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S. HRG. 112–717 

THE IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION ON EDUCATION 

HEARING 

BEFORE A

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE 

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

SPECIAL HEARING 

JULY 25, 2012—WASHINGTON, DC 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/ 

committee.action?chamber=senate&committee=appropriations 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont 

TOM HARKIN, Iowa 

BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland 

HERB KOHL, Wisconsin 

PATTY MURRAY, Washington 

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

JACK REED, Rhode Island 

FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey 

BEN NELSON, Nebraska 

MARK PRYOR, Arkansas 

JON TESTER, Montana 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi 

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky 

RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas 

LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee 

SUSAN COLLINS, Maine 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

DANIEL COATS, Indiana 

ROY BLUNT, Missouri 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

CHARLES J. HOUY, Staff Director 

BRUCE EVANS, Minority Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND

EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES

TOM HARKIN, Iowa, Chairman 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii 

HERB KOHL, Wisconsin 

PATTY MURRAY, Washington 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

JACK REED, Rhode Island 

MARK PRYOR, Arkansas 

BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama 

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas 

LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

Professional Staff 

ERIK FATEMI

MARK LAISCH

ADRIENNE HALLETT

LISA BERNHARDT

MICHAEL GENTILE

ROBIN JULIANO

LAURA A. FRIEDEL (Minority) 

SARA LOVE RAWLINGS (Minority) 

JENNIFER CASTAGNA (Minority) 

Administrative Support 

TERI CURTIN
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Opening Statement of Senator Tom Harkin ......................................................... 1 

Sequestration’s Across-the-Board Cut .................................................................... 1 

Sequestration’s Impact on Nondefense Jobs and Services ................................... 1 

Report on Sequestration’s Impact .......................................................................... 2 

Sequestration Study Shows Negative Impact on Gross Domestic Product ......... 2 

Statement of Senator Richard C. Shelby ............................................................... 3 

Too Few Facts From Administration on Precise Impacts .................................... 3 

Chairman’s Sequestration Report .......................................................................... 3 

Budget Control Act of 2011 ..................................................................................... 4 

Indiscriminate Cuts to Programs ........................................................................... 4 

Federal Deficit ......................................................................................................... 4 

Education Budget Request ...................................................................................... 5 

Prepared Statement of Senator Barbara A. Mikulski .......................................... 5 

Impact of Sequestration on Education ................................................................... 5 

Statement of Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, Department of Education 6 

Timeframe for Sequestration .................................................................................. 7 

Arbitrary Cuts Affect Effective and Ineffective Programs ................................... 7 

Short-Term Fix to Long-Term Budget Problems .................................................. 7 

Sequestration Cuts Would Undermine Equity and Reform ................................. 8 

Cuts to Education Impact Military Preparedness ................................................ 8 

K–12 Education Impact Would Begin in Fall 2013 .............................................. 8 

7.8-Percent Cut and Some Specific Impacts .......................................................... 8 

Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act Impact .................................. 8 

Special Education Impact ....................................................................................... 9 

Impact Aid Cuts Would Take Effect January 2 .................................................... 9 

Student Loans Impact ............................................................................................. 9 

Other Federal Agency Cuts Also Impact Education ............................................. 9 

Head Start Program Impact ................................................................................... 9 

National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation Impact ........... 9 

Sequestration Should Be Avoided .......................................................................... 9 

Prepared Statement of Arne Duncan ..................................................................... 10 

Congressional Budget Office Estimate of Sequestration Impact ......................... 10 

Impact on State Formula Grant Programs ............................................................ 11 

Impact on Student Aid Administration ................................................................. 11 

Immediate Effect on Impact Aid and Vocational Rehabilitation ......................... 12 

Effect on Education if Defense Is Made Exempt .................................................. 12 

Congressional Budget Office Estimates—Basis for Projected Education Cuts ... 13 

Priorities Assuming Cuts ........................................................................................ 14 

Education Budget an Investment in the Future ................................................... 14 

Pell Grant Exempt From Sequestration ................................................................ 15 

Joint Subcommittee on Deficit Reduction .............................................................. 15 

Damaging Impact on Families and Communities ................................................. 16 

Impact of Sequestration on U.S. Competitiveness ................................................ 60 

Foreign Countries Increasing Their Competitiveness .......................................... 61 

Balanced, Bipartisan Action Needed ...................................................................... 61 

Impact of Exempting Defense From Sequestration .............................................. 62 

Sequester’s Impact on Already Tight State/Local Budgets .................................. 62 

Important To Maintain Current Reform Efforts ................................................... 63 

Competitiveness Important to National Security ................................................. 63 

Impact of Sequester on School Reform .................................................................. 63 

Broad, Indiscriminate Impact on Education in All Local Education Agencies ... 64 

Potential To Undermine Reforms Achieved and Planned .................................... 65 

Change Since the Last Balanced Budget ............................................................... 65 

Examples of Impact on Chicago Schools ................................................................ 66 
Page

IV 

Access to After-School Activities Among Cuts ....................................................... 66 

Relationship Between After-School Activities and Drop in Crime ...................... 66 

All Options for Fiscal Cuts Must Be on the Table ................................................ 67 

Importance of Compromise ..................................................................................... 67 

Implementation of Education Budget Cuts ........................................................... 67 

Across-the-Board Cut to Education ........................................................................ 68 

Global Competitors Increasing, Not Cutting Budgets .......................................... 68 

Education Cuts Absent Sequestration ................................................................... 68 

Education Is an Investment, Not an Expense ....................................................... 69 

Guidance to Local Education Agencies If Sequester Is Enacted ......................... 69 

Impact on Rural Areas and Students With Disabilities ....................................... 69 

Sequestration Effect on Impact Aid ....................................................................... 69 

Education Budget Increases Since 2008 ................................................................ 70 

Nondepartmental Witnesses ................................................................................... 71 

Statement of June Atkinson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Raleigh, North Carolina ........................................................................................... 71 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 73 

Statement of Billy Walker, Ed.D., Superintendent, Randolph Field Independent School District, University City, Texas ............................................... 76 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 77 

Statement of Neal P. McCluskey, Associate Director, Center for Educational 

Freedom, The Cato Institute, Washington, DC ................................................. 79 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 81 

Inflation-Adjusted Federal K–12 Spending Per Pupil and Achievement of 

17-Year-Olds, Percent Change Since 1970 ......................................................... 82 

Inflation-Adjusted Cost of a Complete K–12 Public Education and Percent 

Change in Achievement of 17-Year-Olds Since 1970 ........................................ 82 

Percent Change in Public School Employment and Enrollment Since 1970 ...... 83 

Statement of Tammy L. Mann, Ph.D., President and CEO, The Campagna 

Center, Alexandria, Virginia ............................................................................... 85 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 87 

Additional Committee Questions ............................................................................ 97 

Questions Submitted by Senator Tom Harkin ...................................................... 97 

Are Federal Education Programs Effective? Would Sequestration Harm Federal Education Programs? ................................................................................... 97 

Impact on Education Programs of Sequestration if Pell Grant Program Is 

Exempt .................................................................................................................. 97 

Question Submitted by Senator Herb Kohl ........................................................... 98 

Sequestration Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education ............................ 98 

Questions Submitted by Senator Mary L. Landrieu ............................................. 98 

Impacts on Reform ................................................................................................... 98 

Preparation for Sequester ....................................................................................... 98 

Preventing Sequestration ........................................................................................ 99 

Questions Submitted by Senator Richard C. Shelby ............................................ 99 

Education Program Priorities if Sequestration Takes Effect ............................... 99 

Actions Taken To Increase Program Efficiencies Given Potential Sequestration ........................................................................................................................ 99

Sequestration Impact on Unobligated Balances, Hold-Harmless, and Maintenance-of-Effort Provisions ................................................................................... 100 

Option for New State and Local Flexibilities Under Sequestration? .................. 100 

Sequestration Impact on Local Education Agencies With Greater Reliance 

on Federal Funding .............................................................................................. 100 

Sequestration Impact on Origination Fees for Student Loans ............................ 100 

Questions Submitted by Senator Mark Kirk ......................................................... 101 

Sequestration Impact on Local Education Agencies Heavily Dependent on 

Impact Aid Funds ................................................................................................ 101 

Departmental Guidance To Impact Aid Districts on Planning For Sequestration ........................................................................................................................ 101 
(1) 

THE IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION ON 

EDUCATION 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012 

U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN

SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met at 10:03 a.m., in room SD–124, Dirksen 

Senate Office Building, Hon. Tom Harkin (chairman) presiding. 

Present: Senators Harkin, Murray, Durbin, Reed, Pryor, Mikulski, Brown, and Shelby. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR TOM HARKIN

Senator HARKIN. The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and 

Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will come to 

order. 

SEQUESTRATION’S ACROSS-THE-BOARD CUT

As everyone here is aware, under the Budget Control Act of 

2011, virtually all Federal programs face an across-the-board cut in 

January 2013 if the Congress does not enact a plan before then to 

reduce the national debt by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. 

So far we’ve heard a great deal about sequestration’s effects on 

Pentagon spending. The defense industry has highlighted the potential impact of an across-the-board cut on defense-related jobs 

and services. Some Members of Congress are now demanding that 

we exempt the Pentagon from sequestration either by finding offsets for the defense cuts only or by making nondefense programs 

bear the full brunt of the entire $1.2 trillion in cuts. 

SEQUESTRATION’S IMPACT ON NONDEFENSE JOBS AND SERVICES

But sequestration wouldn’t apply only to defense. It would also 

have destructive impacts on the whole array of programs that undergird the middle class in this country, everything from education 

to job training, medical research, childcare, food safety, national 

parks, border security, safe air travel, and on and on. These essential Government services and programs directly touch every family 

in America, and they will be subject to deep, arbitrary cuts under 

sequestration. 

Some Members of Congress warn that defense contracting firms 

will lay off employees if sequestration goes into effect. But they say 

nothing of the tens of thousands of teachers, police officers, and 
2 

other public servants in communities all across America who would 

also lose their jobs. 

As far as I’m concerned, a laid-off teacher is just as unemployed 

as a laid-off defense contractor, and they’re both paid by the taxpayers. 

REPORT ON SEQUESTRATION’S IMPACT

So it’s important that we have an accurate assessment of the potential impact of sequestration on the nondefense side of the budget. To that end, this morning, I am releasing a report that provides 

a detailed analysis of sequestration’s effects on dozens of labor, 

health, education, and related programs under the jurisdiction of 

this subcommittee that would happen in fiscal year 2013. Among 

the highlights of this report. States and local communities would 

lose $2.7 billion in Federal funding for just three critical education 

programs alone, Title I, Special Education State grants, and Head 

Start, that serve a combined 30.7 million children. Nationwide, 

these cuts would force roughly 46,000 employees to either lose their 

jobs or rely on cash-strapped States and localities to pick up their 

salaries instead. 

In health, 660,000 fewer people would be tested for HIV; 49,000 

fewer women would be screened for cancer; 212,000 fewer children 

would be vaccinated. 

At a time when the unemployment rate is still above 8 percent, 

1.6 million fewer adults, dislocated workers, and at-risk youth 

would receive job training, education, and employment services. 

And the families of 80,000 fewer children would receive childcare 

subsidies, making it harder for parents to find work. 

This report is available online and much of this information is 

available on a State-by-State basis. For example, you can go there 

and you can click on my State of Iowa and see that sequestration 

will result in about 4,700 fewer people being admitted to substance 

abuse treatment programs, or 500 fewer veterans receiving job assistance next year. 

So I urge you to go to the Senate Appropriations Committee Web 

site and view the report. And once you have read it, you’ll understand why my colleagues and I adamantly oppose any unbalanced 

approach that protects the Pentagon and the wealthiest 2 percent 

in our society while ignoring cuts to nondefense services, including 

education, that’s so critical to the middle class. 

I want to point out one paragraph that’s in the foreword of this 

study. The study is called ‘‘Under Threat’’. You can get it on my 

official Web site also. We just released it this morning. 

[The information follows:] 

‘‘In fact, the economic effects of cuts to nondefense programs could be worse than 

cuts to Pentagon spending. A December 2011 study found that investing $1 billion 

in healthcare or education creates significantly more jobs within the United States 

economy than spending $1 billion on the military. In healthcare, the difference is 

54 percent more jobs; in education, 138 percent more jobs.’’ 

SEQUESTRATION STUDY SHOWS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON GROSS

DOMESTIC PRODUCT

Senator HARKIN. A July 2012 study commissioned by the Aerospace Industries Association found that sequestration’s cuts to non-
3 

defense spending would reduce the U.S. gross domestic product 

(GDP) during fiscal years 2012 to 2021 by a greater amount than 

cuts to defense spending. The study commissioned by the Aerospace Industries Association said that sequestration’s cuts to nondefense discretionary spending, under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee, would reduce our GDP during the next 10 years by a 

greater amount than cuts to defense spending. 

I did not commission that study. It was done by the Aerospace 

Industries Association. The links to both of the reports mentioned 

above are available in our subcommittee report ‘‘Under Threat’’. 

So a better and fairer solution is needed. That is the way we 

solved our previous budget crises in 1982, 1984, 1990, 1993, with 

a balanced approach that includes both spending reductions and 

new revenue. 

In the 5 years following the 1993 deficit-reduction law, the U.S. 

economy created more than 15 million new jobs. Not only did we 

balance the budget, we were on a course to completely eliminate 

the national debt within a decade. So again, we can repeat this success. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. 

So I hope that this report and today’s hearing will motivate 

members of both parties to embrace a spirit of compromise. The 

time for ideological posturing is past. We all agree that sequestration would be tremendously destructive. We all want to avoid it. 

That means we all must come together with good will to hammer 

out a balanced agreement that will not only prevent sequestration 

but reduce our deficit and protect America’s families. 

