Education | Page 5 | The Office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

Democrats are committed to ensuring all Americans have access to a high-quality education. If our nation is going to remain the world’s leader, we must not lag our global competitors in education. Democrats are focused on making higher education and skills training more accessible, reducing high school dropout rates, and providing students with the support they need to secure well-paying jobs.

From day one, the Trump Administration has undermined protections for and disinvested in America’s students. President Trump’s budget proposes to cut teacher training and literacy programs and reduces funding for the schools and communities most in need. Congressional Republicans have also proposed extreme funding bills that dramatically cut education and job training programs, threatening our ability to build a competitive workforce and help more Americans find good-paying work.

Democrats are fighting to protect families from these harmful cuts and have a strong record of making investments that will strengthen education. Democrats have increased Pell grants, cut red tape in the loan process, and made it easier to repay student loans once students join the workforce. Democrats also enacted a major reform bill that ended wasteful taxpayer subsidies to big banks and directed the savings to helping students instead. Democrats also made record investments in community colleges and minority-serving higher education institutions.

Education Related

A Choice of Two Futures: What Would You Choose?

Yesterday, Republicans unveiled a more-of-the-same budget for fiscal year 2013 that ends the Medicare guarantee while protecting tax cuts for the wealthy, and puts our economic recovery at risk. The Republican budget makes the wrong choices and places the burden of deficit reduction onto seniors, the middle class, working families, and the most vulnerable by refusing to ask the wealthiest among us to contribute. Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan called on the American people to make a choice between two futures for our nation. Here’s a look at our future under the Republican budget – and the future Democrats envision instead.

3/21/12

Hoyer Statement on Workforce Investment Act of 2012

Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member George Miller, Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, and Rep. John Tierney introduced the Workforce Investment Act of 2012.

3/20/12

Hoyer Op-ed: Eliminating Childhood Poverty in America

As an early educator, my wife Judy devoted her career to helping provide children with the opportunities, care, and support they deserve. Before she passed away in 1997, Judy had already impacted the lives of so many children in Prince George's County, Maryland, where she oversaw the county's early education programs.

2/2/12

Will GOP’s Do-Nothing Congress Abandon Partisanship & Get to Work On Job Creation?

Tonight the President will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress, and discuss his “Blueprint for an America Built to Last,” a plan that will emphasize four pillars to support economic revitalization: American values, American manufacturing, American energy and skills for American workers. These pillars line up with House Democrats’ Make It In America plan, which aims to support job creation by cultivating an encouraging environment for businesses to innovate and make products here in the U.S.

1/24/12

American Education Week: Democrats Continue to Prioritize Investments in Our Nation’s Future

This week our nation celebrates American Education Week, a time to focus on our commitment to students and educators and rededicate ourselves to ensuring all Americans can receive a quality education. While Republicans have voted several times over the past year to make reckless cuts to education and job training, Democrats remain committed to making investments in our nation’s future. For example, just two months ago, the Obama Administration awarded Community College and Career Training grants, authorized by the Reconciliation Act of 2010, to community colleges to expand and improve education and job training programs and create pathways for people who are looking for employment.

11/17/11

American Education Week: Democrats Continue to Prioritize Investments in Our Nation’s Future

This week our nation celebrates American Education Week, a time to focus on our commitment to students and educators and rededicate ourselves to ensuring all Americans can receive a quality education. While Republicans have voted several times over the past year to make reckless cuts to education and job training, Democrats remain committed to making investments in our nation’s future. For example, just two months ago, the Obama Administration awarded Community College and Career Training grants, authorized by the Reconciliation Act of 2010, to community colleges to expand and improve education and job training programs and create pathways for people who are looking for employment.

