[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 37 (Friday, March 7, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E387]]


                              IDEA FUNDING

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                          HON. DARLENE HOOLEY

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 2003

  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, today I want to address an issue 
that is of great concern to my home state of Oregon, and to states 
around the country.
  When Congress enacted the predecessor legislation to the Individuals 
with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) in 1975, we made a commitment 
to provide children with disabilities access to a quality public 
education. The assumption was that education for children with 
disabilities was, on average, twice as costly as education for 
nondisabled children. As a result, Congress authorized the federal 
government to pay up to 40 percent (sometimes termed the IDEA ``full-
funding'' amount) of each state's excess cost of educating children 
with disabilities. Not once in the past 28 years has Congress lived up 
to its obligation and states have had to shoulder the brunt of this 
unfunded mandate.
  The state and school districts are forced to pick up the additional 
costs, putting additional strain on our education funding. The FY 2003 
appropriation for Part B of IDEA was $8.9 billion or 17.6 percent of 
the ``excess cost,'' leaving states and local school districts with an 
unfunded federal mandate of over $10 billion. That is $10 billion that 
our states and school districts could be spending to alleviate state 
budget crises, reduce class sizes, build and modernize schools and 
implement technology into education.
  States across the Nation are dealing with an economic crisis, facing 
large state budget deficits and making deep cuts to services. In my 
home state of Oregon, the latest round of budget cuts have hit 
essential services such as education, and Oregon school districts are 
facing many tough decisions including shutting down early.
  Make no mistakes about what this legislation is about: it is about 
keeping the promise of funding the mandate the federal government has 
put on the states and relieving the school funding crises that states 
across the Nation are facing. In Oregon, this legislation would provide 
about $100 million that the federal government is obligated to fund for 
education, each and every year. With state's budget crisis, threats of 
a shortened school year and significant layoffs, this money is very 
important.
  It is high time we renew our commitment to our Nation's children and 
pay the federal government's share of the cost of IDEA. That is why 
Congresswoman Nancy Johnson and I are introducing legislation that 
would appropriate money to bring the federal government's share of IDEA 
funding to the full 40 percent by FY 2008 and I urge my colleagues to 
join me in this effort.

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