The subcommittee will come to order. Good morning. Good to see this morning. Welcome to the subcommittee. This is our second Budget Hearing of the year. , we are goingknow to examine the department of education budget request for fiscal year 2021. As i was reviewing the budget materials, this much was clear to me. To privatizeng Public Education. I believe it is the wrong direction for our students and for our country. We need to be moving towards earlying policies like childhood education, that we know helps students succeed. We see this in other countries around the globe. They are not shrinking public support but are expanding it. I will get more into the consequences that you are proposing, but i want to start by examining your privatization philosophy. The false premise on which it is built and the research. , theary to your claim Public Education system, which 90 of our children attend, has witnessed significant progress for all groups of students. Scores haveematics improved for fourthgraders by 14 . Eighthgraders 7 . Overall, reading improvements have been more modest. Fourthgraders scores improved and eighthgraders by 3 . Hispanic fourthgraders scores improved by 6 and eighthgraders by 5 . Higherre significantly than 40 years ago for all racial and ethnic groups. I reflect on that and i ask myself a question. Withoutuld we be federal investment . There is no question that there is more to do to just to address this disparity. We know that we face significant challenges. Education districts where they experience poverty, exposure to violence, all resulting in trauma. The solution is not less resources, nor is it more privatization. Just a quote for you from a cantor. Y dr. Pamela a psychiatrist. Cofounded an Educational Organization called turnaround for children. It translates the science of intoing and development problemsolving in our schools. She led a Team Commission to new york city on the board of education to assess the impact of a terrorist attack on Public Schoolchildren. What did she find . 68 of the children they observed experienced trauma but it is from their ongoing experience of growing up in poverty, not from what they witnessed that terrifying september day. Administration has shown how privatization has let students down. The Trump Administration evaluated the Scholarship Program and found that vouchers had statistically negative impact on the mathematic achievement of students. Massvouchers, lower achievements. That is not a loan data point. Studies multisector have found that no student achievement scores for children in private schools were higher than those in Public Schools by any statistically significant degree. They found it to be the case in indiana, in louisiana and there are other examples that i can make it available to you and tear staff. You push to privatize is not supported by data. The consequences would be to undermine the education of our students in every state, particularly for vulnerable students. Including the rural parts of our country. He would eliminate the highly competitive grant program. You would endanger academic tutoring, personal counseling and other programs 300,000 programs byslashing 400 million. It serves low income, firstgeneration students and students with disabilities, helping them to graduate. You would endanger Education Access for children. Gh home risks homelessness. 200 million. More than 1. 3 million enrolled children have experienced homelessness at some point. 7 . Ncrease of you would endanger youth literacy. Undermining efforts to support diverse teachers by eliminating the main program. We increased for the first time in many years. 2. 1 2. 1en Million Dollars away from this program. 40 of undergraduate students. While pel covered 79 of the inrage cost of tuition fees 1975, it covers only 90 29 today. Our students cannot afford for us to stand passive. Finally, your budget would risk exacerbating challenges of under converting it into the block grant. These districts already struggle with higher transportation costs and he want to undermine their funding in this way. It is unacceptable. You with all sincerity. This is not going to happen. It is not going to happen. I am supportive of the recognition of the state grant, career and Technical Education a proposed increase. I am disappointed that we are left with level funding. You have once again requested an increase for student loan servicing. We want to conduct more oversight. Many of these ideas stem from an oversight hearing that they held last year. I will need to see how the department implements the new requirement as i review your request for next year. There is a place for Charter Schools. They had a role in our education system. We have moved in the direction of creating a parallel education system. To this point, they have not been forthcoming. I believe Charter Schools should be held to the same rigor. Clearly, againre in my view seeking to privatize education Public Education. I hope that we are not going to do that because doing so ignores the research, indicating the games that we have made. There are many areas where it short changes students. Indicated on the board of education and it ignores the spirit and values of this country. No, we need to be expanding public policy, not restricting or reducing. I look forward to our discussion today and now it is my pleasure to turn to my colleague and member of the subcommittee. Thank you. This is my favorite time of year because i get to spend so much time with you and this committee. It is always a delight. Madam secretary, it is particularly a pleasure. A longknown you for time, long before we were in our respective capacities. There are two things i know about you. One is that you have always been