, family
stability, as well as decreased welfare dependency, healthcare
costs, crime costs, grade retention, and special education.
PREPARED STATEMENT
I firmly agree that our national deficit is a looming
problem. As an advocate serving children, I too am concerned
about leaving significant debt behind to be paid for by the
next generation.
On behalf of my colleagues across the country, I urge this
subcommittee to take a leadership role in finding a balanced
approach that averts the sequester and ensures that this
deficit reduction effort is not financed with cuts to programs
that help our most vulnerable citizens. Hundreds of thousands
of children and families in your home States are counting on
it.
Thank you.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Tammy L. Mann, Ph.D.
Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Shelby: Thank you for the
opportunity to testify today about the potential impact of the
impending sequester of nondefense discretionary programs, in
particular, early childhood education programs supported through Head
Start, Early Head Start, and Child Care funding. I have been privileged
to serve as president and CEO of The Campagna Center, in Alexandria,
Virginia, for the past year and have worked in the field of early
childhood education for more than 20 years. The Campagna Center serves
more than 1,700 children through a range of early childhood, school
age, youth, and family development programs designed to empower and
engage parents as they address their children's academic and social
needs. We, like many other early childhood centers across the country,
successfully blend, braid, and leverage a multitude of local, State,
and Federal funding with precious private investment and shared
community resources to provide the highest quality services to the most
vulnerable families in Alexandria.
The looming 7.8-percent cut to nondefense discretionary programs
will have serious, immediate, and disruptive impact on the vulnerable
children and families we serve. Due to increases in our operating costs
over the past few years, in particular deferred maintenance, health
insurance for staff, and rising utility costs, we do not have the
budget cushion to withstand this large of a reduction without cutting
children, families, and staff from our program. Nationally, the
Department of Health and Human Services estimates that this cut, via
sequestration, will result in 100,000 fewer children receiving Head
Start and Early Head Start services, and 80,000 fewer children
receiving child care assistance.
We know that the Congress is committed to Head Start--over the past
few years there has been solid bipartisan support for quality early
childhood education and Head Start has not had to cut children from its
programs. However, we work hand-in-hand with child care services and
other early learning programs, especially those funded or supplemented
with State dollars. Over the last year, states across the country have
made significant cuts to child care and pre-K programs. The ripple
effects of this, combined with further cuts via sequestration, will be
devastating to early learning across the country.
In Virginia alone, it is estimated that more than 800 children and
their families would no longer receive federally funded child care
assistance. Without child care assistance, families will be faced with
the difficult decision of what to do with their children while at work.
Unfortunately, that choice can lead to kids being put in unsafe
environments or their parents forced to reduce their hours or even quit
their jobs. For Head Start and Early Head Start, the cut would also
equate to the loss of roughly 1,140 children and their families in the
State, according to the National Head Start Association.
My agency, The Campagna Center, is a delegate agency of the city of
Alexandria and among the children we serve, we are funded to provide
assistance to 309 Head Start Children and 108 Early Head Start children
as a grantee. A cut of this magnitude would mean that approximately 24
fewer children would be served in Head Start and approximately 10 fewer
in Early Head Start. Currently, we have to raise an additional $75,000
each year just to be able to continue providing quality services to our
Early Head Start children because the current funding level has not
been able to address our rising costs; this is in addition to the 20
percent non-Federal match that we have to provide to operate the
program. There is simply no way we could absorb a cut as deep as
proposed with other funding sources in this very challenged economic
environment. Teacher and Teacher Assistant jobs would be lost, as well
as reductions in time for staff that support our teachers--Family
Service Support professionals, Nutrition Specialists, and others that
are vital to the life success of our children.
Additionally, due to economic woes, the need in our community has
grown much faster than our ability to provide services. As a city,
Alexandria has deep pockets of poverty that greatly undermine many
families' ability to pay for early childhood services. Last year we had
206 children on our waitlist for Head Start and 169 children on the
Early Head Start waiting list. Unfortunately we expect this number to
keep growing even without facing deep cuts; for our program's Spring
enrollment fair, we had well over 500 parents seeking a spot for their
children in our program. Any cuts in funding would certainly push more
families onto long waiting lists, where the chance to gain access to
early childhood education is slim to none.
In addition to the depth of the cut, one of our greatest fears is
its timing. January 2013, the target date these cuts go into effect, is
right in the middle of the program year for us as well as our K-12
colleagues. We simply do not know how we can possibly tell families
that their services will lapse come January. These services are
critical to helping stabilize at-risk families, so that their children
will be assured a home environment that nurtures a lifetime of learning
and success.
Just recently, I had the opportunity to talk with a parent that
knows firsthand how much Head Start has meant to her family. This
mother came to our program in 2010 following a divorce and was in need
of assistance on many levels. With very little family support and few
resources at her disposal, she was concerned about how she was going to
make ends meet and provide for her children. In 2 short years, despite
becoming homeless, her oldest child thrived in our program, has since
successfully completed kindergarten, and is doing very well in school.
This parent has been able to enter a training program that has her
close to earning her Child Development Associate credential and she is
gainfully employed as a teacher assistant and very much motivated to do
what it will take to continue her education and support her children's
education. She credits all of this success to the support she received
from teachers, home visitors, and family support staff in our program.
This mother's story reflects the story of many parents who have come to
rely on Head Start and other early care and education programs that
support child and family success.