Today’s hearing examines the impact of across-the-board cuts 

specifically on education, but it could have just as easily focused on 

health or labor. But I think education will provide an instructive 

example of the kinds of arbitrary cuts that would be required in 

nondefense services if sequestration goes into effect. 

We will hear first from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and 

then from a second panel of educators who can explain the local 

and State impacts of sequestration. 

I now yield to Senator Shelby for his opening remarks. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD C. SHELBY

Senator SHELBY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us again today to discuss 

very hot topics like sequestration on the Department of Education. 

TOO FEW FACTS FROM ADMINISTRATION ON PRECISE IMPACTS

I am disappointed that the administration to date has not provided the Congress any details on the impact of sequestration. 

While most of the attention has focused on the devastating and disproportionate cuts to our national security, sequestration will cause 

considerable impact to all parts of our Federal budget. The acrossthe-board cuts that are mandated under sequestration are not the 

answer to confront our fiscal problems. 

CHAIRMAN’S SEQUESTRATION REPORT

I appreciate the chairman’s focus on sequestration and the work 

of his staff on the sequestration report he is releasing today. How-
4 

ever, I am concerned this report does not present an accurate portrayal of the impact of sequestration, because we have not been 

provided any concrete information by the administration to make 

these assumptions. 

For example, the Congress does not know the amount of the 

across-the-board cut. As the chairman’s report states, it could be 

anywhere between 7.8 and 8.4 percent. In real terms, this is a difference of $1 billion in the Labor-HHS program reductions. 

Second, we have no clarity on which Labor-HHS programs are 

exempt from sequestration. The more programs that are exempt 

Governmentwide, the higher the sequestration percentage becomes. 

Third, the report specifies job cuts across programs and States, 

yet we simply have too little definitive information to know if these 

numbers are accurate. The only thing we do know is that agencies, 

programs, and States will have some flexibility to determine how 

reductions are taken and that all cuts will not necessarily lead to 

layoffs. 

Finally, while the report shows some of the potential impacts of 

sequestration, it makes significant assumptions, based on unknown 

data, as to how these cuts will be implemented. 

While the chairman has tried to show the effects of sequestration 

on Labor-HHS programs, in fact, it’s only the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that can accurately provide this type of 

information. Unfortunately, they have remained silent on the issue. 

It is as if the administration might want Members of Congress to 

be both blind and mute on sequestration. This cannot continue. 

Mr. Secretary, I look forward to us having a frank and a specific 

discussion about the impact of sequestration with you. 

BUDGET CONTROL ACT OF 2011

Mr. Chairman, like you, I did not vote for the Budget Control Act 

of 2011. I opposed the bill, because, as we are now seeing firsthand, 

it was a compromise on our financial future. The Super Committee 

was a failure. It was unable to garner even $1 of savings. And as 

a result, our entire Government is now facing the possibility of severe cuts that will impact all aspects of our society. 

INDISCRIMINATE CUTS TO PROGRAMS

The across-the-board cuts that result from the Super Committee’s epic failure last year will be broad, blunt, and slash all programs indiscriminately. 

Sequestration is not the right approach, I believe, to end our fiscal turmoil. In fact, its mere existence has caused huge financial 

uncertainty around the country. 

I believe we need to find a solution to this problem now and end 

the uncertainty crippling school districts, small businesses, and 

education providers. We should not delay a solution to score political points. 

FEDERAL DEFICIT

And while the chairman and I agree that sequestration will have 

a severe and detrimental impact on the Department of Education, 

we cannot forget how we got to this point in the first place. Our 
5 

Nation is $15.8 trillion in debt, a number that grows by $42,000 

every second. 

EDUCATION BUDGET REQUEST

In the past few years, the Federal Government has been recording the largest budget deficits since 1945. Yet the Department of 

Education’s budget request for 2013 did little to curb spending to 

put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable path. In fact, it asked for 

an increase of $1.7 billion in discretionary spending and then went 

on to request $62.9 billion in new mandatory funding for the socalled American Jobs Act. 

And while it is my understanding, Mr. Secretary, that departments were directed to disregard the possibility of sequestration in 

their budget requests, you should have not disregarded, maybe, 

economic reality. 

Our Nation, I believe, cannot continue to spend money we don’t 

have. And as we work to solve the sequestration issue, it’s important to remember that a resolution today does not exempt programs from constraints tomorrow. 

Mr. Chairman, we need to reign in Federal spending and put our 

Nation back on the path to fiscal sustainability. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Senator Shelby. Any 

other opening remarks received will be inserted into the record at 

this point. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR BARBARA A. MIKULSKI

IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION ON EDUCATION

Thank you, Senator Harkin, for convening this important hearing. Senator Murray, I would also like to thank you for your ongoing efforts to provide clarification, 

work on the impact of sequester cuts, and ensure sufficient aid is being provided 

to nondefense discretionary programs. 

Maryland is a sequester-stressed State. Apart from our Federal assets in defense, 

the National Security Agency and Bethesda Naval Hospital, we’re also home to the 

National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Goddard Space Center, the Food and Drug 

Administration, the National Institute of Science and Health, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These Federal agencies, along with the employees that work there, make a significant difference in the lives of Americans on 

a daily basis, and those agencies will unfortunately be gutted if the sequester goes 

forward. 

First, let’s talk about what a sequester means for education and the impact it 

would have on students and families. Federal spending in education accounts for 

less than 10 percent of overall spending in K through 12 education. However, the 

investments we do make are targeted at making a significant difference in supporting our most vulnerable populations. Our largest discretionary programs in this 

age group have a huge impact on kids who need the most help. Most notable of 

these are Title I, which helps low-income families, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which helps more than 100,000 kids with disabilities in 

Maryland. And although IDEA pays for only 10 percent of the cost of special education in Maryland, in my rural counties located on the Eastern Shore and in western Maryland, where there are decreasing or seasonal populations, IDEA helps pay 

for more than 20 percent of special education related costs and materials. I am worried that they, and other counties, won’t be able to make up for $16 million cut to 

special education programs with their limited county budgets. 

Along with Maryland’s needs when it comes to education, Maryland holds a strong 

military presence when it comes to bases like Fort Meade and Fort Detrick, Andrews Air Force Base, and Naval Air Station at Patuxent. The military and civilian 

personnel at these bases have children who attend local schools. However, because 

they don’t contribute to local property tax, the Federal Government gives small appropriations to districts intended for meeting the needs of military students. With 
6 

cuts to the Impact Aid program, districts will be forced to make up the cost of children that come from military families. In Maryland, this would mean a cut of 

$395,000 to a program that helps educate children who are essentially there by directive of the Federal Government. 

In terms of health programs, we need a balanced approach to deficit reduction 

that isn’t a job killer and doesn’t annihilate programs. An approach that helps 

women and children, improves education, and healthcare for American citizens. A 

sequester means that most discretionary Department of Health and Human Services programs will be hammered with a 7.8-percent budget cut on January 2, 2013. 

NIH will be hit hard along with efforts to combat waste and fraud. Along with these 

startling possibilities, sequestration will delay biomedical innovation. 325,000 researchers at 3,000 universities and companies could face cuts, along with a $2 billion cut to NIH’s budget and a $186 million cut for the State of Maryland. This not 

only hurts patients but also hinders the discovery of new cures, eliminating 2,300 

research grants and financial support of clinical trials. NIH biomedical research investments means fewer bench-to-bedside discoveries that top Maryland biotech companies will develop into lifesaving drugs and diagnostics, some of which help with 

detecting cancer and infectious diseases early and ensures patients get efficient 

care. Mothers, infants, and children will lose access to critical healthcare and social 

services when maternal and child health programs are cut by $1 billion, a potentially devastating blow to kid’s growth and development. Patients will experience 

the disastrous effects of sequestration for years to come because of cuts, ultimately 

limiting kid’s access to Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education program, 

which trains 5,600 pediatric residents each year. As for supplemental nutrition programs, WIC accounts for less than 0.2 percent of the Federal budget, and yet with 

sequestration 750,000 people will be thrown off this program that provides nutritional food to mothers and their children. 

I’m for fiscal discipline—not fiscal austerity, especially when it comes to investments we make in programs that assist our most vulnerable populations. Today’s 

hearing focuses on what sequestration means for education. In a nutshell, the answer is sequestration will be disastrous. But it won’t just be disastrous for education, it will be disastrous for all domestic programs; those which work to help families out of poverty, children to grow up healthy, and seniors stay in their communities. It will also be disastrous for job growth. According to the Center on Bipartisan Policy, these cuts will result in more than 1 million jobs being lost over the 

course of 2 years. Sequester is no way to govern, sequester is a way to fail. We must 

do better. 

Senator HARKIN. We’ll start with our first panel. 

Secretary Arne Duncan has served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education since 2009. He was confirmed by the U.S. 

Senate on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009. 

Prior to his appointment as Secretary of Education, Secretary 

Duncan served as a chief executive officer of the Chicago Public 

Schools, a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Richard M. 

Daley from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big city education superintendent in the country. 

Secretary Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard 

University in 1987, majoring in sociology. He was co-captain of 

Harvard’s basketball team and was named a first team Academic 

All-American. 

Secretary Duncan, you’ve been before this subcommittee many 

times before. We welcome you again. Your statement will be made 

a part of the record in its entirety, and we ask you just to please 

proceed as you so desire. 

STATEMENT OF ARNE DUNCAN, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Secretary DUNCAN. Thank you so much. 

I want to thank the chairman, the ranking member, and other 

members of the subcommittee for your support. Over the past 3 

years, we have protected students at risk while investing in edu-
7 

cation reform that supports bold and courageous leadership at both 

the State and at the local level. And I welcome the opportunity to 

discuss the potential devastating impact of sequestration. 

We hoped that the prospect of deep, indiscriminate, across-theboard cuts would spur the Congress to take a balanced approach 

to deficit reduction. Obviously, so far that hasn’t happened. But 

there is still time to act, and we remain hopeful that we can avoid 

these cuts. 

TIMEFRAME FOR SEQUESTRATION

Fiscal year 2013 is a little more than 2 months away, and sequestration kicks in 3 months after that on January 2, 2013, so it’s 

critically important that we and the American people fully understand the consequences of sequestration and take steps to avoid it 

now. 

As all of you here know, sequestration will force across-the-board 

budget cuts on almost every discretionary program. Education, Defense, Homeland Security, and all other Federal agencies would indiscriminately cut services that are essential to every State and 

community. 

ARBITRARY CUTS AFFECT EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE PROGRAMS

The sequestration will put at risk all that we have accomplished 

in education and weaken programs that help children, that serve 

families, that send young people and adults to college, and make 

the middle-class American dream possible. 

Sequestration is absolutely the wrong way to make policy. It does 

not let the Congress or the administration set priorities. It attacks 

both ineffective and effective programs with the same blunt budget 

knife. 

SHORT-TERM FIX TO LONG-TERM BUDGET PROBLEMS

Perhaps worst of all, it is another short-term fix to our long-term 

budget challenges. If sequestration happens, it simply means we 

didn’t do our jobs in Washington, that we shirked our collective responsibility, and the people of America will pay the price. 

Essentially, we are playing chicken with the lives of the American people—our schools, communities, small businesses, farms, 

public safety, infrastructure, and national security. It further 

erodes what little faith remains in our elected leadership to put 

partisan politics aside and do the right thing for children and families. 

Clearly, it is time for the Congress to work together with the administration to create a long-term plan to reduce the deficit while 

simultaneously supporting the economic recovery that is underway. 

We have had 28 consecutive months of private-sector job growth 

because we have been thoughtful and ambitious in the way we balance new investments with spending cuts. Today, in fact, domestic 

discretionary programs are at their lowest level as a share of GDP 

since the Eisenhower administration. 

The Congress now has 5 months to work together to create a deficit reduction plan. President Obama has proposed a responsible 

way to do that when he submitted a plan that includes more than 
8 

$4 trillion in deficit reduction. It maintains the Budget Control Act 

of 2011 caps, and calls for significant, yet targeted, cuts in discretionary spending. We’ve tightened our belts in a responsible way. 

Most importantly, the President’s plan is a long-term fix. It will 

put an end to the seesaw budgeting that leaves State and local officials wondering if they can count on the Federal Government to be 

a partner with them on education and other vital programs. 

Let me begin with education. President Obama and I, and so 

many Members of Congress, recognize that education is the cornerstone to our economy. A good education leads to a good job and a 

lifetime of higher earnings. A strong educational system and a 

strong economy, those two things are inextricably linked. 

SEQUESTRATION CUTS WOULD UNDERMINE EQUITY AND REFORM

Over the past 3 years, we’ve made investments in Race to the 

Top, the Investing in Innovation Fund, and other efforts to reform 

our schools so today’s students are truly prepared to succeed in the 

global economy and to keep high-wage, high-skilled jobs right here 

in the United States. 

Sequestration sends a signal that the United States is backtracking on its commitment to reform and its long-standing promise to promote equity for poor children through Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to support students 

with special needs. 

CUTS TO EDUCATION IMPACT MILITARY PREPAREDNESS

Education is also essential for our military preparedness. A staggering 75 percent of young Americans today are unable to enlist in 

the military because they have either failed to graduate from high 

school, they have a criminal record, or they are physically unfit. 

And I’ve met with so many military leaders who recognize that 

the best way to address the dropout crisis is to start early and invest in early childhood education. They don’t want to see cuts in 

Head Start, Child Care and Development Block Grants, and other 

programs serving children. 

K–12 EDUCATION IMPACT WOULD BEGIN IN FALL 2013

The biggest impact in K–12 education will be felt starting in the 

fall of 2013. And in a recent poll of school district leaders, the vast 

majority, 80 percent of them, said they would not be able to use 

State and local funding to replace potentially lost Federal funds. 

7.8-PERCENT CUT AND SOME SPECIFIC IMPACTS

Based on the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) projection that 

sequestration will reduce programs by 7.8 percent, here’s what we 

know will be at risk. 