for individualizing education. What is the right job, role or place for this particular student to be . I see a lot of that in this budget as well. It does not bother me. I like the idea that you are willing to break the mold and think about this because we have a lot of challenges. You are our chief officer overseeing the most diverse educational system in the world. Everything from great comprehensive, state institutions to regional facilities, private christian colleges. Like everybody else, most of the young people i represent and their families go to Public Schools. I have private Religious Schools , i have home schools and they all do a good job. Robustone of the most systems in the country and i was pleased with a number of proposals made in that regard. Looking forward to your testimony. As a former educator, i understand how important it is to have quality education. Importantof our most willing blocks. It impacts light it impacts development. To see itsed continues to prioritize resources to children who need additional support. As you know, i am a strong supporter of Technical Education and i am proud that my home state is delivering cuttingedge goods that can lead to paying and rewarding careers for students who do not wish to pursue a liberal arts degree. I am looking forward to asking you more questions about the substantial increases in your budget. I also want to recognize your thatsal for pell grants offer a credential in high demand fields. Offer hightunities employment in a variety of fields. Interesting to me how many times we have had members coming here pushing forfically Technical Education in terms of Job Opportunities and talking to employers. You really focus on a key area. Other membersto of congress who believe that it is time to make pell grant available. I applaud you for putting that on the table for us to consider. Your budget proposes to eliminate, consolidate and change over two dozen programs. Many of them make sense in terms of consolidation, but i believe i was shortsighted. It is no surprise to you. It is a possession i have held throughout my career. Im concerned about the proposal to consolidate several into a stream. Serveinstitutions distinct populations. I am sure such a change makes sense. Overlooked or , if they are not singled out or special attention. Acknowledge your proposal to address limitations. Aidblishing federal student is an issue that is worth thinking about. I do support your efforts to streamline and create a more user focused system. Next in ration project promises to modernize the student loan infrastructure. Support block grants, i do have concerns that consolidating certain programs could have negative consequences for the students we hope to benefit. Here that some are welcoming to Charter Schools and others are not. I know you probably know more about this than anybody else on the panel. I am interested in hearing your perspective on that. I know you faced a difficult challenge. This is not necessarily your budget. You work for the president of the u. S. You had to wrestle with a much smaller budget you otherwise would have chosen. Expect you to be supportive of the president s position on this. In a difficult position. Sometimes you are forced to make cuts that you did not advocate. That you sometimes make an argument that we might agree with appear, but publicly, you have to make the case. I respect that. Positions you the take. Frankly for, quite your dedication to Public Service. A strong quality education for students across the country will remain a fundamental priority in the creation of the hhs bill. My friend has always been a good partner in that endeavor. Chair of the committee or Ranking Member. Crafting aard to budget that balances our many priorities. Testimonyward to your and you will back the balance of my time. I think my friend thank you, my friend. We will put it together as we did in the past and now i would like to turn to the distinguished chair of the full committee for any comments that she might have. And thank you, madam secretary. I look forward to the exchange of ideas. Thank you for holding this hearing. This is the fourth budget request congress has received. It has been filled with program cuts and outright eliminations. Year, we areevious going to reject this proposal. The numbers do not lie. You propose illuminating 41 programs, cutting Education Funding overall by 6. 2 billion. The department of education studenton is to promote achievement and preparation for Global Competitive risks by fostering Educational Excellence and ensuring equal access. Your budget is clearly on a different mission. It would take more than my allotted time to read the complete list. Few. L only highlight a one demonstrates a lack of commitment across elementary, secondary and postsecondary postsecondary education. Your Budget Proposal has eliminated this crucial support. You propose eliminating fullservice Community Schools in my district. Elementary school was among the first to implement the fullservice Community School model. Integrating academics, strength family as it empowers communities. I was an author at the time. It is so exciting to see these youngsters. Parents of it all there, to have the parents come in and be a part of it are very exciting. I must admit that it was disappointing to me to see this program eliminated. Disappointing because i know your interest in educating all the kid. It is vital for combating inequality. Can learnmilies Afterschool Program so they can , but your budget request eliminates this funding. The one in five students help studentsrams successfully pursue degrees. He would cut funding to the need bye access they nearly 72 . 