Cuts in this area will have lasting impact. Quality early education
prepares the Nation's youngest children for a lifetime of learning and
success. In fact, studies show that for every $1 invested in a Head
Start child, society earns at least $7 through increased earnings,
employment, and family stability; \1\ as well as decreased welfare
dependency,\2\ healthcare costs,\3\ crime costs,\4\ grade retention,\5\
and special education.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Ludwig, J. and Phillips, D. (2007). The Benefits and Costs of
Head Start. Social Policy Report. 21 (3: 4); Deming, D. (2009). Early
childhood intervention and life-cycle skill development: Evidence from
Head Start. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(3): 111-
134; Meier, J. (2003, June 20). Interim Report. Kindergarten Readiness
Study: Head Start Success. Preschool Service Department, San Bernardino
County, California; Deming, D. (2009, July). Early childhood
intervention and life-cycle skill development: Evidence from Head
Start, p. 112.
\2\ Meier, J. (2003, June 20). Kindergarten Readiness Study: Head
Start Success. Interim Report. Preschool Services Department of San
Bernardino County.
\3\ Frisvold, D. (2006, February). Head Start participation and
childhood obesity. Vanderbilt University Working Paper No. 06-WG01;
Currie, J. and Thomas, D. (1995, June). Does Head Start Make a
Difference? The American Economic Review, 85 (3): 360; Anderson, K.H.,
Foster, J.E., & Frisvold, D.E. (2009). Investing in health: The long-
term impact of Head Start on smoking. Economic Inquiry, 48 (3), 587-
602.
\4\ Reuters. (2009, March). Cost of locking up Americans too high:
Pew study; Garces, E., Thomas, D. and Currie, J. (2002, September).
Longer-term effects of Head Start. American Economic Review, 92 (4):
999-1012.
\5\ Barnett, W. (2002, September 13). The Battle Over Head Start:
What the Research Shows.; Garces, E., Thomas, D. and Currie, J. (2002,
September). Longer-Term Effects of Head Start. American Economic
Review, 92 (4): 999-1012.
\6\ NHSA Public Policy and Research Department analysis of data
from a Montgomery County Public Schools evaluation. See Zhao, H. &
Modarresi, S. (2010, April). Evaluating lasting effects of full-day
prekindergarten program on school readiness, academic performance, and
special education services. Office of Shared Accountability, Montgomery
County Public Schools.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I firmly agree that our national deficit is a looming problem; as
an advocate serving children, I too am concerned about leaving
significant debt behind to be paid for by the next generation. On
behalf of my colleagues across the country, I urge this subcommittee to
take a leadership role in finding a balanced approach that averts the
sequester and ensures that this deficit reduction effort is not
financed with cuts to programs that help our most vulnerable citizens.
Hundreds of thousands of children and families in your home States are
counting on it. Thank you.
Senator Harkin. Thank you, Dr. Mann. Thank you all very
much for your testimony.
As I said, your whole testimonies will be made a part of
the record. We'll start a round of 5-minute questions.
First, Tammy Mann, Dr. Mann, last April, I went down to the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and their affiliate had issued a
report calling for more investment in early childhood
education. Not less, more. This is the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. Coming from a business community to unite in an
effort to convince us, and I assume people on the local level
and everywhere else, to invest more in early childhood
education.
So I want to point out this concern is also coming from the
business community, but it's not just recent. In 1990--it was
either 1990 or 1992, the Committee on Economic Development was
headed by the president and CEO of Honeywell at that time. It
came out with a report on what needed to be done on education
in America from a business standpoint, from a business
community standpoint, what needed to be done. And their entire
report was focused on putting more into early childhood
education, early learning programs. That was 1990 or 1992, I
forgot exactly which year.
So again, the business community this year stepped up
again. But we never seem to quite get there.
For both you and Dr. Walker, your statements read--or Dr.
Walker, your statement--the concept of doing more with less is
admirable, but there comes a time when there's not enough left
adequately and equitably to educate the children of America.
Dr. Atkinson, you said our State and local education
agencies (LEAs) are currently running on shoestring budgets and
cannot afford additional cuts.
For both of you, what kinds of things have you done already
to reduce costs? And if sequestration goes into effect, where
are you going to go for this extra money? Can you go to your
local jurisdiction, your States? Can you address it yourself?
Where would you get that lost revenue, or would you just have
to lay off teachers and cut services?
Dr. Atkinson. North Carolina has no place to go. We have
moved very aggressively to become more efficient and more
effective in our delivery of public education.
Harvard just recently issued a report indicating that North
Carolina was one of six States getting the most gain of student
achievement with the incremental dollars that we have. We
ranked 45th in the Nation, according to the 2010 census for
educational spending.
Our instructional resources budget has been cut 50 percent.
Senator Harkin. Excuse me. You ranked 45th out of 50 States
in educational spending?
Dr. Atkinson. That's correct, Sir.
Senator Harkin. So you're at the bottom?
Dr. Atkinson. Yes, we are. And not only are we at the
bottom, our school districts will face about $190 million less
money to serve 12,000 more students along with our 1.5 million
children that we have in our State.
Through Race to the Top dollars--thank goodness--we have
been able to continue to build a more efficient and effective
system where we can have some economies of scale, such as
instead of our 115 school districts doing requests and
proposals for services, we want to do it one time for our 115
school districts.