TITLE I, ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT IMPACT

First, Title I funding would be cut by $1.1 billion, cutting off 

funding to more than 4,000 schools serving an estimated 1.8 million disadvantaged children. The jobs of more than 15,000 teachers 

and teacher aides would be at risk. Students would lose access to 
9 

individual instruction, afterschool programs, summer school, and 

other interventions that help to close achievement gaps. 

SPECIAL EDUCATION IMPACT

Funding for special education would be reduced by $900 million. 

That would translate into the layoffs of more than 10,000 teachers, 

aides, and other staff who provide essential instruction and other 

support to 6.6 million children with disabilities in every one of our 

home States. 

IMPACT AID CUTS WOULD TAKE EFFECT JANUARY 2

On January 2, schools serving our military families through the 

Impact Aid program would have immediate cuts to their budgets. 

For example, the Killeen Independent School District in Texas receives about $53 million in Impact Aid and would lose $4.6 million, 

directly affecting 18,000 children from military families. And everyone here knows military families make so many sacrifices for our 

country. Their children deserve a world-class education. 

STUDENT LOANS IMPACT

In higher education, our Department would need to slash spending on contracts to support the processing and the origination of 

student loans, which could cause delays that will hurt students as 

they make those critical decisions about college and could reduce 

services for borrowers seeking to repay their loans. 

OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY CUTS ALSO IMPACT EDUCATION

In addition to these cuts at our department, other agencies will 

be forced to reduce spending in ways that will slow our Nation’s 

educational progress. 

HEAD START PROGRAM IMPACT

Up to almost 100,000 low-income children would be denied access 

to the Head Start program, which is critical to preparing them for 

success in kindergarten and in life. Eighty thousand children would 

lose access to high-quality childcare through the Child Care Development Block Grants. 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND NATIONAL SCIENCE

FOUNDATION IMPACT

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would issue 700 fewer 

grants to medical researchers, slowing the progress in the search 

for treatments and cures to cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other 

diseases in research labs at hospitals and universities across the 

country. And up to 1,500 grants would be cut from the National 

Science Foundation (NSF). 

SEQUESTRATION SHOULD BE AVOIDED

While it is absolutely our hope and intention to avoid sequestration, our Department, along with all other agencies, will be ready 

to implement cuts if sequestration happens. But we all know that 

there are steps we can take now so we don’t have to start down 
10 

the path that would put so many critical services to students, families, and communities at risk. 

Sequestration does not have to happen, and it should not happen. 

PREPARED STATEMENT

President Obama and all of us on his team stand ready to work 

with you to create a long-term path to reduce the deficit while investing in the programs that will secure our country’s economic 

prosperity and global leadership. Together, let’s do the right thing. 

Thank you so much. I’m happy to take any questions you might 

have. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ARNE DUNCAN

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity 

to talk about the impact on America’s students and teachers of a sequestration of 

fiscal year 2013 funds under the Budget Control Act of 2011. That act created a bipartisan Joint Select Committee charged with developing a plan for comprehensive 

deficit reduction, in order to avoid the prospect of deep and indiscriminate acrossthe-board cuts in Federal spending, including both defense and nondefense programs. We all hoped that the breadth and depth of these prospective cuts would 

spur the Joint Committee to complete its task, through a balanced approach to deficit reduction, and stave off the blind and damaging cuts that would result from sequestration. 

Unfortunately, the Joint Committee did not succeed in coming up with a deficit 

reduction plan, and our day of fiscal reckoning is drawing near. President Obama 

has been clear that the Congress must avoid sequestration by passing a balanced 

measure that includes at least as much deficit reduction as the $1.2 trillion that 

was required of the Joint Committee by the Budget Control Act of 2011. 

The President’s fiscal year 2013 budget contains such a balanced proposal, and 

we will continue to work with the members of this subcommittee as well as others 

in the Congress to pursue legislation that would implement the President’s proposal 

and cancel sequestration. There would still be deficit reduction but not the mindless 

and harmful across-the-board cuts that could be required by sequestration. 

With the beginning of fiscal year 2013 just around the corner and no sign of 

meaningful progress toward a deficit reduction agreement, we can no longer afford 

to ignore the dire impact of sequestration. As you will hear from others at today’s 

hearing, the public is appropriately worried about sequestration, and both the business community and State and local governments—including our school districts 

and institutions of higher education—are now posing questions about what sequestration could mean for their students, teachers, and faculty and how to plan for this 

possibility. In this context, and since there is both uncertainty and some misinformation regarding how sequestration would work and the impact that it could 

have, we think it will be helpful to outline, in broad terms, how the Department 

of Education and, by implication, the Federal Government as a whole, would implement a sequestration of fiscal year 2013 funds. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE OF SEQUESTRATION IMPACT

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that sequestration would 

require a 7.8-percent reduction in funding for nondefense discretionary programs 

that are subject to the sequester under the Budget Control Act of 2011. The cuts 

would be applied to the funding levels available in fiscal year 2013, with most reductions coming from fiscal year 2013 appropriations bills, which have not yet been 

enacted. 

The administration believes that such a large, across-the-board reduction in 

spending would be extremely harmful. This should not come as a surprise because 

sequestration, by design, is bad policy. The resulting deep cuts carry the very real 

threat of significant harm to the ongoing economic recovery and our current and future competitiveness in the global economy. 

It’s also important to note that even without sequestration, domestic discretionary 

spending has already been declining. Nonsecurity discretionary spending is now on 

a path to reach its lowest level as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) since 
11 

the Eisenhower administration. In addition, State and local spending has been cut 

due to the recent financial crisis and economic downturn. At a time when we are 

just starting to see signs of renewed economic growth, as well as the positive impact 

of historic education reforms in programs like Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants that will contribute to future growth and prosperity, it just makes no 

sense at all to undermine this progress through sequestration of Federal funds. 

The long-term impact of sequestration could be even more damaging, as it would 

jeopardize our Nation’s ability to develop and support an educated, skilled workforce 

that can compete in the global economy. Indeed, it would be hard to overstate the 

devastating impact of sequestration as a signal not just to the Nation but to the 

world, that we are no longer able or willing to prioritize investment in the best 

guarantee of our future success and prosperity: The education of our children. 

Before I talk about some specific examples of how sequestration would affect Federal education programs, I want to clarify that because four of our largest elementary and secondary programs are forward-funded, most cuts in funding resulting 

from sequestration next January would not hit classrooms until the 2013–2014 

school year. Most Federal support for education in the 2012–2013 school year is 

funded through the fiscal year 2012 appropriation, which would be unaffected by sequestration. This means that if sequestration occurs, States and school districts 

would have roughly the first one-half of next year to plan for the impact of reduced 

Federal funding beginning in the 2013–2014 school year. We have communicated 

this information in a letter to Chief State School Officers from Deputy Secretary 

Tony Miller. 

IMPACT ON STATE FORMULA GRANT PROGRAMS

However, I want to be clear that the delay in impact does not make the prospect 

of sequestration any less harmful to students, families, teachers, or schools: A recent 

poll showed that 80 percent of school districts would not be able to make up the 

funding lost to sequestration. And the effect of the funding lost would be significant. 

For example, a 7.8-percent reduction in funding for large State-formula grant programs that serve more than 21 million students in high-poverty schools and 6.6 million students with special needs could force States, school districts, and schools to 

lay off teachers and reduce services to these needy children. 

More specifically, a $1.1 billion reduction to title I could mean cutting off funding 

to more than 4,000 schools serving more than 1.8 million disadvantaged students, 

and more than 15,000 teachers and aides could lose their jobs. Similarly, for the 

critical Part B Grants to States program under the Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act (IDEA), a 7.8-percent reduction in funding would mean the loss of 

more than $900 million, eliminating Federal support for about 11,000 special education teachers, aides, and other staff providing essential instruction and other support to children with disabilities. 

IMPACT ON STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

Another area where students, families, and schools would feel the impact of sequestration is in the administration of Federal student aid. A cut to Student Aid 

Administration could affect the processing of the Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which millions of students and families use to apply for postsecondary student financial assistance. Our student aid contractors would likely have 

to lay off or furlough many of the contract employees who work for the Department 

in States with contractor facilities—such as Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, New 

Mexico, and New York—that provide customer services to students and borrowers. 

This could mean that many students would not receive financial aid determinations 

and awards in time to make enrollment decisions. In addition, students who do enroll could experience delays in the processing and origination of Federal student 

loans, since the Department also could be forced to slash spending on contracts that 

support these essential activities. And the Department could be hampered in its 

ability to collect student debt and provide quality services to borrowers once they 

are out of school, due to cuts in the contracts with the private-sector entities that 

service Federal student loans. Just to be clear about the magnitude of the risks 

here, during the 2011–2012 award year the Department delivered or supported the 

delivery of approximately $172 billion in grant, work-study, and loan assistance to 

almost 15 million postsecondary students attending more than 6,000 postsecondary 

institutions. In addition, since the Department would likely need to furlough many 

of its own employees as well, sequestration would significantly harm the Department’s ability to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in these very large, complex student financial assistance programs. 
12 

IMMEDIATE EFFECT ON IMPACT AID AND VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

It is also important to point out that the impact of sequestration would not be 

delayed until the 2013–2014 school year for all Federal education programs. Sequestration would have a more immediate effect on individuals and schools served 

through programs like Impact Aid and the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State 

Grants, which are not forward-funded. 

The $1.2 billion Impact Aid Basic Support Payments program would lose almost 

$90 million under sequestration, a significant blow in the middle of the school year 

for districts that serve federally connected children, including military dependents 

and Native American students. For example, in Texas, the Killeen Independent 

School District receives about $53 million in Impact Aid support for 23,000 federally 

connected children—including 18,000 military dependents—who make up one-half of 

the student population in the district. Sequestration would cut Killeen’s Impact Aid 

payment by more than $4.6 million. 

The Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools in Gallup, New Mexico, receives 

about $35 million from the Impact Aid program, or about 35 percent of the district’s 

total budget, to help meet the needs of 7,500 federally connected children, including 

6,700 students who live on Indian lands. Sequestration would result in a mid-year 

cut of more than $3 million to Gallup-McKinley’s Impact Aid payment. 

In the VR State Grants program, sequestration would require an immediate reduction of approximately $240 million for activities that help about 1 million individuals with disabilities at any given time to prepare for, obtain, or retain employment. Sequestration of VR funding would likely result in higher-counselor caseloads 

and increased wait times for individuals to receive essential services. At a time 

when the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is significantly higher than 

the general population, this cut would be devastating. 

While it is our hope and intention that we avoid sequestration, the Department 

of Education, along with all other agencies, will be prepared to implement sequestration if necessary. Reductions of this magnitude in critical Federal education programs would betray our longstanding commitment to improving educational opportunity for the neediest students and their families, and are absolutely the wrong 

way to address our Nation’s fiscal challenges. Support for disadvantaged elementary 

and secondary students in high-poverty schools; efforts to turn around thousands of 

low-performing schools, including so-called ‘‘dropout factories’’ that help put nearly 

a million teenagers a year at risk of social failure and a lifetime of poverty; programs that help students and adults with disabilities meet educational and independent living goals; work-study jobs for college students, many of them first-generation college students—all would be put at risk by sequestration. 

I hope you will agree that sequestration is no way to achieve our shared goal of 

fiscal responsibility, and no way to set priorities for Federal spending, either in education or any other area of the Federal budget. I also hope that this hearing will 

help to jumpstart renewed discussions, both here in the Congress and outside the 

beltway, on how we can work together to achieve comprehensive deficit reduction 

while continuing to make the investments we need to safeguard our people and our 

future. 

Thank you, and I will be happy to take any questions you may have. 

EFFECT ON EDUCATION IF DEFENSE IS MADE EXEMPT

Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. We’ll 

start a series of 5-minute questions. 

Mr. Secretary, there’s been a lot of discussion about the impact 

of sequestration on national security. Senators have been going to 

the floor talking about it. I understand there’s a road trip planned. 

But I guess, I have to say that isn’t education, and isn’t a highly 

skilled workforce important to our security, too? 

Let me just elaborate a little bit on that. Some have suggested 

that Defense alone should be exempt from sequestration. I’m not 

sure that people realize that if we exempt defense alone, the entire 

burden for finding the $1.2 trillion in cuts would fall on, basically, 

this subcommittee. 

Mr. Secretary, you just described the devastating impact of a 7.8- 

percent cut to education. But if nondefense programs alone had to 
13 

bear the brunt of it, and defense is exempted from sequestration, 

then the cut would not be 7.8 percent but more like 17.6 percent. 

So instead of 15,000 Title I teachers that are laid off, more than 

34,000 would lose their jobs; instead of 96,000 students losing Head 

Start services, the figure would be more like 217,000. 

So can you give us just a sense, in your own mind, what this 

would mean for our Nation’s education system and our national security? 

Secretary DUNCAN. It’s staggering to think what that impact 

would be. And we’re at a time when, Mr. Chairman, we have to get 

better educationally faster than ever before. If you look at any of 

the international rankings in reading and math and other things, 

we’re somewhere between 15th and 30th, depending on the metric. 

We are 16th in the world in college graduation rates. We have a 

25-percent dropout rate in this country. None of those facts are acceptable. 

We have to again lead the world in college graduation rates. If 

we have devastating cuts in early childhood education, in K–12 reform, in access to higher education, we are absolutely cutting off 

our nose to spite our face. 

I always say I think a strong military is about defense. I think 

a strong public education system, strong education system, is about 

defense and about global competitiveness, about economic security, 

and about keeping great jobs in this country. And if we fail to 

make the investments, I worry gravely about what that means for 

our Nation’s future. 

Senator HARKIN. I am on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. I spent a good part of my life in the military. And it 

seems that the military of today and of the future is going to be 

much more highly technical, much more requiring our troops to be 

more highly educated and highly trained. And it’s not like the 

Army of even when I was there 30, 40 years ago. 

