SCHAKOWSKY CALLS ON REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS TO LIVE UP TO COMMITMENTS ON EDUCATION LAUNCHES EDUCATION PROMISES BROKEN WEBSITE TO EXPOSE FUNDING CUTS TO EDUCATION IN ILLINOIS AND THE NATION

LAUNCHES "EDUCATION PROMISES BROKEN" WEBSITE TO EXPOSE FUNDING CUTS TO EDUCATION IN ILLINOIS AND THE NATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today called on Republicans in the House of Representatives to live up to their commitment on education. Schakowsky launched "Education Promises Broken" website to illustrate the impact the proposed cuts to education funding would have on Illinois and the rest of the nation. educationpromisesbroken.shtml

The website includes two Congressional reports from the Democratic staffs of the House Appropriations Committee and House Education Committee. The reports expose Republicans' failures to address national educational priorities.

"A commitment to education without adequate dollars is a broken promise. The Republican budget shortchanges students by cutting funding instead of investing in public education. Democrats in Congress are fully committed to funding our nation's educational needs and to ensuring that no child is left behind," Schakowsky said.

The Senate passed legislation restoring over $3 billion in education funding, but the White House and House Republican leadership have refused to accept that additional funding.

Nationally, the budget proposed by House Republicans:

• Cuts $90 million from last year's education bill. The result is 16,000 fewer teachers receiving training and 50,000 fewer children in after-school programs.
• Freezes childcare and includes only a token increase for Head Start, cutting the number of children currently served and leaving millions of eligible low-income children without the needed resources to advance.
• Underfunds Special Education by a half billion dollars, delaying the goal of full funding of this important program.
• Eliminates Programs- Claims to increase funding overall for Title I, but in actuality eliminates a number of current programs to pay for new initiatives.
• Cuts College Loans- The Republican budget cuts $450 million from Pell grants, reducing the maximum amount each student can receive by $400. It also eliminates the Leveraging Education Assistance Partnerships program, zeroing out 72,000 scholarships for low-income students.

Like the rest of the nation, the state of Illinois will suffer cuts under the Republican House budget. In Illinois, the Republican House budget:

• Cuts $189 million needed to support the Title 1 grants program, which provides supplemental assistance to improve the educational attainment of low-achieving students, especially those in high poverty areas.
• Cuts nearly $540 million from IDEA funding, which is desperately needed to improve special education.
• Cuts $926 million in education funding for homeless children and youth programs.
• Cuts $15 million from grant programs designed to improve teacher quality.