We have started a virtual high school, the second largest
in the Nation. That virtual high school supplements instruction
in schools where they could no longer have teachers, and it
helps our rural schools in the State to offer more
opportunities.
We have been cutting and cutting. We have approximately 5
percent of our budgets spent in administration. That's one of
the lowest in the Nation, and I'm sure that any business would
be very proud to have an administrative cost at 5 percent.
We have made cuts in teacher assistance. We've had to
eliminate more than 6,000 positions over the last couple of
years.
So we have no place to go to get to make up for the
difference that would occur should sequestration take place.
North Carolina is a State that has had its share of hurricanes,
and we've been trying to build and we are well on our way to
building a very strong foundational house, but sequestration
would be like a hurricane coming through and blowing off the
roof of what we have done to move us to the place where nearly
100 percent of our students can graduate from our schools
prepared with options.
Senator Harkin. Mr. Walker.
Dr. Walker. Yes, Sir. Learning is the byproduct of good
teaching. And in order to have learning, we have to have the
people. And so over the last couple of years, we've actually
already started reducing our staff, which means larger class
sizes.
For example, we've reduced an English teacher, a math
teacher, a science teacher at the high school level; reading
specialists--one at the elementary, one at the middle school; a
librarian; a facility planner; a person in our curriculum
department at the campus level.
Senator Harkin. So has the number of your students
decreased at the same time?
Dr. Walker. No, Sir. Our numbers have stayed the same.
We're having to put more students in the classroom now. No pay
raises.
So, essentially, what we're having to do is we're having to
look at our personnel. We eliminated the baseball, swimming,
and cross-country programs, but we did that in order to keep
our elementary art, our elementary music, our secondary theater
arts, music programs, all those programs in the fine arts.
We're trying to keep a balance.
But, ultimately, Sir, when it all boils down and you look
at it, we have to touch people's lives and we have to reduce
our staff. And at some point, we have to have a bare minimum to
operate to take care of the Federal and State mandates for
educating our children.
Senator Harkin. Thank you.
Senator Shelby.
Senator Shelby. Thank you, Senator Harkin.
It's been estimated that the Federal contribution, on
average, is about 10.8 percent of a local school district's
total funding. I think that's nationwide.
On a local level, this means that an automatic cut, for
example, of 7.8 percent to the Federal share for an average
school district would equal a cut of about 84 percent of its
total funding.
I know you don't want to cut anything. I agree with you
that sequestration is not the way to do it. You know, we're
going to have to do things in the future a little differently
up here, because we're challenged economically, as we all know,
just as you are in North Carolina, you are in Texas, you are in
Virginia. My people in Alabama, we understand that.
Mr. McCluskey, I want to direct my first question to you.
First of all, I believe access to a quality education is
critical to the success of our citizens and the
competitiveness, as has been a said here, of our Nation in the
global economy. However, there is not always a strong
correlation between spending and outcomes. We know that.
Since 1970, Federal education spending on a per-pupil basis
has increased from $435 to $1,159 in 2008. Yet according to the
most recent performance report ranking 15-year-olds from the 34
countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the United States ranked 25th in math and
17th in science.
Can the approximate 7.8-percent cuts we've been talking
about under sequestration be taken without adversely affecting
student achievement?
Mr. McCluskey. I think the overwhelming evidence, and a lot
of it I laid out in my testimony, is that we have spent huge
amounts of money. We've had gigantic increases and sustained
over decades. And it simply hasn't, in any way, translated into
better outcomes, into better performance, and it's the Federal
Government's own test that shows that, the National Assessment
of Educational Progress.
And you bring up the international data, and that's also
interesting, because we spend more than almost any other Nation
in the OECD on education and still get very poor results.
Senator Shelby. But the outcome is different, isn't it?
Mr. McCluskey. What's that?
Senator Shelby. The outcome, considering what other nations
spend and what we spend.
Mr. McCluskey. Absolutely. So they do much better on,
usually, much less spending per pupil.
We can talk about this as an investment, but if it is an
investment, it's an investment that's been paying no return for
decades. And considering the size of the debt and considering
that this is money that comes from taxpayers who might be able
to use it for much more efficient things that they really need,
I can't see how it can be justified to continue spending like
this.
Senator Shelby. Dr. Atkinson, if cuts still need to be
taken to education funding, and I think we're going to have to
look at everything up here whether we want to or not, and it
was up to individual States, for example, to make these cuts,
what specific programs would you target and what innovative
strategies would you support to achieve some efficiencies in
education, because I do believe whether it's defense, whether
it's education, or whether it's health, that they are some
efficiencies there that we should all strive to get to. What
would you suggest, if any?
Dr. Atkinson. I believe that my colleagues across the
Nation would agree that should sequestration have to occur, and
should cuts have to occur, that States must be offered
flexibility in making cuts where we see through our data that
we are not as effective or efficient in one area as we would be
in another.
So we need to offer that flexibility to States, because it
may not be the same in all of our States where we see
inefficiencies and ineffectiveness.
I believe that we also must work collaboratively to get
efficiencies. For example, the adoption of the common core
standards is a good example of how States can come together,
focus on the common standards, share resources dealing with
professional development, share resources as it relates to
helping students understand the content and to apply that
content.