And so doesn’t this also mean that we have to think about the 

military of the future and what we’re doing today in our educational system? So that we have the individuals who know how 

to operate the systems that we’re going to rely on in the future? 

I’ve had so many military people tell me that, that they’re having 

a hard time finding qualified young men and women that can actually fill those kinds of slots. 

Secretary DUNCAN. That’s exactly right, and you have outside 

groups like the Council on Foreign Relations, which recently had 

a task force co-chaired by Condoleezza Rice. And in their report, 

they argue that educational failure in the United States puts future economic prosperity, global position, and our Nation’s physical 

safety at risk. So the stakes here are extraordinary. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. 

I yield to Senator Shelby. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATES—BASIS FOR PROJECTED

EDUCATION CUTS

Senator SHELBY. Mr. Secretary, before we can make meaningful 

decisions, we need to understand the full scope of the issue, don’t 

we, on just about anything? 

Secretary DUNCAN. Yes, Sir. 
14 

Senator SHELBY. Why has your Department not provided sequestration information to the subcommittee? 

Secretary DUNCAN. We’re happy to provide all the information. 

I think the chairman put out a report today that looks at the numbers briefly. The numbers seem to basically correspond to where we 

are. And any additional information you would like from us, we’re 

happy to provide. 

But our estimates are based upon a 7.8-percent across-the-board 

cut, so the math here is, frankly, not that difficult. 

Senator SHELBY. Are you working with OMB in getting to these 

numbers you’re talking about? 

Secretary DUNCAN. We got these numbers from CBO. 

Senator SHELBY. CBO. 

Secretary DUNCAN. Yes. 

Senator SHELBY. Okay. And they’re helpful on this regard? 

Secretary DUNCAN. Yes. And again, to be clear, whether it’s 7.8 

percent or 7.9 percent, I think the point is these cuts would be absolutely devastating. So there’s no good answer here. 

PRIORITIES ASSUMING CUTS

Senator SHELBY. What would be your priorities, assuming that 

you’re going to have to cut things in the future? And we all believe 

we’re going to have to do some of that. What would be several of 

the areas that you believe you—you don’t want to cut, I understand 

that, but if you had to cut, what would—— 

Secretary DUNCAN. To be very clear, we tried to hold ourselves 

accountable. We’ve made tough cuts. We have eliminated 49 programs. We’ve created annual savings of $1.2 billion. 

I have a lengthy list of programs that we have cut that we felt 

were ineffective. Again, no one enjoys making those cuts, but we’re 

all asked to make hard decisions. And we would absolutely continue to do that and expect you to hold us accountable for that. 

We have 49 programs here that we eliminated—and some were 

politically difficult to eliminate, because we want to use taxpayer 

dollars wisely. 

EDUCATION BUDGET AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE

Senator SHELBY. But are the programs, the money that we appropriate in the Government’s borrowing—in other words, your 

spending each year is going up. It’s not going down, correct? 

Secretary DUNCAN. Well, we think, the President believes, that 

education is an investment. 

Senator SHELBY. We understand. 

Secretary DUNCAN. And so we need to invest in quality early 

childhood education. We need to invest in K–12 reform. We need 

to make college more accessible and affordable. 

The fact that we’re 16th in the world in college graduation rates 

is nothing to be proud of, and we want to again lead the world. 

Now, money alone is never the answer, as you know, but we 

have to continue to invest in reform. 
15 

PELL GRANT EXEMPT FROM SEQUESTRATION

Senator SHELBY. It is my understanding that the Pell grant program is predicted to need an additional $6 billion next year, and 

it remains unclear whether the Pell grant is exempt from sequestration. What’s your judgment on that? 

Secretary DUNCAN. We think the Pell grant is exempt. 

Senator SHELBY. Is exempt. 

Secretary DUNCAN. Yes, Sir. 

Senator SHELBY. Do you believe it’s in the best interest of this 

country to try to deal with our fiscal challenges now or kick the can 

down the road? 

Secretary DUNCAN. Now, Sir. 

Senator SHELBY. Okay. That’s what we’re trying to do. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you. 

I just might add that, a year ago in April, I went down to the 

United States Chamber of Commerce. Their affiliate had issued a 

report calling for more investment in this country in early childhood education. This is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce calling 

upon us not to cut but to invest more in early childhood education. 

I have an order of arrival. I have Senator Murray, Senator Reed, 

Senator Brown, Senator Mikulski, Senator Durbin, Senator Pryor. 

Senator Murray. 

Senator MURRAY. Thank you very much, Chairman Harkin and 

Ranking Member Shelby, for holding this hearing. I think it’s really important that we learn more about the impact of these automatic cuts on our students and our families across the country. 

As the chairman mentioned, sequestration was included in the 

bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2011 in order to give both parties 

an incentive to compromise. And the goal really was to bring both 

sides to the table, willing to make concessions that were required 

to get to a balanced and bipartisan deal. 

JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFICIT REDUCTION

Unfortunately, as we all know, it hasn’t worked out yet. We 

haven’t been able to get to that deal. As you know, I served as 

chair of that Joint Subcommittee on Deficit Reduction, and what I 

saw firsthand was that, on our side, we were willing to put some 

pretty tough concessions on the table when it came to cutting budgets and entitlements. But what we were not able to get was a comparable concession on the other side that included revenue from 

the wealthiest Americans to help pay for what this country needs 

to be strong both in defense and in nondefense moving forward. 

Everybody wanted all the deficit from sequestration but without 

any of the shared sacrifice that is really needed to come to a deal. 

And, on our side, we were not going to throw the middle class 

under the bus if we did not have that balance and bipartisan deal. 

We weren’t willing to do it then, and I think that’s still true 

today. In fact, I know it’s still true today. 

So we have to keep working to replace sequestration. No one 

wants sequestration to happen, but that replacement has to be bipartisan, it has to be balanced, and it is going to have to be fair 

for the middle class in this country who have suffered so much. 
16 

DAMAGING IMPACT ON FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES

So, here in the District of Columbia, now we’re hearing a lot 

about the defense side of the equation, and it’s getting a lot of attention. But I think it’s really important, Mr. Chairman, that 

Americans do understand the deeply damaging impact to families 

and communities on the nondefense side as well. 

About 3,000 national, State, and local organizations signed a letter that they sent to the Congress. I have it with me and I would 

like to submit it for the record, Mr. Chairman, urging us to adopt 

that balanced approach onto deficit reduction that does protect 

middle-class families and the most vulnerable Americans. 

So I would submit that for the record. 

[The information follows:] 

July 12, 2012 

Dear Member of Congress: 

There is bipartisan agreement that sequestration would be devastating to the nation. The nearly 3,000 undersigned national, state, and local organizations—representing the hundreds of millions of Americans who support and benefit from nondefense discretionary (NDD) programs—couldn’t agree more. Congress and the 

President must work together to ensure sequestration does not take effect. We 

strongly urge a balanced approach to deficit reduction that does not include further 

cuts to NDD programs, which have already done their part to reduce the deficit. 

NDD programs are core functions government provides for the benefit of all, including medical and scientific research; education and job training; infrastructure; 

public safety and law enforcement; public health; weather monitoring and environmental protection; natural and cultural resources; housing and social services; and 

international relations. Every day these programs support economic growth and 

strengthen the safety and security of every American in every state and community 

across the nation. 

NDD programs represent a small and shrinking share of the Federal budget and 

of our overall economy. The NDD budget represented just 3.4 percent of our country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011, consistent with historical levels. Under 

the bi-partisan Budget Control Act, by 2021 NDD funding will decline to just 2.5 

percent of GDP, the lowest level in at least 50 years. 

NDD programs are not the reason behind our growing debt. In fact, even completely eliminating all NDD programs would still not balance the budget. Yet NDD 

programs have borne the brunt of deficit reduction efforts. 

—Since fiscal 2010, NDD programs have been cut by 10 percent on average, with 

many programs cut by as much as 50 percent. 

—By 2021, the remaining discretionary caps (2013–2021) in the bipartisan Budget 

Control Act will reduce NDD programs by an additional 7 percent, relative to 

2012 levels. 

—If sequestration is allowed to take effect, nonexempt NDD programs will be reduced by another 8.4 percent in fiscal year 2013. 

In total, if Congress and the President fail to act, between fiscal 2010 and 2021 

NDD programs will have been cut by 20 percent overall. Such indiscriminate cuts 

threaten the entire range of bipartisan national priorities. For example, there will 

be fewer scientific and technological innovations, fewer teachers in classrooms, 

fewer job opportunities, fewer National Park visitor hours, fewer air traffic controllers, fewer food and drug inspectors, and fewer first responders. 

America’s day-to-day security requires more than military might. NDD programs 

support our economy, drive our global competitiveness, and provide an environment 

where all Americans may lead healthy, productive lives. Only a balanced approach 

to deficit reduction can restore fiscal stability, and NDD has done its part. Please 

work together to find a balanced approach to deficit reduction that does not include 

further cuts to NDD programs. 

If you have questions about this letter, please contact Emily Holubowich, Executive Director of the Coalition for Health Funding (202–484–1100 or eholubowich@dccrd.com) or Joel Packer, Executive Director of the Committee for Education Funding 

(202–383–0083 or JPacker@cef.org). An electronic copy of this letter is also available 

at http://publichealthfunding.org/index.php/action/campaigns/nddlunited/. 
17 

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (LISTED ALPHABETICALLY)

8th Day Center for Justice 

9to5, National Association of Working Women 

A World Fit For Kids! 

Academic Pediatric Association 

Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses 

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 

Academy of Radiology Research 

AcademyHealth 

ACCESS 

Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research 

Adult Congenital Heart Association 

Advocates for Youth 

African American Health Alliance 

African American Ministers in Action 

AFSE 

Afterschool Alliance 

AIDS Community Research Initiative of America 

AIDS Healthcare Foundation 

AIDS Treatment News 

AIDS United 

Alliance for a Just Society 

Alliance for Aging Research 

Alliance for Biking & Walking 

Alliance for Children and Families 

Alliance for Retired Americans 

Alpha-1 Association 

Alpha-1 Foundation 

Alzheimer’s Association 

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America 

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 

American Academy of Family Physicians 

American Academy of Neurology 

American Academy of Nursing 

American Academy of Pediatrics 

American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 

American Art Therapy Association 

American Association for Adult and Continuing Education 

American Association for Cancer Research 

American Association for Dental Research 

American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry 

American Association for Health Education 

American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy 

American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work 

American Association for the Advancement of Science 

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases 

American Association of Classified School Employees 

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education 

American Association of Colleges of Nursing 

American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine 

American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy 

American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) 

American Association of Community Theatre 

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) 

American Association of Physics Teachers 

American Association of Poison Control Centers 

American Association of Port Authorities 

American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists 

American Association of School Administrators 

American Association of School Librarians 

American Association of Service Coordinators 

American Association of State Colleges and Universities 

American Association of University Professors 

American Association of University Women (AAUW) 

American Association on Health and Disability 

American Astronomical Society 

American Brain Coalition 
18 

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network 

American Chemical Society 

American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) 

American College of Preventive Medicine 

American Council on Education 

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) 

American Counseling Association 

American Dental Education Association 

American Diabetes Association 

American Educational Research Association 

American Epilepsy Society 

American Federation for Medical Research 

American Federation of School Administrators, AFL–CIO 

American Federation of Teachers, AFL–CIO 

American Forests 

American Geophysical Union 

American Heart Association 

American Institute of Biological Sciences 

American Library Association 

American Lung Association 

American Mathematical Society 

American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association 

American Medical Student Association 

American Music Therapy Association 

American Nephrology Nurses’ Association 

American Nurses Association 

American Occupational Therapy Association 

American Organization of Nurse Executives 

American Pediatric Society/Society for Pediatric Research 

American Physical Therapy Association 

American Planning Association 

American Psychiatric Association 

American Psychological Association 

American Public Health Association 

American Rivers 

American School Counselor Association 

American Social Health Association 

American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 

American Society for Clinical Pathology 

American Society for Engineering Education 

American Society for Microbiology 

American Society for Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics 

American Society of Agronomy 

American Society of Hematology 

American Society of Nephrology 

American Society of Pediatric Nephrology 

American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) 

American Society of Plant Biologists 

American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 

American Society on Aging 

American Sociological Association 

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 

American Statistical Association 

American Therapeutic Recreation Association 

American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network 

American Urogynecologic Society 

Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief (ANSR) Alliance 

Americans for the Arts 

America’s Service Commissions 

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research 

Amputee Coalition 

Arthritis Foundation 

Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum 

Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence 

Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center 

Asian American Justice Center, Member of Asian American Center for Advancing 

Justice 

Associated Universities, Inc. 
19 

Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare 

Association for Career and Technical Education 

Association for Prevention Teaching and Research 

Association for Psychological Science 

Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nurses (ARIN) 

Association for Research in Otolaryngology 

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 

Association for Women in Mathematics 

Association of Academic Health Centers 

Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries 

Association of Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare 

Association of American Cancer Institutes 

Association of American Medical Colleges 

Association of American Universities 

Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges 

Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP) 

Association of BellTel Retirees, Inc. 

Association of Departments of Family Medicine 

Association of Educational Service Agencies 

Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists 

Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors 

Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs 

Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) 

Association of Jewish Aging 

Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs 

Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs 

Association of Minority Health Professions Schools 

Association of Nurses in AIDS Care 

Association of Prosecuting Attorneys 

Association of Public and Land-grant Universities 

Association of Public Health Nurses 

Association of Rehabilitation Nurses 

Association of Research Libraries 

Association of School Business Officials International 

Association of School Psychologists 

Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry 

Association of State & Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors 

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials 

Association of Teacher Educators 

Association of University Centers on Disabilities 

Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses 

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America 

Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) 

Autism National Committee 

Bat Conservation International 

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law 

Be the Change, Inc. 

