FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2004
Contact: Josh Freed
(202) 225-4431

DENVER, CO – As President Bush prepares to submit his budget to Congress on Monday, February 2, Democratic Floor Whip Diana DeGette (CO-01) called on the President and Republicans in Congress to keep their word to the children and parents of Colorado and fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act. Since the signing of this bipartisan education reform act two years ago, the President has proposed about $17 billion less for education than was promised in the legislation, shortchanging millions of the Colorado’s children.

“Colorado’s teachers, administrators and parents are working extremely hard to improve the education and accountability in our state’s schools,” Rep. DeGette said. “The President and the Republican Congress have abandoned their promise to give Coloradoans the tools they need to make these improvements. Instead of getting the money Colorado needs to meet the standards set by No Child Left Behind, all that Colorado’s kids have gotten is a lesson in broken promises.”

A report prepared by the Office of the Democratic House Leader and the Democratic Appropriations Committee Staff found that, for the current year, schools in Colorado will get $96 million less than promised by the law. This under-funding includes:

· $53 million less for aid to poor school districts in Colorado through the Title I program;
· $12.7 million less for children with disabilities Colorado through the IDEA program;
· $6.5 million less for after-school programs in Colorado;
· $3.9 million less for training and hiring Colorado teachers; and
· $8.8 million less for “Impact Aid” to Colorado school districts with high percentages of military families.

“For two years, the actions of President Bush and the Republican Congress have spoken much louder than their words on education policy,” Rep. DeGette said. “I will continue to fight for a budget that reflects Colorado’s Main Street values, including reducing the federal deficit and providing the funding our schools need to ensure our kids get quality educations, over more budget-busting giveaways to Wall Street."

Note: The Report requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to access the software.
 

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