There are other examples with online professional
development. There are other examples that can be used in
having accessible to all of our States online instruction that
can complement or supplement the instruction that a teacher
would provide in the classroom.
Senator Shelby. Dr. Walker, I voted against the
sequestration legislation, as the Mr. Chairman did, that
brought us where we are today. But if it does come about, would
it be better to deal with it now as opposed to kicking the can
down the road if you had a little certainty there?
Dr. Walker. Absolutely, Sir.
Senator Shelby. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Harkin. Thank you. It's true we both voted against
it, but I think I voted against it because it raised no revenue
and----
Senator Shelby. Probably for different reasons.
Senator Harkin. And you probably voted against it because
it didn't cut enough. So different reasons.
Senator Shelby. I didn't say we voted against it for the
same reason.
Senator Harkin. Let's see, I just wanted to cover one other
thing here.
Yes, Mr. McCluskey, I had one thing I wanted to ask you
about in your testimony here. You know, I always like it when
people cite studies and stuff, but I found in my long career
here that when you cite a study that's been cited by somebody
else, been cited by somebody else and cited by somebody else,
it's going to take on a life of its own. But you really don't
know what the real facts are.
So just to read, in your testimony, you said that,
``Indeed, GAO reports in 2000, 2005, and 2008 found widespread
noncompliance with financial management standards and very poor
efforts to remediate the problem.'' We're talking about Head
Start. This is Head Start.
You said, ``As reports in the Government Accountability
Office, local media outlets, and other sources have revealed,
Head Start has long suffered from serious waste and abuse.
Indeed, GAO reports in 2000, 2005, and 2008 found widespread
noncompliance with financial management standards and very poor
efforts to remediate the problem.''
I was very intrigued by that, since I was here in those
years and was on this subcommittee, either as ranking member or
chair, and I didn't remember those, so I asked my staff to look
at it. What we found out was that the GAO study found possible
abuse of eligibility rules.
This is where kids may have been--their families may have
been more than 100 percent of poverty but their kids were in
the Head Start program. And they found this in eight Head Start
centers. Do you know how many Head Start centers are in the
country, Mr. McCluskey?
Mr. McCluskey. Quite a few.
Senator Harkin. Sixteen hundred. So I question the usage of
your words ``widespread noncompliance.'' I'm sure that somebody
else may pick up your citing of this and then cite the study in
something else and then it takes on a life of its own.
But I doubt that finding possible abuse of eligibility
rules at 8 out of 1,600 Head Start centers is an indictment of
widespread noncompliance and poor efforts to remediate the
problem.
Mr. McCluskey. In fact, I'm not the only one I think who's
found evidence of this and acted on it. In fact, the Obama
administration has undertaken a new effort to impose some sort
of accountability on Head Start centers due to widespread
problems, at least what they are perceiving as widespread
problems, within Head Start of financial management and things
like this.
So I don't think I am the only one who senses a problem in
this area. The Obama administration seems to be working on that
expectation or thought that's out there as well.
Senator Harkin. Well, again, maybe your definition of
``widespread'' is a little bit different than mine, but 8 of
1,600 doesn't seem widespread.
Everything has problems. We always try to focus on how we
can do things better. I understand that. But I don't know that
that's an indictment of the Head Start program.
Mr. Walker, I wanted to ask you, you said in your
testimony--you mentioned something. I heard it. You said
something about State and Federal mandates in education. What
do you mean by Federal mandates in education?
Dr. Walker. One of the mandates that we deal with is, is
dealing with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA), with some of the issues that come out of No Child Left
Behind, dealing with the testing requirements that we're under.
It flows through the State, but it's through No Child Left
Behind.
There are various areas that we have that we have to act
and we have to do things, and that's what I term a mandate.
Senator Harkin. Let me address myself to one of those,
IDEA.
There is, I think, a mistaken perception, hearing from you,
a well-known educator, that IDEA, the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, is a Federal mandate. It is not a
Federal mandate. It's a constitutional mandate.
You see, under the Constitution of the United States, no
State has to provide a free public education. There's no
constitutional mandate that says that any State has to provide
a free public education.
What the Constitution does say, however, as the Supreme
Court has interpreted over the years, is that if a State does
provide a free public education, it cannot just provide a
taxpayer-based free public education for white boys. It cannot
just provide a free taxpayer-funded public education for
Christian boys and girls.
The Supreme Court has said that you can't discriminate
based on race, sex, or natural origin, et cetera, et cetera.
A case came before the circuit court for Pennsylvania--PARC
v. Pennsylvania--PARC, P-A-R-C--Pennsylvania Association for
Retarded Citizens vs. Pennsylvania. Here, I'm into trouble--
early 1970s, I believe.
In which some parents of kids with disabilities--
intellectual disabilities--brought about a case saying that
their kids were being discriminated against. They were
taxpayers, and their kids were not being given a free,
appropriate public education.
The district court found for the parents. It was appealed
to the circuit court. The circuit court upheld that, and the
Supreme Court denied it.
The Supreme Court was saying, you're right, this is a
constitutional requirement. You cannot discriminate on the
basis of disability, if you're going to have a free public
education.
The Federal Government came along--then I came to Congress.
The Federal Government comes along and says, well, and the
States came to the Federal Government and said, my gosh, now we
are going to have to educate kids with disabilities. It's a
constitutional requirement just like we have to educate girls
now. We have to educate African-Americans. We have to educate
new immigrants who come into this country.