Benetech 

Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation 

Berkeley Media Studies Group 

Biophysical Society 

Brain Injury Association of America 

Bread for the World 

Break the Cycle 

Briar Cliff University TRIO Upward Bound 

Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) 

Business Industrial Network 

California Institute of Technology 

Campaign for Public Health Foundation 

Campaign for Youth Justice 

Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce 

Campus Compact 

CARE 

Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities 

C-Change 

Center for Biological Diversity 

Center for Employment Training 
20 

Center for HIV Law and Policy 

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) 

Center for Science in the Public Interest 

Center for Women Policy Studies 

Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation 

Charles R. Drew University 

Child Care Services Association 

Child Welfare League of America 

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder 

Children’s Defense Fund 

Children’s Environmental Health Network 

Children’s HealthWatch 

Children’s Leadership Council 

Children’s Mental Health Network 

Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation 

Citizen Schools 

Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants—Women Incarcerated 

City Year 

Clean Water Action 

CLEARCorps USA 

Climate Change is Elementary 

Clinical Social Work Association 

Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License 

Coalition for Health Funding 

Coalition on Human Needs 

Coalition for Imaging and Bioengineering Research 

Coalition for Juvenile Justice 

Coalition for Workforce Solutions 

Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations 

Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning 

Coastal States Organization 

College Board 

College Summit 

Colleges That Change Lives 

Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) 

Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service 

Committee for Education Funding 

Communities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief (CAEAR) Coalition 

Community Action Partnership 

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America 

Community Economic Development Partners, LLC 

Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf 

Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities 

Consortium for Ocean Leadership 

Consortium for School Networking 

Consortium of Social Science Associations 

Cooley’s Anemia Foundation 

COPD Foundation 

Corporate Hepatitis Alliance 

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 

Corporation for Supportive Housing 

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning 

Council for Advancement of Adult Education 

Council for Exceptional Children 

Council for Opportunity in Education 

Council of Administrators of Special Education, Inc. (CASE) 

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists 

Council of State Community Development Agencies 

Council of the Great City Schools 

Council on Social Work Education 

Covenant House International 

Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America 

Crop Science Society of America 

Defeat Diabetes Foundation 

Defenders of Wildlife 

Dermatology Nurses Association 

Digestive Disease National Coalition 

Directors of Health Promotion and Education 
21 

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund 

District 1199C Training & Upgrading Fund 

Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC) 

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) 

Dystonia Advocacy Network 

Dystonia Medical Research Foundation 

Early Care and Education Consortium 

Earth Day Network 

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute 

Easter Seals 

Ecological Society of America 

Education Industry Association 

Education Law Center 

Educational Talent Search 

Educational Theatre Association 

Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation (EHDOC) 

Emergency Nurses Association 

Endangered Species Coalition 

Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. 

Epilepsy Foundation 

Equal Justice Works 

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) 

Every Child By Two—Carter/Bumpers Champions for Immunization 

FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing, Inc. 

Families USA 

Family Caregiver Alliance 

Family Promise of Lycoming County 

Fanconi Anemia Research Fund 

Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association 

Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences 

Federation of Materials Societies 

Fellowship Health Resources, Inc. 

Fight Colorectal Cancer 

First Focus Campaign for Children 

Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) 

Foster Family-Based Treatment Association 

Franklin County Head Start 

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 

Friends Committee on National Legislation 

Friends of the Earth 

Friends of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 

Friends of National Center for Health Statistics 

Friends of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 

(NICHD) 

Friends of UNFPA 

Futures Without Violence (formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund) 

Gay Men’s Health Crisis 

Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) 

Genetics Policy Institute 

Goodwill Industries of the Valleys 

Gray Panthers 

Greenpeace 

Half in Ten 

Harm Reduction Coalition 

Health & Disability Advocates 

Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition 

Healthcare Leadership Council 

HealthHIV 

Heifer International 

Helen Keller International 

Hemophilia Federation of America 

Hepatitis B Foundation 

HIGH IMPACT Mission-based Consulting & Training 

Higher Education Consortium for Special Education 

HighScope Educational Research Foundation 

HIV Law Project 

HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) 

HIV Prevention Justice Alliance 
22 

Human Rights Campaign 

Human Rights Project for Girls 

iCAST (International Center for Appropriate & Sustainable Technology) 

Idea Fuel 

IDEA Infant Toddler Coordinators Association (ITCA) 

Illinois Campus Compact 

Infectious Diseases Society of America 

Innocence Project 

Innovate+Educate 

Innovations in Civic Participation 

Insight Center for Community Economic Development 

Institute for Educational Leadership 

International Association of Jewish Vocational Services (IAJVS) 

International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) 

International Essential Tremor Foundation 

International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders 

International Myeloma Foundation 

International Reading Association 

International Society for Technology in Education 

Interstitial Cystitis Association 

Iron Disorders Institute 

Jeffrey Modell Foundation 

Jewish Council for Public Affairs 

Jewish Labor Committee 

Jobs for the Future (JFF) 

Joint Advocacy Coalition of ACRT, APOR, CRF, and SCTS 

Juma Ventures 

Jumpstart 

KaBOOM! 

Knowledge Alliance 

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights 

League of Conservation Voters 

Learning Disabilities Association of America 

Legal Action Center 

Legal Momentum 

Local Initiative Support Corporation 

Long-term Ecological Research Network 

Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. 

Lupus Research Institute 

Lutheran Services in America 

Magnet Schools of America 

Mal de Debarquement Syndrome Balance Disorder Foundation 

Manufactured Home Owners Association of America 

March of Dimes 

Marie Stopes International—US (MSI–US) 

Marine Conservation Institute 

Materials Research Society 

Mathematical Association of America 

Meals On Wheels Association of America 

Medical Library Association 

Meharry Medical College 

Mental Health America 

Mercy Housing, Inc. 

Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation 

Metro TeenAIDS 

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund 

Military Impacted Schools Association 

Monarch Housing Associates 

Morehouse School of Medicine 

NAACP 

NAADAC—The Association for Addiction Professionals 

NAfME: National Association for Music Education 

NAFSA: Association of International Educators 

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys 

National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd 

National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc. 

National AIDS Housing Coalition 

National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research 
23 

National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture 

National Alliance of Black School Educators 

National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA) 

National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors 

National Alliance on Mental Illness 

National Alliance to End Homelessness 

National Alliance to End Sexual Violence 

National Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Organization 

National Assembly on School-Based Health Care 

National Association for Bilingual Education 

National Association for Biomedical Research 

National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health 

National Association for College Admission Counseling 

National Association for County Community and Economic Development 

National Association for Geriatric Education and National Association of Geriatric 

Education Centers 

National Association for Hispanic Elderly 

National Association for Music Education 

National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems 

National Association for Rural Mental Health 

National Association for Sport and Physical Education 

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth 

National Association for the Education of Young Children 

National Association of Area Agencies on Aging 

National Association of Chronic Disease Directors 

National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists 

National Association of Community Health Centers 

National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities 

National Association of County and City Health Officials 

National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities 

Directors (NACBHDD) 

National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) 

National Association of Drug Court Professionals 

National Association of Elementary School Principals 

National Association of Federally Impacted Schools 

National Association of Housing Cooperatives 

National Association of Human Rights Workers 

National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies 

National Association of Marine Laboratories 

National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP) 

National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) 

National Association of Private Special Education Centers 

National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers 

National Association of Pupil Services Administrators 

National Association of Rural Mental Health 

National Association of School Nurses 

National Association of School Psychologists 

National Association of Secondary School Principals 

National Association of Social Workers (NASW) 

National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors 

National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium 

National Association of State Directors of Special Education 

National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials 

National Association of State Head Injury Administrators 

National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs (NASOP) 

National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors 

National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities 

National Association of Thrift Savings Plan Participants 

National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) 

National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) 

National Black Nurses Association 

National Center for Healthy Housing 

National Center for Technological Literacy 

National Center for Transgender Equality 

National Center for Victims of Crime 

National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence 

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence 

National Coalition for Literacy 
24 

National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity 

National Coalition of STD Directors 

National Community Development Association 

National Community Reinvestment Coalition 

National Community Tax Coalition 

National Congress of American Indians 

National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care 

National Council for Advanced Manufacturing 

National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) 

National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare 

National Council for Workforce Education 

National Council of Jewish Women 

National Council of La Raza 

National Council of State Directors of Adult Education 

National Council of State Housing Agencies 

National Council of Women’s Organizations 

National Council on Aging 

National Council on Independent Living 

National Disability Rights Network 

National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc. (NEON) 

National Education Association 

National Education Association Student Program 

National Employment Law Project 

National Estuarine Research Reserve Association 

National Fair Housing Alliance 

National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association 

National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health 

National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention 

National Fragile X Foundation 

National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) 

National Head Start Association 

National Health Care for the Homeless Council 

National Healthy Start Association 

National Health Care for the Homeless 

National Hemophilia Foundation 

National High School Equivalency Program/College Assistance Migrant Program Association 

National Hispanic Council on Aging 

National Hispanic Media Coalition 

National Hispanic Medical Association 

National Housing Law Project 

National Housing Trust 

National Human Services Assembly 

National Immigration Law Center 

National Juvenile Justice Network 

National Kidney Foundation 

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health 

National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence (Alianza) 

National Latino Behavioral Health Association 

National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty 

National League for Nursing 

National Low Income Housing Coalition 

National Lung Cancer Partnership 

National Marfan Foundation 

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation 

National Minority AIDS Council 

National Multiple Sclerosis Society 

National Network for Youth 

National Network of Public Health Institutes 

National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP) 

National Network to End Domestic Violence 

National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives 

National Parks Conservation Association 

National Partnership for Women & Families 

National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence 

National Pediatric AIDS Network 

National Psoriasis Foundation 

National PTA 
25 

National Resource Center on Domestic Violence 

National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition 

National Rural Education Association 

National School Boards Association 

National Senior Corps Association 

National Skills Coalition 

National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association 

National Spasmodic Torticollis Association 

National Student Nurses’ Association, Inc. 

National Summer Learning Association 

National Superintendents Roundtable 

National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence 

National Title I Association 

National Tourette Syndrome Association 

National Transitional Jobs Network (NTJN) 

National Trust for Historic Preservation 

National Urban League 

National Violence Prevention Network 

National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable 

National WIC Association 

National Women’s Conference Committee 

National Women’s Health Network 

National Women’s Law Center 

National Writing Project 

National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC) 

National Youth Leadership Council 

Natural Resources Defense Council 

Nemours 

NephCure Foundation 

New Leaders 

North American Primary Care Research Group 

Nurse-Family Partnership 

Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs 

Oceana 

Oncology Nursing Society 

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) 

Parents As Teachers 

Parkinson’s Action Network 

Peace Action 

Pediatric Stroke Network, Inc. 

People For the American Way 

PFLAG National (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) 

Planned Parenthood Federation of America 

Points of Light 

Population Action International 

Population Association of America/Association of Population Centers 

Population Connection 

Population Institute 

Positive Education, Inc. 

Prevent Blindness America 

Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association 

Professional Association of Social Workers in HIV and AIDS 

Project Inform 

ProLiteracy 

Provincial Council of the Clerics of St. Viator (Viatorians) 

Public Allies, Inc. 

Public Education Network 

Public Health Foundation 

Public Health Institute 

Public Health Solutions 

Public Lands Service Coalition 

Pulmonary Hypertension Association 

Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Coalition 

Racine County Older Adult Nutrition Program 

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) 

Reading Partners 

Research Allies for Lifelong Learning 

Research!America 
26 

Resources for Human Development, Inc. 

Restore America’s Estuaries 

RESULTS 

Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps 

Rose F. Kennedy University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities 

RTI International 

Rushmere Community Development Corporation 

Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition 

Safe States Alliance 

Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law 

Save the Children 

School Social Work Association of America 

Scleroderma Foundation 

Scripps Institution of Oceanography 

Sea Grant Association 

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) 

Senior Service America, Inc. 

Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) 

Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) 

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregational Leadership 

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas 

Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation 

Sleep Research Society 

Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research 

Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics 

Society for Medical Decision Making 

Society for Neuroscience 

Society for Public Health Education 

Society for Women’s Health Research 

Society of General Internal Medicine 

Society of Gynecologic Oncology 

Society of Teachers of Family Medicine 

Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates 

Soil Science Society of America 

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center 

Special Olympics, Inc. 

Spina Bifida Association 

Stand Up for Rural America 

State Educational Technology Directors Association 

Stem Cell Action Coalition 

Strategic Applications International 

STRIVE National 

Student Conservation Association 

Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice 

Teach For America 

Teaching Strategies, LLC 

Technical Assistance Collaborative 

Telecare Corporation 

TESOL International Association 

The Advocacy Institute 

The AIDS Institute 

The American Society for Cell Biology 

The Arc of the U.S. 

The Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative 

The Borgen Project 

The Center for the Celebration of Creation 

The Coalition for the Life Sciences 

The Community Builders, Inc. 

The Corps Network 

The Education Trust 

The Eisen Group 

The Endocrine Society 

The Every Child Matters Education Fund 

The Gerontological Society of America 

The Imani Project 

The Myelin Project 

The National Center for Learning Disabilities 
27 

The National Center on Family Homelessness 

The National Crittenton Foundation 

The National Indian Head Start Directors Association 

The Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation 

The Salvation Army 

The United Methodist Church 

The Wilderness Society 

Treatment Action Group 

Treatment Communities of America 

Treatment Systems Development 

Trust for America’s Health 

Tufts University 

Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health 

U.S. Water Fitness Association 

U.S. Positive Women’s Network 

U.S. Soccer Foundation 

Union for Reform Judaism 

Unite 2 Fight Paralysis 

United Cerebral Palsy 

United Church of Christ 

United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries 

United for Medical Research 

United Neighborhood Centers of America 

United Spinal Association 

United States Breastfeeding Committee 

UNITY, Society for the Advancement of Violence & Injury Research 

Universities Research Association, Inc. 