11/17/11

Hoyer Statement on Senate Republicans Blocking Bill to Keep Teachers and First Responders On the Job

Last night's vote demonstrated once again that Republicans in Congress are more concerned with positioning for the next election than doing what's necessary to help get Americans back to work. The bill blocked by Senate Republicans would have kept thousands of teachers in the classroom and thousands of first responders at the ready in communities across the country. Over and over, Republicans seem intent on torpedoing any proposal by the President and Democrats, even if it contains bipartisan ideas and would benefit those who are desperately seeking jobs. It is long past time for them to work together with Democrats to pass job-creating legislation like the one they blocked last night. I strongly urge Republican Leader McConnell to reconsider and allow the Senate to move forward with this and other measures to create jobs now.

10/21/11

Hoyer Statement on the President’s Back to School Address

Our students represent a generation of abundant promise. We can help them reach their full potential by making critical investments today, and this includes providing greater resources to teachers, engaging more parents, and turning around failing schools.

9/28/11

Hoyer Statement on Obama Administration's Announcement on No Child Left Behind Rules

Today’s announcement by the President to provide states with flexibility in return for education reform is a positive step, and I look forward to learning more details about the Administration’s plan. Maryland and other states awarded funding through the Race to the Top grant program have been undertaking serious efforts aimed at raising graduation rates, ensuring high-quality teachers in every classroom, and closing the achievement gap in key subjects such as reading and math. I am disappointed that Congress has not yet been able to come together on a bipartisan basis to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which is a central component of Democrats’ Make it in America jobs plan. I hope doing so will be the next step as we continue seeking ways to prepare more of our students to succeed.

9/23/11

Democrats Stand with Middle Class Families and Seniors; Support Deficit Reduction Plan That Asks All Americans to Pay Their Fair Share

The deficit reduction plan put forward by the President is a balanced approach to reduce the deficit, create jobs, strengthen entitlement programs and ensure that all Americans pay their fair share. But rather than work with Democrats on a balanced plan, Republicans immediately rejected the President’s proposal because it calls on all Americans to do their part. By opposing a plan that asks the wealthy to pay their fair share, Republicans will be forced to answer the question: Who do they stand with?

9/20/11

Statement

Hoyer Floor Statement on Charter School Program Reauthorization

While I would prefer for us to be addressing a reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, today’s legislation reflects bipartisan support for innovation in public schools and improving educational opportunities for students who still lack access to a high-quality education.

9/8/11

Hoyer Statement on Obama Administration's Announcement on No Child Left Behind Reform

Today, the Obama Administration announced that it is taking steps to reform No Child Left Behind – a flawed law that is long overdue for reauthorization. Education is critical to our nation’s economic success, which is why the Democrats’ Make It In America agenda prioritizes investments in key areas like education. This plan aims to ensure that our nation has a workforce prepared to succeed in the global economy and that our schools have the resources they need to help our children achieve those goals. This includes maintaining accountability measures to make sure students are truly ready for college and high-paying careers with opportunity for growth; attracting the best and the brightest to the teaching profession, and compensating them appropriately; and providing schools with the tools to help them succeed. Our future as a nation depends on it.

8/8/11

Whip Hoyer and Senator Rockefeller: Celebrating What Makes U.S. Great

Each July 4, we celebrate our nation’s independence and again take pride in America’s history. This pride comes from knowing that the courage, determination and hard work of generations of Americans before us — many of whom fought and died to preserve our liberty — made our country what it is today.

7/5/11

Hoyer Statement on Interest Rate Cuts for Subsidized Student Loans

Today, the interest rate on subsidized student loans will be cut to 3.4% – the last of four steps under the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Enacted under a Democratic-led Congress, this law has cut the interest rate on subsidized student loans in half – from 6.8% to 3.4% over four years. This law was a key part of Democrats’ agenda to make college more affordable and accessible for millions of American students and their families. Due to these cuts, the average student borrower who started college in 2008 will have saved $2,570 over the life of their loan.

7/1/11

Six-Month Progress Report: Republican Agenda Thin on Jobs, Abandons American Priorities and Values

When Republicans took the House majority, they pledged to focus on creating jobs and growing the economy. But after six months, they still haven’t put forward a comprehensive jobs agenda. While Democrats are focused on the Make It In America agenda, a plan to support job creation and boost working families, Republicans are pursuing a partisan agenda that has the wrong priorities.