So the States came and said, my gosh, this is going to be a
new burden. The Federal Government said, okay, I'll tell you
what we'll do, we'll make a deal. We'll provide funding to help
meet this constitutional requirement you have, but here are
some of the things you have to do if you want some of the
Federal money. You don't have to take the Federal money. But if
you do, here are some of the requirements you have to meet.
And the Federal Government at the time, it was our goal to
have the Federal Government pay for at least 40 percent of the
increased cost, whatever it might cost to educate the kids with
a disability, that we would pay for 40 percent of it, as a
goal. It wasn't guaranteed, but that was the goal.
I've been involved in trying to reach that goal for 30
years. We've never made it. We got it up a little bit under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but that went away.
But be that as it may, the requirement that every school
district--yours, too--educate kids with disabilities is not a
Federal mandate. It's a constitutional requirement. Even if
there were no IDEA at all, you would still have to educate
those kids with a disability. Not a Federal mandate whatsoever.
The only mandate is if you take the money, you have to meet
certain requirements in terms of IDEA. You don't have to take
the money.
So I just wanted to make that clear, that a lot of times,
there are Federal mandates. But many times they're not Federal
mandates; they're constitutional requirements that we have to
meet in order not to discriminate against one class or another
of our citizens.
Now, No Child Left Behind, again, yes, there are mandates
in No Child Left Behind, Federal mandates. Again, those come
basically through title I funding. If a State wants title I
funding, here is what you have to do.
I will point out again and again, as I point out as
chairman of this subcommittee and as chairman of the
authorizing committee, no State has to take title I money.
There is no requirement for any State that you must take
Federal money for education. If you want it, then here are the
requirements you have to meet.
I have my own problems with No Child Left Behind. That's
why I worked with Senator Enzi on the authorizing committee,
not the appropriating committee, authorizing committee, to pass
legislation to get rid of No Child Left Behind, because I came
to the conclusion that it was a bad piece of legislation. So we
got it through our committee, but we can't get it through the
Senate floor right now.
But those are the things that we have to work on. But
again, I always point out that there is no requirement that any
State has to take that money. If a State wants to, they can pay
for all their education all by themselves. But even if a State
did, even if North Carolina decided to pick up everything, they
still can't violate the Constitution of the United States as
long as they're a State in this Union.
So when we think about these mandates, just be careful
about whether we say they are a Federal mandate or are they a
constitutional requirement that taxpayers--a State cannot use
taxpayer money to come in and just do it for one class of
people and discriminate against another class of people. I
think we all understand that. That's sort of common sense, as
we say right now.
Well, I should say, Senator Shelby already left. But I did
want to respond about the funding of early--that per student
funding has gone from $435 in 1975 to $1,159 in 2008, yet the
United States has ranked some place down there in the ranking
system.
I don't know what the inflationary factor increase from
1970 to now would be. It's 40-some years. I suppose that would
probably put it in equal terms maybe around $800. I don't know.
And so then $300 in there.
Look at the difference between 1970 and now. I mean, we
weren't educating kids with disabilities then. They were all
housed in institutions, and we were paying through the nose for
that discriminatory action. So we've saved money there, but we
put it into education, for educating kids with disabilities.
So, yes, we might be spending more per student, but some of
that money was being spent on institutional care for students
or kids that just weren't being educated.
From my area, I know a lot of kids went through 8th grade,
10th grade, dropped out of school and got a job in a factory.
They could do that then. You can't do that anymore.
And so we're educating more kids now, a lot more children
than what we did in 1970.
We've had an influx of English language learners into this
country. We had the wave that came when my mother, who was an
immigrant, came to the country. Then it subsided, and we had
another big wave come.
That has an effect on our schools and school spending also.
So to say that we've increased spending on students a
tremendous amount since 1970, it doesn't really tell me a lot
until you factor in all those other factors as to what the
student population is like right now.
And to be sure, I wish the United States--and Secretary
Arne Duncan said it--we've got to do a better job on educating
kids.
I politely disagree with my friend from the Cato Institute,
who says the Federal Government has been the cause of all this
terrible stuff. We only provide 8--between 8 and 10 percent of
all the funding for elementary and secondary education in this
country. And we're at a high point. It used to be less than
that.
I would assume if you go back to 1970, there's probably
around 4, 5, or 6 percent of total funding for elementary and
secondary education. Now, it's up to 8 or 9 percent.
So if there's a fault, how about looking at the 92 percent
that the States are funding? Ninety-two percent of all of the
funding for elementary and secondary education come from States
and local governments, not from the Federal Government. Is it
the Federal Government's fault or is it the State and local
government's fault that we rank so low on this?
To blame it all on the Federal Government, when they
provide 8 percent, is to ignore the elephant in a room, which
is the State and local governments who provide 92 percent of
the funding for education. You know, maybe they haven't done
enough to bolster education in State and local governments.
We had a hearing earlier this week on higher education, and
there is a direct correlation between States that have
decreased their funding for higher education and increased
tuition. So if States have decreased their funding for higher
education, tuition goes up, students borrow more money. That's
why we have student debt today higher than credit card debt.
So I say these things, I think about this. Is it really the
Federal Government or is it State and local governments that
bear the brunt of this?