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research 

U.S. Climate Action Network 

U.S. Hereditary Angioedema Association 

USAction 

VALUEUSA 

Vasculitis Foundation 

Vera Institute of Justice 

Voices for America’s Children 

Voices for National Service 

Voices for Progress 

W. Haywood Burns Institute 

WestEd 

Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) 

Women Employed 

Women in Film 

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease 

Women’s Action for New Directions 

Wonderlic, Inc. 

Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance 

Workforce Learning Strategies 

World Education, Inc. 

World Wildlife Fund 

Young Invincibles 

YouthBuild USA 

YWCA USA 

ZERO TO THREE 

REGIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS (LISTED ALPHABETICALLY, BY STATE)

Alabama 

AIDS Alabama, Birmingham 

Alabama Association for Career and Technical Education, Montgomery 

Alabama Association of Secondary School Principals, Montgomery 

Alabama Council of Administrators in Special Education, Guntersville 

Alabama Disability Advocacy Program, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 

Alabama School Counselor Association, Montgomery 

Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, Tuscaloosa 

Auburn Housing Authority, Auburn 

Eastside Mental Health, Birmingham 

Learning Disabilities Association of Alabama, Montgomery 

Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama, Birmingham 
28 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Shoals, Florence 

Southwest Alabama Behavioral Healthcare Systems, Monroeville 

The Concerned Citizens of Atmore ‘‘Unity in the Community,’’ Atmore 

Unity Wellness Center Housing Department, Auburn 

VOICES for Alabama’s Children, Montgomery 

YWCA Central Alabama, Birmingham 

Alaska 

Akeela Development Corporation, Anchorage 

Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals, Fairbanks 

Alaska Council of Administrators of Special Education, Fairbanks 

Alaska Occupational Therapy Association, Anchorage 

Cook Inlet Housing Authority, Anchorage 

Denali Family Services, Anchorage 

Disability Law Center of Alaska, Anchorage 

Kawerak, Inc., Nome 

Kenai Peninsula Food Bank, Soldotna 

Kenai Senior Services, Kenai 

Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), Juneau 

University of Alaska Anchorage, Center for Human Development, Anchorage 

American Samoa 

American Samoa Office of Protection & Advocacy for the Disabled, Pago Pago 

Arizona 

Arizona Association for Lifelong Learning, Phoenix 

Arizona Center for Disability Law, Tucson 

Arizona Council of Administrators of Special Education, Phoenix 

Arizona Housing Alliance, Phoenix 

Arizona Justice Project, Phoenix 

Arizona School Counselors Association, Sahuarita 

Arizona State Impact Aid Association, Sacaton 

Arizona Institute for Peace, Education, and Research, Tempe 

Association for Career and Technical Education of Arizona (ACTEAZ), Tucson 

Association for Supportive Child Care, Tempe 

Association of Arizona Food Banks, Phoenix 

Blackwater Enterprises, Rdc, Higley 

Booker T. Washington Child Development Center, Inc., Phoenix 

Cedar Unified School District, Keams Canyon 

Cocopah Head Start, Somerton 

Community Intervention Associates, Inc., Yuma 

Compass Affordable Housing, Tucson 

Cornucopia Community Advocates, Sedona 

Early Head Start, Littlefield 

Fellowship Square Tucson, Tucson 

Fort Thomas Unified School District, Fort Thomas 

Foundation for Senior Living, Phoenix 

Holbrook Unified School District #3, Holbrook 

Hospice Family Care, Inc., Prescott 

Housing America Corporation, Somerton 

Local Initiative Support Corporation Phoenix, Phoenix 

Mayer Elders Club, dba Mayer Area Meals on Wheels, Mayer 

McDowell Healthcare Center, Phoenix 

Old Pueblo Community Services, Tucson 

Our Family Services, Tucson 

Peach Springs USD #8, Peach Springs 

Pinal County Public Health Services District, Florence 

Prescott Meals on Wheels, Prescott 

Sacaton Elementary School District #118, Sacaton 

Teens, Training and Taxes, Parks 

Tuba City Unified School District #15, Tuba City 

Tucson Planning Council for the Homeless, Tucson 

United Food Bank, Mesa 

Valley Interfaith Project, Sun City 

Whiteriver Unified School District, Whiteriver Unified School District 

Window Rock Unified School District No. 8, Fort Defiance 

Yarnell Senior Community Center, Yarnell 
29 

Arkansas 

Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas, Inc., Pine Bluff 

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Little Rock 

Arkansas Association of Secondary School Principals, Springdale 

Arkansas Association of Student Assistance Programs, Fayetteville 

Arkansas Council of Administrators in Special Education, North Little Rock 

Arkansas Education Association, Little Rock 

Arkansas Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health (AFFCMH), Little 

Rock 

Disability Rights Center of Arkansas, Little Rock 

Family Violence Prevention, Inc., Batesville 

Henderson State University, Arkadelphia 

Little Angels Childcare, Prescott 

Little Rock Community Mental Health Center, Little Rock 

Pinon Unified School District #4, Pinon 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Arkansas, Springdale Affiliate, Siloam 

Springs 

Universal Housing Development Corporation, Russellville 

California 

Advocates for Peace and Justice, Irvine United Congregational Church, Irvine 

Affordable Housing Network of Santa Clara County, San Jose 

Age Well Senior Services, Inc., Laguna Woods 

AIDS Legal Referral Panel of San Francisco, San Francisco 

AIDS Project Los Angeles, Los Angeles 

Armona Union Elementary School District, Armona 

Association of California School Administrators, Sacramento 

California Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC), Sacramento 

California Center for Public Health Advocacy, Davis 

California Coalition for Rural Housing, Sacramento 

California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Sacramento 

California Council of Administrators of Special Education (CA CASE), Santa Rosa 

California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies, Sacramento 

California Department of Public Health, Sacramento 

California Hepatitis Alliance, San Francisco 

California Housing Partnership, San Francisco 

California Innocence Project, San Diego 

California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks 

California Small School Districts’ Association, Sacramento 

California Teachers Association, Burlingame 

California WIC Association, Sacramento 

California Workforce Investment Board, Sacramento 

California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO), San Francisco 

Central Union Elementary School District, Lemoore 

Children Now, Oakland 

Children’s Defense Fund-California, Oakland 

Church of All, Burbank 

Citizen Schools California, Redwood City 

Community Action Napa Valley, Napa 

Community Action Partnership Food Bank of San Bernardino County, San 

Bernardino 

Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc., San Luis Obispo 

Community Research Foundation, San Diego 

Council of University of California Faculty Associations, Berkeley 

Desert Manna, Barstow 

Disability Rights California, Sacramento 

Disability Services & Legal Center, Santa Rosa 

East Bay Housing Organizations, Oakland 

Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California, San Francisco 

Fair Housing Council of Central California, Fresno 

Fair Housing of Marin, San Rafael 

First Baptist Church Head Start, Pittsburg 

Foundation for Successful Solutions, Los Angeles 

Fresno County EOC Head Start, Fresno 

HIV ACCESS, Alameda County 

Housing Authority of the City of Calexico (HACC), Calexico 

Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 
30 

Housing Authority of the City of Upland, Upland 

Housing California, Sacramento 

Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, San Francisco 

Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco, San Francisco 

Interdisciplinary Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related 

Disabilities Training Program (CA–LEND), Los Angeles 

Irvine Meals on Wheels, Irvine 

Jewish Labor Committee Western Region, Los Angeles 

Kalusugan (Good Health) Community Services, National City 

Kings County Charter—Association of California School Administrators, Hanford 

Kings County Office of Education, Hanford 

Kings River-Hardwick Elementary School District, Hanford 

KyotoUSA, Berkeley 

Lake Family Resource Center, Kelseyville 

Lakeside Union Elementary School District, Hanford 

Lemoore Union High School District, Lemoore 

Lincoln Child Center, Oakland 

Local Child Care Planning Council, Oroville 

Local Government Commission, Sacramento 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Bay Area, San Francisco 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles, Los Angeles 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation San Diego, San Diego 

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles 

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Los Angeles 

Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego, Inc., San Diego 

Mending Wheel, Fortuna 

Mental Health America of California, Sacramento 

Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, Montebello 

Mizell Senior Center, Palm Springs 

Momentum for Mental Health, San Jose 

Monterey County Health Department WIC Program, Salinas 

Muroc Joint Unified School District, Edwards 

Napa Valley Community Housing, Napa 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Yolo County, Davis 

National Council of Jewish Women, Contra Costa Section, Walnut Creek 

National Council of Jewish Women, Long Beach Section, Huntington Beach 

National Council of Jewish Women, Los Angeles 

National Council of Jewish Women, Sacramento 

National Council of Jewish Women, Topanga 

New Life Advocacy, Los Angeles 

Northern California Innocence Project, Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa 

Clara 

Oceanside Unified School District, Oceanside 

Oldtimers Housing Development Corporation—IV, Huntington Park 

Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE), Los Angeles 

Parent Voices El Dorado County Chapter, South Lake Tahoe 

Parent Voices Southern Alameda County, Hayward 

Parents’ Place Family Resource and Empowerment Center, West Covina 

Peninsula Volunteers Inc, Menlo Park 

Portia Bell Hume Behavioral Health and Training Center, Concord 

PowerWorks, San Francisco 

Project Sister Family Services, Pomona 

RESULTS Domestic, Los Angeles 

Sacramento Housing Alliance, Sacramento 

San Diego Housing Federation, San Diego 

San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, Inc, Van Nuys 

San Gaberial Valley/Whittier Chapter of NOW, Fontana 

San Mateo County HIV Program Community Board, San Mateo County 

Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center Head Start, Santa Cruz 

Senior Network Services, Santa Cruz 

Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County, Oakland 

Shasta Senior Nutrition Programs, Redding 

Sierra Cascade Family Opportunities Head Start, Susanville 

Sierra Cascade Family Opportunities, Inc., Quincy 

Sierra Senior Providers, Inc., Sonora 

Silver Valley Unified School District, Yermo 

SRO Housing Corporation, Los Angeles 

State of California Office of AIDS Surveillance Section, Fresno 
31 

Stop the GA Cuts Coalition, Oakland 

Tarjan Center at UCLA, Los Angeles 

The Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, San Francisco 

The Occupational Training Institute, Foothill-De Anza Community College District, 

Cupertino 

The Public Interest Law Project, Oakland 

The Wall Las Memorias Project, Los Angeles 

Time for Change Foundation, San Bernardino 

United Administrators of San Francisco, San Francisco 

University of California (U.C.) Riverside Faculty Association, Riverside 

University of California (U.C.) Berkeley Faculty Association, Berkeley 

University of California at Davis Faculty Association, Davis 

University of California Santa Cruz Faculty Association, Santa Cruz 

University of Southern California School of Pharmacy 

Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles 

Volunteers of America Los Angeles, Los Angeles 

Watts/Century Latino Organization, Los Angeles 

Westside Progressives, Los Angeles 

Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Diseases (WORLD), Oakland 

Rural Community Assistance Corporation, West Sacramento 

Colorado 

Academy School District #20, Colorado Springs 

Adams County School District #14, Commerce City 

Adams County Workforce and Business Center, Brighton 

Boulder County Network, Boulder 

Colorado Association for Career and Technical Education, Denver 

Colorado Association of School Executives, Englewood 

Colorado Campus Compact, Denver 

Colorado Center on Law and Policy, Denver 

Colorado Chapter of ASPIRE, Denver 

Colorado Children’s Campaign, Denver 

Colorado Education Association, Denver 

Colorado School Counselor Association, Denver 

Colorado School Social Work Association, Fort Collins 

Colorado Thespians—Educational Theatre Association, Denver 

Colorado Urban Workforce Alliance, Denver 

Community Reach Center, Thornton 

Community Strategies Institute, Denver 

Denver’s Great Kids Head Start, Denver 

Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Colorado Chapter, Denver 

FRESC: Good Jobs, Strong Communities, Denver 

Healthy Colorado Youth Alliance, Denver 

Housing Resources of Western Colorado, Grand Junction 

Ignacio School District 11JT, Ignacio 

LeaderQuest, Denver 

Mental Health America of Colorado, Denver 

Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado, Denver 

Occupy Greeley, Greeley 

Public Allies at Eagle Rock School, Estes Park 

Regis University, Denver 

Rocky Mountain Wild, Denver 

Servicios de La Raza, Inc., Denver 

Sexual Assault Response Advocates (S.A.R.A)., Inc., Fort Morgan 

Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ignacio 

The Bell Policy Center, Denver 

The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People, Denver 

The Pendulum Foundation, Denver 

Connecticut 

1199NE Training and Upgrade Fund, Hartford 

All Our Kin, Inc., New Haven 

BHcare, Ansonia 

Bridgeport Council of Administrators and Supervisors, Bridgeport 

Center for Latino Progress—CPRF, Hartford 

Collaborative Center for Justice, Inc., Hartford 

Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition, Hartford 

Connecticut Association of Directors of Health, Hartford 
32 

Connecticut Association of School Psychologists, Bridgeport 

Connecticut Association of School Social Workers (CASSW), New Haven 

Connecticut Association of Schools, Cheshire 

Connecticut Community College System, Hartford 

Connecticut Education Association, Hartford 

Connecticut Federation of School Administrators, Cromwell 

Connecticut Food Bank, East Haven 

Connecticut Housing Coalition, Wethersfield 

Connecticut Voices for Children, New Haven 

Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF), Hartford 

Eastern Highlands Health District, Storrs 

Family Services of Greater Waterbury, Waterbury 

FSW, Bridgeport 

Gilead Community Services, Middletown 

Holy Family Home and Shelter, Inc., Willimantic 

LAMPP Project- Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Hartford 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Hartford 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Farmington Valley, Avon 

Norwich School Administrator’s Association, Norwich 

Our Piece of the Pie, Hartford 

Public Assisted Housing Resident Network (PHRN), Norwalk 

Region 16 Administrators Association, Prospect 

Regional School District 16, Prospect 

Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford 

Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Eastern CT, Inc., Willimantic 

St. Philip House, Plainville 

University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental 

Disabilities Education, 

Research and Service, Farmington 

Village for Families and Children, Hartford 

Wellmore Behavioral Health, Waterbury 

Woodland Regional High School, Beacon Falls 

Delaware 

Delaware Association of School Psychologists, Wilmington 

Delaware State Education Association, Dover 

Epilepsy Foundation of Delaware, Wilmington 

Ministry of Caring, Inc., Wilmington 

District of Columbia 

Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues 

Council of School Officers, American Federation of School Administrators, Local 4, 

AFL–CIOD.C. 

