Support for increased funding for ESEA Title I and IDEA

Along with 76 of my colleagues in Congress, I wrote to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education to request that the largest possible increase in funding be provided for programs authorized by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and by the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act.  Funding from these two laws is vital to schools like ours in the Northern Marianas that serve many students from low-income families and with disabilities.  The House version of the fiscal 2012 appropriations bill for education includes a $1 billion increase in Title I funds and a $1.2 billion increase for IDEA.  That’s approximately $800,000 additional for the Public School System.  Especially in these tough economic times, we have to keep up the level of federal funding for the Northern Marianas, particularly in our priority area of education.  Even when we need to curb spending we cannot cut the funding our future economic success depends upon.