Well, again, I thank all of you. I think you've made us
think about a lot of things. If nothing else, I think what we
pointed out here, and I think maybe for different reasons voted
against it, but I think we both agree that sequestration would
be devastating, either on the defense side or the nondefense
side. I just think that most of us have been focused on the
defense side. I think now we're beginning to focus on what
would happen in nondiscretionary defense spending if, in fact,
we had sequestration.
Again, an impetus for us to get them together, reach
compromises as we've done, as I pointed out, we've done in the
past. There's no reason why we can't do it now.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
So I thank you all for what you do in your local areas for
education, and thank you for taking the time to be here and to
testify and to give us the benefit of your thinking.
[The following questions were not asked at the hearing but
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the
hearing:]
Questions Submitted by Senator Tom Harkin
are federal education programs effective? would sequestration harm
federal education programs?
Question. Mr. Secretary, during the hearing we heard testimony from
Mr. Neal McCluskey who stated that ``. . . the last 40-plus years of
Federal involvement in education provide a clear demonstration of
futility'' and that education is a perfect example of why cuts can be
made without adversely affecting the activities the Federal money is
supposed to advance with ``. . . overwhelming evidence revealing that
Federal spending has, at best, done no overall good, and has quite
likely caused appreciable harm.'' Would you please comment on these
opinions?
Answer. I don't think we need to get into a debate about the
effectiveness of the Federal role in education over the past four
decades to demonstrate whether or not sequestration would have a
negative impact on students, parents, teachers, and schools. The bottom
line is that we know from our partners in State and local education
agencies, from superintendents and school boards, and from parents and
principals that our schools rely on Federal education programs to meet
the educational needs of all students but especially students from low-
income families, students with disabilities, English learners, and
other students who face challenges in meeting State academic standards
and graduating from high school college- and career-ready. We also know
that millions of postsecondary students and their families, as well as
the institutions of higher education that these students attend, depend
on the Department of Education to process student financial aid
applications and deliver the grant and loan assistance that students
need to obtain a postsecondary education. There is simply no question
that sequestration would have a severely adverse impact on these
beneficiaries of strong Federal support for State and local education
systems, particularly at a time when State and local budgets are still
recovering from the recent economic recession.
I would just add that we do pay attention to evidence of
effectiveness regarding the Department's programs, and we have not been
shy about proposing the elimination of programs that either are not
effective or have limited impact. This is why, with the help of the
Congress, we have eliminated or consolidated no fewer than 49 programs
over the past 3 years, for a total savings of $1.2 billion. In my view,
we have been very successful in cutting the ``fat'' from Federal
education programs; sequestration would require us to cut into the bone
and risk significant damage to students and schools across the Nation.
impact on education programs of sequestration if pell grant program is
exempt
Question. In a September 2011 analysis of sequestration's impact,
the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that nonexempt,
nondefense discretionary programs will face an across-the-board cut of
7.8 percent in fiscal year 2013. At that time, it was unclear how the
Pell grant program factored into CBO's analysis and whether the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) believed the program was subject to
sequestration or if it was exempt.
As you know, I released a report on July 25th entitled ``Under
Threat: Sequestration's Impact on Nondefense Jobs and Services'', that
provided a detailed, State-level analysis of sequestration's effect on
dozens of education, health, and labor programs using CBO's 7.8-percent
across-the-board cut estimate. I recently learned that OMB has ruled
that the Pell grant program is exempt from sequestration. Given that
the Pell grant program's discretionary costs represented 33 percent of
the Department of Education's total discretionary budget in fiscal year
2012, I would like to know how OMB's recent decision affects the cuts
that will need to be made to nondefense discretionary spending,
particularly at the Department, to achieve the required savings under
sequestration.
Answer. Pell grants will be exempt from the fiscal year 2013
sequester. In its September report pursuant to the Sequestration
Transparency Act of 2012, OMB took the Pell grant exemption and many
other factors into account and estimated that the sequester for
nondefense discretionary programs would be 8.2 percent.
______
Question Submitted by Senator Herb Kohl
sequestration guidance for institutions of higher education
Question. Over the past few weeks, we have heard more and more
about how sequestration might affect our Research I universities and
what it will mean for student financial aid and support programs.
However, our smaller regional colleges and universities still have a
lot of questions about what sequestration might mean for them. Does the
Department of Education have any guidance for our smaller institutions
of higher education?
Answer. The administration continues to urge the Congress to pass a
balanced package of deficit reduction that would replace the potential
sequestration. As the September report on sequestration stated, ``. . .
no amount of planning can mitigate the effect of these cuts.'' However,
the exemption for Pell grants would make it easier for these smaller
institutions than without the exemption.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Mary L. Landrieu
impacts on reform
Question. I commend the administration on its strong commitment to
education reform through initiatives like Race to the Top, Investing in
Innovation (i3), the Charter Schools Program, and the Teacher Incentive
Fund. Targeted investments in such evidence-based programs have
leveraged significant education reforms in Louisiana and across the
country.
Mr. Secretary, can you please address how sequestration might alter
the administration's education reform agenda and its impact on our
Nation's efforts to close the achievement gap?