D.C. Behavioral Health Association 

D.C. LEARNs 

D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence 

Defeat Poverty D.C. 

District of Columbia Occupational Therapy Association 

Edward C. Mazique Parent Child Center, Inc. 

Georgetown University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities 

(UCEDD) 

Georgetown Center for Poverty, Inequality and Public Policy 

Georgetown University Medical Center 

Living Wages Adult Education Program 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Washington, D.C. 

National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies 

Potomac Gardens Resident Council 

Public Allies Washington, D.C. 

RESULTS D.C. Volunteer Group 

United Way of the National Capital Area 

Florida 

1000 Friends of Florida, Tallahassee 

Ability Housing of Northeast Florida, Inc., Jacksonville 

Adult and Community Educators of Florida, Inc., Tallahassee 

Bond Community Health Center, Inc., Tallahassee 

Broward Meals on Wheels, Fort Lauderdale 

Catholic Charities Housing, Diocese of Venice, Inc., Sarasota/Venice 

Center for Independent Living of South Florida, Inc., Miami 
33 

Children’s Forum, Tallahassee 

Christian Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, Miami 

City of Deerfield Beach, Deerfield Beach 

Coalition for Independent Living Options, West Palm Beach 

Community Coalition on Homelessness, Bradenton 

Community Enterprise Investments Inc., Pensacola 

Community Justice Project—Florida Legal Services, Miami 

Dab the AIDS Bear Project, Oakland Park 

Daytona State College, Daytona Beach 

Department of Community Development, Miami 

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), St. Cloud 

disAbility Solutions for Independent Living, Inc., Daytona Beach 

Documents International, St. Petersburg 

Dunbar Center, Inc., Hobe Sound 

Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, Miami 

Familias Latinas Dejando Huellas, Tampa 

Farmworker Association of Florida, Apopka 

Florida Alliance of Community Development Corporations, Inc., Jacksonville 

Florida Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance and Sport, Parkland 

Florida CASE, Archer 

Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, Tallahassee 

Florida Education Association, Tallahassee 

Florida HIV/AIDS Advocacy Network, Oakland Park 

Florida HIV/AIDS Patient Care Planning Group, Freeport 

Florida School Counselor Association, Safety Harbor 

Florida Supportive Housing Coalition, Tallahassee 

Fusion, Wilton Manors 

Gay Free If You Want To Be, Clearwater 

Heart of Putnam Coalition, Palatka 

Helen B. Bentley Family Health Center, Miami 

Homes in Partnership, Inc., Apopka 

Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, Inc., Orlando 

Housing and Homeless Assistance Program, North Miami 

Innocence Project of Florida, Tallahassee 

Life Management Center of Northwest Florida, Panama City 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Jacksonville 

Meals on Wheels, Etc., Sanford 

Miami Coalition for the Homeless, Inc., Miami 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) & Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, Lakeland 

National Council of Jewish Woman Miami, Miami 

National Council of Jewish Women Aventura, Aventura 

National Council of Jewish Women Greater Miami Section, Miami 

National Council of Jewish Women Hollywood, Hollywood 

National Council of Jewish Women Southeast Atlantic Section, Boca Raton 

Neighborly Care Network, Inc., Clearwater 

North Florida Educational Development Corporation, Gretna 

Northwest Florida AIDS/HIV Consortium (NOFLAC), Brent 

Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast, West Palm Beach 

Positive Champions Speakers Bureau, Daytona Beach 

Positively U, Inc., Davenport 

Rural Neighborhoods, Inc., Homestead 

Sanford Housing Authority Agency-Wide Resident Council, Sarasota 

South Florida Community Development Coalition, Miami 

St. Johns County Council on Aging, St. Augustine 

St. Johns River Alliance, Jacksonville Beach 

Sugarloaf Women’s Land Trust, Sugarloaf Key 

Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness, Sarasota 

Tampa Housing Authority, Tampa 

The Florida Housing Coalition, Tallahassee 

The Good Shepherd of North East Florida, Inc., Lake City 

The Mental Health Association of Okaloosa/Walton Counties, Fort Walton Beach 

United Faculty of Florida, Tallahassee 

Georgia 

AID Gwinnett/Ric Crawford Clinic, Duluth 

Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU), Savannah 
34 

Augusta Housing Authority, Augusta 

BAIN, Inc. Center for Independent Living, Bainbridge 

Center for Leadership in Disability, Atlanta 

DEW Consultants, Inc., Roswell 

Douglas County Homeless Shelter, Douglasville 

East Point Housing Authority, East Point 

Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia, Atlanta 

Families First, Inc., Atlanta 

Family Visions Outreach, Inc., Sylvester 

G–CASE, McDonough 

Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness, Marietta 

Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals, Thomasville 

Georgia Council of Administrators for Special Education, McDonough 

Georgia Parent Support Network, Inc., Atlanta 

Georgia School Counselors Association, Marietta 

Georgia State University Center for Leadership in Disability, Atlanta 

Georgia Supportive Housing Association, Atlanta 

Grady Health System, Atlanta 

Here’s to Life, Inc., Decatur 

HOPE Atlanta Programs of Travelers Aid, Atlanta 

Housing Authority of DeKalb County, Decatur 

Liberty County Board of Education, Hinesville 

Liberty County Public School System, Hinesville 

Lou Walker Senior Center, Lithonia 

Northwest Georgia Federation of Families, Rome 

Peak Performance Learning, L.L.C., Atlanta 

Sexual Assault Support Center, Inc., Columbus 

SisterLove, Inc., Atlanta 

Sisters of Mercy, Macon 

South Fulton Senior Services, College Park 

STEM, Inc., Covington 

The Cottage, Sexual Assault Center & Children’s Advocacy Center, Athens 

Urban Residential Development Corporation, Atlanta 

Briarcliff Oaks, Atlanta 

Guam 

University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), 

Mangilao 

Hawaii 

Community Alliance for Mental Health, Honolulu 

Good Beginnings Alliance, Honolulu 

Hawaii Association of Secondary School Administrators, Honolulu 

Hawaii Association of School Librarians, Honolulu 

Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council, Hilo 

Hawaii Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs, Honolulu 

Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Honolulu 

Hawaii State Department of Education, Honolulu 

Hawaii State Office of Youth Services, Honolulu 

Hawaii State Teachers Association, Honolulu 

Lanakila Pacific, Honolulu 

Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii, Honolulu 

Iowa 

Black Hawk-Grundy Mental Health Center, Inc., Waterloo 

Chickasaw County Public Health and Home Care Services, New Hampton 

Child and Family Policy Center, Des Moines 

Community Health Partners of Sioux County, Orange City 

Crisis Intervention Services, Oskaloosa 

Disability Rights Iowa, Des Moines 

Dubuque Franciscan Sisters, Dubuque 

Heritage Area Agency on Aging, Cedar Rapids 

Iowa Association for College Admission Counseling, Newton 

Iowa Association of Community Providers, Urbandale 

Iowa Coalition 4 Juvenile Justice, Des Moines 

Iowa Comprehensive Human Services, Des Moines 

Iowa Council of Administrators of Special Education I–CASE, Des Moines 

Iowa Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Anamosa 

Iowa School Social Work Association, Des Moines 
35 

Jackson County Home and Community Health, Maquoketa 

Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids 

Lincoln Mental Health, Fort Dodge 

Monona County Public Health, Onawa 

North Fayette High School, West Union 

PITCH, Milford 

Positive Iowans Taking Charge, Des Moines 

Siouxland District Health Department, Sioux City 

Sisters of the Presentation, Dubuque 

State Public Policy Group Inc., Des Moines 

The Culture Buzz, Des Moines 

Tri-County Child and Family Development Council, Inc., Waterloo 

United Way of Central Iowa, Des Moines 

Waubonsie Mental Health Center, Clarinda 

Idaho 

Aberdeen Education Association, Aberdeen 

Boise State University, Boise 

Buhl Education Association, Buhl 

Cambridge-Midvale Senior Citizens Center, Cambridge 

Cassia County Education Association, Burley 

Castleford School District, Castleford 

Challis Education Association, Challis 

Coeur d’Alene Education Association, Coeur d’Alene 

Family Crisis Center, Rexburg 

Filer Education Organization, Filer 

Gem County Education Association, Emmett 

Idaho Association of School Administrators, Boise 

Idaho CASE, Boise 

Idaho Council for Exceptional Children, Boise 

Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities, Boise 

Idaho Education Association, Boise 

Idaho Education Association, Coeur d’Alene 

Idaho Education Association, Post Falls 

Idaho Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Boise 

Kimberly Education Association, Kimberly 

Lakeland Education Association, Rathdrum 

Meadows Valley Education Association, New Meadows 

Minidoka County Education Association, Rupert 

Plummer-Worley Jt School District #44, Plummer 

Post Falls Educational Association, Post Falls 

Richfield IEA, Richfield 

Rimrock Senior Center, Grand View 

Ririe Education Association, Ririe 

Rockland Education Association, Rockland 

Teton Education Association, Felt 

The New Meadows Senior Center, New Meadows 

Twin Falls Education Association, Twin Falls 

Twin Falls School District, Twin Falls 

Valley Meals on Wheels, Lewiston 

West Ridge Elementary, Post Falls 

Illinois 

ACTE, Springfield 

Aging Care Connections, La Grange 

AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago 

AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, Chicago 

Alexian Brothers AIDS Ministry, Chicago 

Burr Ridge Community Consolidated School District #180, Burr Ridge 

Calumet Area Industrial Commission, Chicago 

Campaign for Better Health Care, Illinois, Champaign and Chicago 

Canticle Ministries, Wheaton 

Career Link, Bloomington 

Casa Central, Chicago 

Cass School District #63, Darien 

Central Illinois Friends of People with AIDS, Peoria 

Chicago Jobs Council, Chicago 

Chicago Rehab Network, Chicago 
36 

Chicago Workforce Investment Council, Chicago 

Children’s Home and Aid, Chicago 

Citizen Schools Illinois, Chicago 

City of Chicago Department of Family & Support Services, Chicago 

City of Kankakee Community Development Agency, Kankakee 

Coalition for Equitable Community Development, Chicago 

Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois, Springfield 

Community Outreach Intervention Projects, SPH, UIC, Chicago 

Connect 2 Protect Chicago, Chicago 

Connections for Abused Women and their Children, Chicago 

Cook County GED Testing Program, Chicago 

Department of Human Services, Woodstock 

DuPage Senior Citizens Council, DuPage County 

DuPage Workforce Board, Lisle 

East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging, Bloomington 

Educational Support for Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS), Chicago 

Egyptian Mental Health Department, Eldorado 

Goldie’s Place, Chicago 

Haymarket Center, Chicago 

Housing Action Illinois, Chicago 

Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb, DeKalb 

Human Resources Development Institute, Inc., Chicago 

IACEA: The Voice of Adult Education in Illinois, Crystal Lake 

Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling, Mt. Prospect 

Illinois Association of Career Tech Educators, Rockford 

Illinois Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, Chicago 

Illinois Community College Board Adult Education and Family Literacy Program, 

Springfield 

Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, Mattoon 

Illinois Lead Program, Springfield 

Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition, Chicago 

Illinois Migrant Council, Harvard 

Illinois Principals Association, Springfield 

Illinois School Counselor Association, DeKalb 

Illinois School Counselors Association, Chicago 

Illinois School Library Media Association, Canton 

Institute on Disability and Human Development, Chicago 

Interfaith Open Communities, Chicago 

Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Chicago 

Lake County Center for Independent Living, Mundelein 

Lake County Workforce Investment Board, Waukegan 

Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois, Chicago 

Lifescape Community Services, Inc., Rockford 

Living Daylight Corporation, Elgin 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Chicago, Chicago 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Peoria, Peoria 

Manufacturing Technology Institute, Richard J. Daley College, Chicago 

Mary Crane League, Chicago 

Mascoutah Community Unit School District #19, Mascoutah 

Mascoutah Senior Services Program, Mascoutah 

McHenry County Workforce Investment Board, Woodstock 

McHenry County Workforce Network, Woodstock 

National Council of Jewish Women, Illinois State Policy Advocacy Committee, Chicago 