6/24/11

Statement

Hoyer Remarks at "Make It In America" Press Conference

Through the centuries, Americans and people around the world have seen America as the land of opportunity—a place where they and their families could “make it.” Today, Democrats are presenting an agenda that focuses on that dream and seeks to make it real for all Americans, an agenda for the 112th Congress—a job-creating agenda, which we’ve worked hard to develop.

5/4/11

Hoyer pushes 'Make It in America'

Win the Future might be President Obama’s economic slogan of choice, but Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) wants the White House to adopt another catchy phrase: Make It in America.

5/4/11

Speech

Hoyer Highlights Health Care and Education Affordability Benefits for Young Adults

One year ago, Democrats took bold action to pass the Affordable Care Act and the Education Reconciliation bill. Today, these laws are putting patients—not insurance companies-- back in control of their health care. And American families and students are now benefitting from new protections and greater freedoms.

3/30/11

Hoyer Statement on Re-Introduction of the Full-Service Community Schools Act

I am proud to introduce the Full-Service Community Schools Act today. Full-service community schools are part of re-imagining how we can make sure our children get the education they deserve. These schools tap into community resources to ensure that when children go to school, they are ready to learn and their families are prepared to support learning. Students and their families are able to access a wide range of services – from early childhood programs, to health clinics and dental care, to English lessons and career advice for parents. These services remove serious obstacles that would prevent children from succeeding.

3/15/11

Democrats Continue to Call on Republicans to Put Forward a Spending Measure to Cut and Compromise

Today the House will consider a short term continuing resolution to fund the government for the next three weeks. Democrats continue to call on Republicans to cut and compromise on a measure that funds the government for the full year so that we prevent a shutdown and stop funding the government in week-by-week increments, which is inefficient and disruptive to the private and public sector.

3/15/11

Republican Progress Report: GOP Fails on Job Creation, Fiscal Responsibility

When Republicans took the House majority, they pledged to create jobs and immediately start cutting the deficit. But they still haven’t put forward a real agenda to create jobs or to address the deficit in a serious way. A look at the past two months shows Republicans have failed to address Americans’ top priorities:

2/23/11

Obama Calls for Investments in Education, R&D

President Barack Obama says the U.S. must invest in research and development, science, and especially education — or risk seeing the technological breakthroughs of the future happen in some other country."

2/19/11

Whip Hoyer Discusses the Republican Spending Bill on CNBC

Frankly, we're going through an exercise right now where we are cutting vital programs which will build our country, educate our children and care for our families. We need to cut spending. We need to reduce the deficit. We need to bring spending down, but, frankly, the process going on now is not well thought out. There were no hearings on it, no exposure to the public's ability to come in and say the quality of these cuts that we're considering. So, I think that we need to focus, as we Democrats have been focusing on, educating our children. We cut pell grants in the Republicans' proposal. We need to invest in research and, frankly, an awful lot of the business community that watches this program understands investing as opposed to spending on nonproductive matters. We ought to cut the latter and invest in the former.

2/17/11

Statement

Hoyer Floor Statement on the Republican Spending Bill

In 1993, we looked the fiscal situation of our country in the eye. We had sustained $1.4 trillion of deficit spending under President Reagan and $1.1 trillion of deficit spending under President Bush. We put legislation on the floor and said that we need to meet our fiscal responsibilities. Not a single Republican voted for that legislation. But over the next eight years, we had a net surplus in this country—the only time in the lifetime of anyone in this body that it’s happened. Unfortunately, the last administration ran up $3.8 trillion in deficits. And we inherited an economy that was in substantial freefall. We adopted legislation that tried to stabilize the economy, and the good news is that the economy has stabilized. But we still haven’t gotten to where we want to be—far too many Americans remain out of work.

2/15/11