Answer. Reducing investments in education is not the way to close
the achievement gap or stimulate reform. The sequester would cut
significant funding from our foundation formula programs, like title I
and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), that provide
resources for districts and schools serving our neediest students. It
would be hard to avoid reductions in the number of teachers at a time
when school enrollment is increasing. That would not be the formula for
future success in turning around our economy or preparing more students
to be ready for college or careers. I agree that our reform initiatives
have been levers in producing reforms. I think we need to do more, not
less, to stimulate reforms. Now more than ever, when we need to boost
our economy by filling jobs with a future, we should be increasing our
investments in approaches like Race to the Top.
preparation for sequester
Question. I appreciate that the Department has started
communicating with Chief State School Officers about sequestration so
that they can start preparing for the impending cuts. Since there is no
guarantee the Congress will prevent sequestration, I hope that you will
continue to communicate with our State education leaders regarding
sequestration.
Mr. Secretary, can you please discuss the next steps the Department
will take to prepare for sequestration and to ensure that our States
are prepared, as well?
Answer. We are glad that the guidance on the major formula programs
with advance funding (title I of Elementary and Secondary Education Act
[ESEA], IDEA part B, Teacher Quality, and Career and Technical
Education) was helpful to the States. We will continue to monitor
progress in the Congress. As we have said before, the administration
continues to urge the Congress to pass a balanced package of deficit
reduction that would replace the potential sequestration. As the
September report on sequestration stated, ``. . . no amount of planning
can mitigate the effect of these cuts.'' We believe the reductions in
spending would be significant and hope they can be avoided.
preventing sequestration
Question. Although this hearing is focused on the impact of
sequestration on education, I think it's worth discussing efforts to
prevent sequestration from happening in the first place.
Mr. Secretary, how much outreach has the Department conducted on
Capitol Hill to educate Members of Congress and their staff on the
severity of circumstances surrounding these cuts, and will the
Department increase its efforts as fiscal year 2013 approaches?
Answer. The Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-
155) required the President to submit to the Congress a report on the
potential sequestration triggered by the failure of the Joint Select
Committee on Deficit Reduction to propose, and the Congress to enact, a
plan to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion as required by the Budget
Control Act of 2011. In response, in September, the Office of
Management and Budget issued a detailed report based on assumptions
required by the STA. The report provided the Congress with a breakdown
of exempt and nonexempt budget accounts, an estimate of the funding
reductions that would be required across nonexempt accounts, an
explanation of the calculations in the report, and additional
information on the potential implementation of the sequestration.
In addition to that report, the administration has also been
actively discussing the repercussions in hearings like this one and in
communications that provide as much information as possible at this
point in the process. The President has proposed alternatives to the
sequester on at least two occasions, and the administration believes
that its balanced approach to deficit reduction is preferable to the
arbitrary across-the-board reductions.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Richard C. Shelby
education program priorities if sequestration takes effect
Question. Mr. Secretary, if the Congress is able to come up with a
plan that would lessen the sequestration amount but still require
additional discretionary spending reductions, where would you propose
to take these cuts, and what are the priorities you want protected?
Answer. I believe that education is an investment that is even more
important in our tough economic times. I would not be reducing our
education investments. Where it was possible, we have already made many
reductions and achieved significant long-term savings. For example, we
have already eliminated 49 programs in the past 3 years. Those programs
didn't produce expected results, were duplicated by other programs, or
had achieved their original purpose. Those eliminations save $1.2
billion each year. We also made changes in our student aid programs
including $68 billion in savings by eliminating unnecessary subsidies
to banks. We invested these savings in Pell grants and increased the
maximum Pell grant award. And in order to ensure that the Pell grant
program remains fully funded, we made hard choices to reduce student
loan subsidies for graduate students and ended the year-round Pell. In
addition, we kept the interest rate on subsidized Stafford loans for
low-income students from doubling from 3.4 to 6.8 percent.
actions taken to increase program efficiencies given potential
sequestration
Question. Within the Department, what steps have you taken to try
and lessen the impact of sequestration on critical education programs,
and, in particular, what are you doing to increase efficiencies knowing
there could be an upcoming reduction in resources?
Answer. No amount of planning will prepare for the arbitrary
sequester. While we have issued guidance on how we will handle advance-
funded appropriations, we have not been planning for significant
reductions in our key programs. We are operating under the continuing
resolution now, which assumes that funding for fiscal year 2013 will
approximate the levels appropriated in fiscal year 2012.
sequestration impact on unobligated balances, hold-harmless, and
maintenance-of-effort provisions
Question. The Department of Education has provided limited guidance
to States about how the sequester will affect certain programs--in
particular, how education programs that are advance-funded are
impacted. However, it remains unclear how unobligated balances from
fiscal year 2012 will be affected and how hold harmless and/or
maintenance-of-effort (MOE) provisions will be impacted. Can you
provide the subcommittee details on how these provisions will be
affected?
Answer. We do not believe that unobligated balances from fiscal
year 2012 (i.e., funding that the Department has not obligated to
States, school districts, or other recipients) will be affected by the
fiscal year 2013 sequester. There would be no changes in hold-harmless
and/or MOE provisions. Those are usually not dependent on the final
level of appropriation for a given authority.
option for new state and local flexibilities under sequestration?
Question. Dr. June Atkinson, the State Superintendent for North
Carolina, testified that the Department of Education should offer
States and districts new flexibilities if sequestration is implemented.
Does the Department have the authority to provide such flexibilities,
and, if so, what specific flexibility, if any, is the Department
considering providing to States and districts if sequestration is
implemented?
