Education

Last week, 41 Nobel-Prize winning scientists issued an open letter to Congress, calling on lawmakers to ensure that the results of scientific research conducted using taxpayer dollars be put online, and made accessible to and useable by the public.  As extraordinary as it seems, at a time when you can get information on just about anything on the Internet, the results of our substantial national investment in science – over $60 billion per year – are not readily accessible to those who paid for it. 

“For America to obtain an optimal return on our investment in science, publicly funded research must be shared as broadly as possible,” the Nobelists declare.  The letter marks the fourth time in five years that leading scientists have called on Congress to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that the Internet has created to allow science to be conducted -- and results shared -- in new and innovative ways.

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According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over two thirds of new jobs created between 2006 and 2016 and approximately 90 percent of new high-growth and high-wage jobs will most likely go to workers with at least some education after high school. Realizing this challenge, President Obama set a goal earlier this year of leading the world in college completion rates by 2020. As recently as 1995, the United States ranked second in the world in college completion. In the years since, it has fallen to fourteenth. Meeting the president’s goal will be critical to the economic security of the nation, as well as individual students—getting there will require rethinking the way the nation prepares its teachers.

In order for the nation’s students to be qualified for the jobs of the twenty-first century, their teachers must be able to provide them with the very best education. Unfortunately, far too many high school educators are walking into the classroom on their first day without the skills they need to prepare students for college and careers.

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Our nation’s veterans are faced with unfathomable challenges abroad, fighting on a daily basis to protect and to serve the American people.  And when they return, they also face difficulties re-entering into civilian life.   The questions are plentiful: “What next?  How can I use what I have learned?  How can I continue to make a difference?  How can I continue to serve?”‪

As Veteran’s Day approaches, I am reminded of the incredible commitment made by our troops to protect the foundations upon which our country was built.  Americans have a long-standing belief in the promise of the future, and as a nation of optimists, we often believe that greater prosperity is forthcoming.  It is for these reasons that we invest in our schools, our children, and our military. ‪

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One of the defining memories of my childhood was stories of the infamous march on Washington by veterans of World War I to collect in advance their promised wartime bonus.

The Government said no, and my veteran father, who carried wounds from the Argonne Forest, watched from his home in Wichita, Kansas, as his former comrades-in-arms were cut down by federal troops on the main boulevard of the nation's capital.

The failed Bonus March left me with a lasting appreciation for the men and women who fight our nation's wars. Never should they have to await their "bonus."  Nor should they have to pay what amounts to a financial penalty in the form of interest on student loans while on active duty. 

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Why do so many schools have auditoriums?

Why do they have athletic fields?

We take features like those for granted today, but there was a time when a school building with anything more than classrooms and chalkboards was considered wildly unorthodox. But, more than a hundred years ago, educators came to realize that schools can be more than simply places for instruction: they can be the center of their communities.

The community schools movement was dedicated to the idea that, as the great educator John Dewey put it in 1902, "The conception of the school as a social center is born of our entire democratic movement." That idea helped make the school building a place for towns and neighborhoods to come together -- to cheer at games, to participate in civic clubs, to get a vaccination, to attend adult courses, and even to vote. Read more...

Another month, and another attempt by the Obama Administration to take over a successful portion of the private sector. Banks, cars, and now student loans. I'm beginning to see a trend here.

Today, the House will complete consideration of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, otherwise known as the public option for higher education (not to be confused with the public option for health care -- but the similarties can't be overlooked). Advocates like the President maintain that if passed, this bill will bring a "level playing field"  between government and private options. Sound familiar?

However, history tells us that when it's all said and done, the only one left standing on the "level" playing field tends to be the government. Read more...

Never before have our nation’s teachers and educators been asked to do so much for our children with so little as education budgets are stretched thin and schools are cutting back on supplies and resources. The Tax Relief for Educators Act, H.R. 3164, which I recently introduced in the House of Representatives, will provide our educators with an important tax break at a time when they are doing more with less.

The Tax Relief for Educators Act makes important improvements to the teacher tax deduction by making the deduction permanent and increasing the amount while indexing it for inflation. Currently the IRS allows teachers to take an above-the-line tax deduction of $250 for out-of-pocket expenses.  This amount has not increased since it was introduced in 2002. The bill will raise the deduction to $500. It also extends the deduction beyond K-12 classroom teachers to include other educators, such as principals, aides, and early childhood teachers, who are instrumental in the education of our children.

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Today new benefits go into effect that will make monthly student loan payments more manageable and affordable for millions of students and borrowers struggling to stay afloat in this tough economic climate.

These benefits were enacted as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, a law I sponsored in 2007 that made historic investments to help more Americans earn a college degree. With the economy against this year's college graduates, this relief couldn't come at a better time. Read more...

The Chrysler and GM filings for Chapter 11 bankruptcy are all the headlines, but the sub-headings aren’t getting much notice. Both deals are happening under the unprecedented direction of the federal government and it’s the little guys that are taking the hit.

This Saturday, I attended an event in Lake Elmo, MN where hundreds of local residents came out in support of a very successful and profitable dealership, Fury Chrysler Dodge. Fury is one of the largest employers in Lake Elmo, as well as one of the most profitable Chrysler dealerships in the metro market. Yet Chrysler, under the direction of the Obama Auto Task Force, is calling for its closure in an attempt to reduce its inventory nationwide by 25 percent.
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In the last year, crises in the credit markets and the economy have dramatically altered the student loan landscape, putting the federally-guaranteed student loan program that private lenders participate in on life support, witnesses told the Committee on Education and Labor yesterday.

The status quo has become impossible to defend. Students and families are not being served as well as they could be and taxpayers are spending billions of dollars annually to finance a broken system. Momentum is building for reforms that will deliver aid to families in a more stable and sustainable way, shielded from any ups and downs in the markets. We can either continue sending billions of dollars to banks and lenders or we can start sending it to students who need more help than ever paying for college in this economy.

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