72 is a lot of parents and children who will not be able to access this opportunity. Access this opportunity. More than 2 billion in Student Financialaccess this opportunit. More than 2 billion in Student Financial aid and grants will be cut. Instead, squandered on a border wall. I limiting programs and reducing funds, this budget request would bridge the gap. Would your response address this concern. Thank you, madam secretary. I will ask you to take five minutes time to summarize. After that, we will proceed to fiveminute rounds for questions. Madam secretary, please begin. And members ofer the subcommittee, thank you for to testify ony the 2021 budget. To testify on the 2021 budget. It is important to remember that federal Government Spending does not determine everything that in the 2021 budget. It is important to remember that federal Government Spending does not determine everything that is important to us, nor is it the only solution. We the people overcome people overcome challenges. That is why this budget is focused on returning power to the people. Ourour budget begins by understanding that education is a local issue. It would not increase the authority of the government over education nor education nor diminish the responsibility for education, which is reserved to the states. This Administration Proposes withess aligned the budget that 40 year old promise. The budget would take a big with that 40 year old promise. The budget would take a big step towards the role and education so that families, teachers, state and local leaders are free to do what is right for the students. To do what is right for the students. It would expand budget freedom for students, so they can prepare for successful careers. It would refocus our approach to Higher Education so that students are at each Year Congress grew the budget from nearly 7 billion in 1980 to more than 41 billion in 2020 for k12 education alone. But what have we bought with all that spending . Just open up the latest nations report card to see the sad results. No real improvement in student achievement in decades. So instead of holding fast to what we know does not work, let me suggest we find the courage to do something bold and begin a new era of student growth and achievement. The every Student Succeeds act gives us insight into where to go. Ssa became law because education had failed. So you moved to restore the proper roles in education. The bipartisan to address local channels. This Administration Proposes congress compliment its work on essa and make the budget match the law. States must work with local communities and families to develop comprehensive plans. And so states should be able to pay accordingly. Into one single block grant. Overall, americans spend about 860 billion on k12 education every year. Last Year Congress appropriated about 24 24 billion of that. Or roughly 2. 5 of total education spending. And yet each year, teachers and School Leaders spend more than 2 million hours complying with federal recordkeeping requirements for that small slice of the pie. 2 million hours. More than 83,000 days. Teachers, administrators, and leaders need to work on people not paperwork. Results, not regulation. Different state wills invest their share dumpbtly and thats differntly and thats okay. In fact, thats what we hope they do. They can better figure out what their students need because they know their students. Every student is unique and each one of them learns differently. Every child needs the freedom to learn in places and ways that work for them. Thats why the president s 2021 budget also renews the calls for an investment in americans students. Our proposal is a dollar for dollar federal income tax credit for voluntary contributions to state based nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships directly to students. I like to picture kids with backpacks representing funding following them whereever they go to learn. The budget also requests an increase in supporting children with disabilities amounting to a total of 14 billion. Theres also a request for a dramatic expansion of career and Technical Education programs. At an overall increase of nearly 900 million, its the largest investment in cte ever. It includes a total for perkins state grants. Additionally were requesting 150 million, an increase of more than 135 million to fund stem activities led by hbcus and other minority serving institutions located in opportunity zones. This administration wants every student in america to have more education options that focus on preparing them for successful careers. Consider that fsa is a bank that has dra mat you cannily outgrown its structure. We propose a new governance structure and whether fsa should be a stand alone entity. In the meantime, were continuing to build on the reforms with one operating system, one website. And importantly on providing customers, students, and their families with a seamless student loan experience. In the end, our budget is about one thing. Putting students and their needs above all else. Its a budget that recognizes that no student and no state, no teacher and no town are the same. States need to be free to address the particular problems of their people. And students of all ages need the freedom to find their fit. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Im happy to respond to your questions. Thank you. Were missing larry keene. So welcome to you as well. To justify your cuts does not improve Student Outcomes. Student outcomes by northwest economists found statistically significant positive results for students in 12 out of 13 studies. Jackson concludes by and large the question of whether Money Matters is essentially settled. I dont understand, madam secretary, why do you continue to claim that Additio