Can Washington Really Reduce Federal Education Programs?
Why is it important to eliminate unnecessary Federal education programs? Because they are contributing to the spending binge going on in Washington that is hurting our economy and making it harder for the private-sector to create jobs.
Last week the General Accounting Office issued a report entitled, Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars and Enhance Revenue. When I read this report I felt I had travelled back in time to 1998 when the House Education and Workforce Committee issued the Education at a Crossroads report. This project, spearheaded by former Representative Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), found over 760 Federal education programs spanning 39 Federal agencies, boards and commissions with nearly 100 programs not funded. In this most recent report, GAO found 82 Federal teacher quality programs across 10 different agencies, 56 family literacy programs across 20 different agencies, and 44 employment and training programs. Clearly, numerous Federal education programs have been created since 1998 and the problem is out of control.
The Education at a Crossroads report was an official Committee document issued in July 1998. It allowed Members of Congress at the time to focus on programs that worked and attempt to eliminate those that did not. I strongly recommend Members and staff read this report. Congressman Hoekstra’s Oversight Subcommittee held numerous hearings on this report and many of its findings still resonate today.
“The Subcommittee recommended that the education policy in the United States make ensuring that all children receive a quality education its first priority, not preserving ineffective programs and bureaucracies. However, the federal government cannot consistently and effectively replicate success stories throughout the nation in the form of federal programs. Instead, federal education dollars should support effective State and local initiatives, ensuring that it neither impedes local innovation and control, nor diverts dollars from the classroom through burdensome regulations and overhead. The federal government should play only a limited role in education.”
The Committee used this report to guide education policy in the 105th Congress and beyond. Over the ensuing years, the House of Representatives consolidated numerous job training programs into four Federal “block grants”, eliminated and consolidated 34 K/12 education programs when it passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, and passed HR 3298, The Dollars to the Classroom Act, in 1998 to ensure that 95 cents of every Federal dollar gets to the actual classroom. Unfortunately, few, if any, of these programs were eliminated in the final versions of these bills. In fact, numerous Federal education programs have been created since that time. Fast forward to 2011 and the statement by Chairman John Kline (R-MN) at a February, 2011 Education and Workforce hearing:
“Since 1980, federal spending on education has increased by 425 percent yet student achievement has failed to improve. Clearly, the current system isn’t working. It is time we stopped measuring our commitment to education by the dollars we spend.”
While there have been many accomplishments in education policy over the last decade, reducing Federal education programs and spending has not been one of them.
This is not a partisan issue as Republicans, even conservatives, are guilty of creating new Federal programs to highlight a pet issue or concern. Just like earmarks, Federaleducation programs multiply with little regard for effectiveness or duplication. In fact, a little known program, Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) jumped from $37 million in 1994 to over $300 million in 2002 ---all during Republican control of the Congress. The majority of these funds were earmarked for specific projects where the Administration had little control. Many will argue that this was one of the primary reasons that Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives in 2006. “We have become the Democrats” was an often heard comment and not too far from the truth at least with regard to Federal spending.
Needless to say I was happy to watch the House of Representatives, during consideration of the Continuing Resolution a few weeks ago, cut over $60 billion in Federal discretionary spending, with almost $5 billion coming from the Department of Education. Numerous unnecessary education programs were eliminated such as Ready to Learn Television, State Grants for Incarcerated Youth and programs for Native Hawaiians and Alaskans. Many, if not all of these, have been on the chopping block in the past only to rise from the ashes like the mythical bird, the Phoenix. And just last year, Congressman Buck McKeon (R-CA) introduced H.R. 2274, the Priorities in Education Spending Act, repealing many of these same programs. Unfortunately, this bill drew little attention and only had 21 cosponsors.
So you may understand why I might be a little skeptical that the Congress can be successful in curtailing their appetite for Federal education programs. However, I am optimistic that 2011 could be the “Year of Program Eliminations” at the Department of Education. The new class of 87 Republican freshmen is extremely focused on reducing spending and has no loyalties to any of these programs. Once again the debate on the federal role in education is a hot topic. The GAO’s report is timely and useful and will hopefully add to this momentum.
But this must not just be done by the appropriators. The authorizations for these programs must be repealed and taken off the books so that they cannot be funded in the future. Sunsets do not work. In the past, Federal education programs have continued to receive funding even increases, regardless of whether the authorization for the program had expired. Bills, such as HR 2274, must be re-introduced and enacted and larger programs such as the Safe and Drug Free Schools Act and 21st Century Community Learning Centers must also be scrutinized with an eye toward major reductions or eliminations. One major policy question Congress should ask is: Should Federal resources be targeted to one or two Federal programs such as Title 1 or IDEA? After all, the majority of these other Federal education programs serve the same student population as these two major programs.
I know from first-hand experience that this is not an easy undertaking. The Congress has tried and failed in the past. There are powerful constituencies both on and off the Hill that support each and every one of these programs and they will do whatever it takes to keep them funded. Several Senators have already written a letter disputing that programs such as the National Writing Project and Close-Up are traditional earmarks and have requested that their funding be restored. However, it is encouraging to note that the short-term Continuing Resolution enacted into law last week eliminated numerous Federal education programs. The Administration has also requested that several of these programs be terminated in their 2012 budget. Will the stars align in 2011 and the path begun by the Education at a Crossroads project become a reality? We shall see in the weeks and months ahead.
The Federal budget is full of unnecessary and ineffective programs. If Congress cannot eliminate these relatively small education programs and resist the temptation to create new ones to take their place we will continue to repeat the past and our economy will continue to suffer. Washington needs to stop spending money we don’t have on programs we don’t need.
Sally Lovejoy
March 10, 2011