Answer. At this point, we do not see additional flexibilities
arising from the sequester. The sequester will reduce the
appropriations that are provided. The basic authorizing statutes will
not be changed by the reduction in funding.
sequestration impact on local education agencies with greater reliance
on federal funding
Question. It is estimated that the Federal contribution comprises
on average only about 10.8 percent of a local school district's total
funding. On the local level, this means that an automatic cut of 7.8
percent to the Federal share for an average school district would equal
a cut of about .84 percent of its total funding. However, concerns have
been raised that local school districts that rely on Federal funding
for a larger portion of their budget, such as title I school districts,
will have greater challenges implementing sequestration cuts. What
actions could the Department of Education take to lessen the impact on
school districts that rely heavily on Federal funding?
Answer. The sequester would significantly reduce Federal funding.
The cuts in formula programs that receive advance funding for next
school year will have to consider reductions in staff and services.
Those districts relying heavily on Federal funding will have to make
the largest adjustments. We would try to share examples of cost-cutting
efforts that would minimize the negative impact on students and
teachers, but at this point, we are not engaging in such planning.
sequestration impact on origination fees for student loans
Question. Mr. Secretary, you discuss in your testimony the impact
that budget sequestration would have on the ability to administer
student aid programs. It is my understanding that under sequestration
the Department of Education would also be required to increase the
origination fees for Federal student loans which would increase
borrowing costs for students. Can you discuss the changes that the
Department expects to make to origination fees on student loans under
sequestration?
Answer. The Department is proud of its role overseeing the Federal
student aid programs which assist nearly 15 million students annually
to afford the cost of a college education. Part of this role includes
offering low-interest student loans to students and families regardless
of income, with favorable repayment and forgiveness options, and with
low origination fees. Unfortunately, during a period of sequestration
the Department would be required to raise existing origination fees for
Direct Loans by the percentage specified in the sequestration order.
All loan types--Stafford, unsubsidized Stafford, PLUS, and
Consolidation loans--are subject to this increase.
Currently, subsidized Stafford and unsubsidized Stafford loans have
a 1-percent origination fee, and PLUS loans have a 4-percent
origination fee. (Consolidation loans do not have such a fee.) The
borrower is charged a calculated origination fee equal to a percentage
of the principal amount of the loan. The fee is then subtracted from
the principal amount before the loan funds are disbursed to the
borrower. Thus, a borrower would see a smaller disbursement than a loan
in the same amount before sequestration.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Mark Kirk
sequestration impact on local education agencies heavily dependent on
impact aid funds
Question. I understand that sequestration for the Impact Aid
program will take effect on January 2, 2013, while sequestration for
the majority of the other large elementary and secondary education
programs will not go into effect until the 2013-2014 school year. I
have a few questions regarding sequestration for Impact Aid.
Will heavily impacted districts receive the blanket 7.8-percent cut
you described in your testimony on January 2, 2012, or will the 7.8-
percent cut be applied to the Impact Aid program as a whole, with the
possibility that the heavily impacted districts may receive less of a
cut, because these districts have no other options with which to make
up the loss of local tax revenue?
Answer. Most Federal support for the major K-12 education programs
is appropriated on a ``forward-funded'' basis, so a sequestration for
those programs would not have an impact until the 2013-2014 school
year. In contrast, Impact Aid is a ``current-funded'' program. The
Department obligates the great majority of the funding very soon after
we receive an appropriation or during the period of a continuing
resolution, and the program generally supports school district
operations in the year of the appropriation. Because of this difference
in timing, the January 2, 2013, effective date of a sequestration would
affect the Impact Aid funding that eligible districts receive this
school year.
We do not yet know how a sequestration would take effect on a
program-by-program basis and, thus, don't know whether the reduction
would be the same for all programs within the Impact Aid account. I do
note that heavily impacted school districts eligible under section
8003(b)(2) are funded from the same appropriation line item as school
districts that receive regular Impact Aid payments under section
8003(b)(1). The authorizing statute requires that both types of
payments be reduced in a similar manner when funds are insufficient to
provide payments at 100 percent of the Learning Opportunity Threshold
payment or 100 percent of full 8003(b)(2) funding. Therefore, in the
event of sequestration, heavily impacted districts would receive the
same cut to their Impact Aid payments as regular districts.
departmental guidance to impact aid districts on planning for
sequestration
Question. How are you working with the specific Impact Aid
districts so they can plan for reduction in Federal assistance? The
State of Illinois has two communities that receive heavy-impact aid,
and the funding from this program contributes significantly to their
budget.
Answer. In a series of webinars for Impact Aid grantees during
early September, the Department provided a funding outlook for fiscal
year 2013 to alert school districts to the possibility of reduced
payments. The Department described multiple scenarios under a
continuing resolution for part of the fiscal year, and shared basic
information on the possibility of sequestration. The Department will be
prepared to implement sequestration and provide guidance to grantees if
necessary, but the administration remains confident that the Congress
will pass legislation to avoid such drastic and untargeted cuts.
CONCLUSION OF HEARING
Senator Harkin. I will gavel to close unless somebody had
something they wanted to offer.
Going, going, thank you very much. The subcommittee will
stand in recess.
[Whereupon, at 11:54 a.m., Wednesday, July 25, the hearing
was concluded, and the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene
subject to the call of the Chair.]
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