New Foundation Center, Northfield 

Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice, Oak Park 

Open Door Clinic, Elgin 

Ounce of Prevention Fund, Chicago 

Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative, Chicago 

Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault, Springfield 

RAMP Center for Independent Living, Rockford 

Randolph County Health Department, Chester 

Regional CARE Association, Joliet 

Rock Island County Health Department, Rock Island 

Rock River Training Corporation, Rockford 

Safe Kids Adams County, Quincy 

SIL Radon Awareness Task Force, Inc., Mt Vernon 

Southside Solidarity Network, Chicago 
37 

St. Catherine Laboure Parish, Glenview 

St. Joan of Arc Social Justice & Peace, Lisle 

Stroger Hospital of Cook County, Chicago 

Supportive Housing Providers Association of Illinois, Springfield 

Test Positive Aware Network, Publisher of Positively Aware Magazine, Chicago 

The Children’s Place Association, Chicago 

The Safer Foundation, Chicago 

Trinity Resources Unlimited, Inc., Chicago 

University of Illinois, Urbana 

Vermilion County Job Training Partnership, Danville 

West Suburban Jobs Council, Wheaton 

Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging, Rock Island 

Wheaton Franciscans, Wheaton 

YWCA of the Sauk Valley, Sterling 

Heartland Alliance, Chicago 

Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education, Lebanon 

Illinois School Counseling Association, Chicago 

Illinois School Psychologist’s Association, Chicago 

Interfaith House, Chicago 

Mary Crane Center- Head Start, Chicago 

Minority AIDS Awareness Council (MAAC), Peoria 

People for Community Recovery, Chicago 

Senior Services Plus, Alton 

St. Vincent de Paul Center, Chicago 

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, Chicago 

Indiana 

Area IV Head Start, Frankfort 

Association of Indiana School Library Educators, Indianapolis 

ATTIC, Inc., Vincennes 

Brown County Schools, Nashville 

Community Action of Northeast Indiana, Inc. (CANI) Head Start and Early Head 

Start, Fort Wayne 

Fulton County Health Department, Rochester 

Housing Authority City of Richmond, Richmond 

Housing Authority of South Bend, South Bend 

ICASE, Madison 

Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Indianapolis 

Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers, Inc., Indianapolis 

Indiana Council of Special Education Administrators, Indianapolis 

Indiana Institute for Working Families, Indianapolis 

Indiana School Counselor Association, Lafayette 

Indiana School Social Work Association, Mooresville 

Indiana State AFL–CIO Labor Institute for Training, Inc., Indianapolis 

Indiana State Teachers Association, Indianapolis 

INFBPW/Merrillville-Duneland, Schererville 

Kokomo Area Special Education Cooperative, Russiaville 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Indianapolis, Indianapolis 

Logansport Area Joint Special Services Cooperative, Logansport 

Madison County JobSource, Anderson 

Mental Health America in Cass County, Logansport 

Middle Way House, Inc., Bloomington 

Midwest Center for Youth and Families, Valparaiso 

Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative, Crown Point 

Porter-Starke Services, Inc., Valparaiso 

The Riley Child Development Center, Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis 

Training, Inc., Indianapolis 

YWCA North Central Indiana, South Bend 

Kansas 

Aging Projects, Inc., Hutchinson 

Butler County Health Department, El Dorado 

Center for Child Health and Development, Kansas City 

Clinical Psychologist, Iola 

COMCARE, Wichita 

ECKAN, Ottawa 

Geary County Unified School District #475, Junction City 

Great Plains Association for College Admission Counseling, Overland Park 
38 

HOMESTEAD Nutrition Project, Hays 

Independent Living Resource Center, Wichita 

Johnson County Area Agency on Aging, Olathe 

Johnson County Department of Health & Environment, Olathe 

Kansas Adult Education Association, Paola 

Kansas Association of School Librarians, Larned 

Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals, Halstead 

Kansas Head Start Association, Lawrence 

Kansas National Education Association, Topeka 

Kansas Occupational Therapy Association, Topeka 

Kansas School Social Work Association, Wichita 

Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities, Lawrence 

Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center, Inc., Hiawatha 

Meals on Wheels Association of Kansas, Ottawa 

Missouri Valley Adult Education Association, Paola 

Newton Housing Authority, Newton 

Olathe National Education Association, Olathe 

Parsons Housing Authority, Parsons 

Prairie Independent Living Resource Center, Inc., Hutchinson 

Senior Services of Southeast Kansas, Inc., Coffeyville 

SKIL Resource Center, Parsons 

Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas, Topeka 

Southwest Boulevard Family Health Care, Kansas City 

Three Rivers Independent Living, Inc., Wamego 

Kentucky 

Appalbanc, Inc., Berea 

Ashland County Community and Technical College/Boyd County Adult Education, 

Ashland 

Audubon Area Community Services, Inc., Owensboro 

Beattyville Housing & Development Corporation, Inc., Beattyville 

Central Kentucky Community Action Council, Inc., Lebanon 

Central Kentucky Community Action Head Start, Lebanon 

Central Kentucky Housing & Homeless Initiative, Lexington 

Christian County Health Department, Hopkinsville 

Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities, Frankfort 

Cumberland Valley Housing Authority, Williamsburg 

Florence Crittenton Home & Services, Inc., Lexington 

Floyd County Health Department, Prestonsburg 

Hardin County Adult Education, Elizabethtown 

Head Start, Paducah 

Kentucky Association for Career and Technical Education, Frankfort 

Kentucky Communities Economic Opportunity Council, Corbin 

Kentucky Council of Administrators of Special Education, Lexington 

Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, Frankfort 

Kentucky School Media Association, Frankfort 

Kentucky Youth Advocates, Louisville 

KY HANDS Home Visitation Program, Kentucky Department for Public Health, 

Frankfort 

Louisville Peace Action Community, Louisville 

Louisville-Metro Senior Nutrition Program, Louisville 

Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, Berea 

New Beginnings Sexual Assault Support Services, Owensboro 

Pathways, Inc., Ashland 

People’s Self-Help Housing, Inc., Vanceburg 

Senior Services of Northern Kentucky, Covington 

SeniorCare Experts, Louisville 

The Catalytic Fund, Covington 

The Kentucky Association for Psychology in the Schools, Mount Washington 

The Pulaski Adult Learning Center, Somerset 

Todd County Adult Education, Elkton 

University of Kentucky, Lexington 

West Kentucky Allied Services, Inc., Mayfield 

Western Kentucky University Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Bowling Green 

Louisiana 

A Community Voice—Louisiana, New Orleans 
39 

Advocacy Center, New Orleans 

Brand New Attitude, New Orleans 

Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, New Orleans 

Gulf Area Training Enterprises, L.L.C., New Orleans 

Innocence Project New Orleans, New Orleans 

Louisiana Association of Educators, Baton Rouge 

Louisiana Association of Principals, Winnfield, 

Louisiana Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Inc., Baton Rouge 

Louisiana Housing Alliance, Baton Rouge 

Louisiana Lung Cancer Partnership, Lake Charles 

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Human Development Center, 

New Orleans 

N’R PEACE, Inc., Gretna 

Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council, Lake Charles 

Southwest Louisiana Independence Center, Lake Charles 

Tulane University, New Orleans 

Maine 

Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, Orono 

Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), Wiscasset 

Community Housing of Maine, Portland 

CWS Architects, Portland 

Graham Behavioral Services, Inc., Augusta 

Maine Association of School Psychology, Kennebunk 

Maine Children’s Alliance, Augusta 

Maine Marine Trades Association, Biddeford 

Maine People’s Alliance, South Portland 

New England Association for College Admission Counseling, Kittery 

New England Consortium Poverty Reduction Initiative, South Portland 

New Hampshire Educational Opportunity Association, Eliot 

New Hampshire Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (NH–LEND), Durham 

Opportunity Maine, Portland 

Portland Housing Authority, Portland 

The Horizon Program, Augusta 

The Maine Association for Mental Health Services, Augusta 

The Maine Association of Substance Abuse Programs, Augusta 

TRiO at Plymouth State University, Durham 

Maryland 

Advocacy and Training Center, Cumberland 

Advocates for Children and Youth, Baltimore 

Allegany County Teachers’ Association, Cumberland 

Anne Arundel County Community Action Agency, Annapolis 

Baltimore County Association of Senior Citizens Organizations (BCASCO), Baltimore County 

Baltimore County Public Schools—Education Support Professionals of Baltimore 

County, Baltimore 

Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS), Nottingham 

Baltimore Workforce Investment Board, Baltimore 

Calvert Association of Supervisors and Administrators, Prince Frederick 

Cecil County Classroom Teachers Association (CCCTA), Elkton 

Cecil County Public Schools, Conowingo 

Channel Marker, Inc., Easton 

Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland, Catonsville 

Education Association of St. Mary’s County, California 

Education Support Professionals of Baltimore County (ESPBC), Baltimore 

Elkton Housing Authority, Elkton 

Empire Homes of Maryland, Inc., Baltimore 

Frederick Association of School Support Employees, Mount Airy 

Fund Our Communities, Kensington 

Garrett County Community Action Committee, Oakland 

Head Start of Washington County, Hagerstown 

IEC Chesapeake, Odenton 

Ivory House Health Services, Lutherville 

Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore 

Legal Aid Bureau, Inc., Baltimore 

LifeLinc of Maryland, Baltimore 
40 

Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals, Ellicott City 

Maryland Campus Compact, Emmitsburg 

Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, Division of Workforce 

Development and Adult 

Learning, Baltimore 

Maryland Disability Law Center, Baltimore 

Maryland State Education Association, Annapolis 

Maryland United for Peace & Justice, Bowie 

Maryland Rural Development Corporation and MRDC Head Start, Annapolis 

Montgomery County Education Association, Rockville 

Montgomery Housing Partnership, Silver Spring 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Maryland, Columbia 

National Council of Jewish Women Howard County, MD. Section, Columbia, Ellicott 

City, Clarksville 

Peace Action Montgomery, Brookeville 

PeterCares House, Greenbelt 

Potomac Association of Housing Cooperative, Baltimore 

Prince George’s County Educators’ Association, Forestville 

Progressive Cheverly, Cheverly 

Public Justice Center, Baltimore 

Reservoir Hill Mutual Homes, Inc., Baltimore 

RESULTS, Laurel 

Simon Publications, Bethesda 

St. Bernardine’s Head Start, Baltimore 

The Alliance for Integrative Health Care, Baltimore 

The Beacon Newspapers, Silver Spring 

The Freedom Center, Frederick 

University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore 

Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services, Elkton 

Vehicles for Change, Baltimore 

Veterans For Peace—Washington, D.C.-Area Chapter, Rockville 

Volunteers of America Chesapeake, Inc., Lanham 

Xaverian Brothers, Baltimore 

YWCA Greater Baltimore, Baltimore 

Massachusetts 

AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Boston 

AIDS Project Worcester, Worcester 

Alliance of Cambridge Tenants (ACT), Cambridge 

Amory Street Associates, Waltham 

Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Natick 

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, New England Chapter, Needham 

Barnstable County HOME Consortium, Barnstable 

Bedford Youth & Family Services, Bedford 

Behind Locked Doors, Newton 

Bellingham Housing Authority, Bellingham 

Boston Public Health Commission, Boston 

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston 

Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, Inc., Cambridge 

Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services, Cambridge 

Cape Cod Children’s Place, North Eastham 

Career Center Initiative Board, Partnership for A Skilled Workforce, Waltham 

CareerPOINT Career Center, Chicopee 

CASPAR Inc., Cambridge & Somerville 

Child Tools Consulting, Fitchburg 

Citizen Schools Massachusetts, Boston 

Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), Boston 

Conservation Law Foundation, Boston 

Disability Law Center, Massachusetts, Boston 

Epilepsy Foundation of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine, 

Inc., Boston 

Family Promise Metrowest, Natick 

Harbor Health Services, Inc., Boston 

Heaven In View Outreach Ministry, Inc., Springfield 

Homeowners Rehab, Inc., Cambridge 

Housing Corporation of Arlington, Arlington 

Independence Associates, Inc., Center for Independent Living, Brockton 

Jewish Vocational Service: Boston, Boston 
41 

Local 201 IUE/CWA, Greenfield 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Boston, Boston 

Massachusetts Advocates Standing Strong, Boston 

Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change (MFOFC), Raynham 

Massachusetts Music Educators Association, Inc., South Attleboro 

Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, Boston 

Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Boston 

Massachusetts School Psychologists Association (MSPA), Boston 

Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators’ Association, Franklin 

Massachusetts Teachers Association, Boston 

Massachusetts Vocational Association, East Freetown 

Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 

McLean Hospital, Belmont 

Museum of Science, Boston 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Cape Ann, Inc., Gloucester 

Natick Housing Authority, Natick 

National Association of Social Workers, Dorchester 

Northeast Counselors Association, Groveland 

One Family, Inc., Boston 

PACE, Inc. Housing Services, New Bedford 

Partners HealthCare, Boston 

Partnerships for a Skilled Workforce, Inc., Marlborough 

Pine Street Inn, Boston 

Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Springfield 

RCAP Solutions, Inc., Worcester/Gardner 

RESULTS Boston, Boston 

SkillWorks, Brookline 

Somerville Homeless Coalition, Somerville 

South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc., Framingham 

South Shore Mental Health, Quincy 

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston 

Technology for Memory and Organization, Walpole 

TenHoor and Associates, Duxbury 

The Caleb Group, Swampscott 

The Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (ASE), Cambridge 

Tohn Environmental Strategies, Wayland 

Training, Inc., Boston 

TRI-City Community Action Program, Malden 

Tri-Valley, Inc., Dudley 

Wayside Youth & Family Support Network, Framingham 

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole 

Michigan 

A2FACES: Ann Arbor Families for Autistic Children, Ann Arbor 

Advocacy Services for Kids, Kalamazoo 

American Cancer Society, East Lansing 

American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA)—Michigan, Detroit 

Ann Arbor Public Schools, Ann Arbor 

Area Agency on Aging 1–B, Southfield 

Association for Children’s Mental Health, Lansing 

Center for Civil Justice, Saginaw 

Communities Overcoming Violent Encounters, Ludington 

Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM), Lansing 

Developmental Disabilities Institute, Detroit 

Dial Help Community Support and Outreach Center, Houghton 

Disruptive Innovations for Social Change, Grand Rapids 

Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan, Southfield 

Ferris State University College of Pharmacy, Big Rapids 

Flint Strive, Flint 

Focus: HOPE, Detroit 

Hand Up, Inc. Nonprofit Organization, Romulus 

Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, Little Lake 

Jackson Area Manufacturers Association, Jackson 

Jewish Labor Committee—Michigan Region, Detroit 

Kent Regional Community Coordinated Child Care, Grand Rapids 

Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan, Lansing 

Leland Public School, Leland 

Levin Energy Partners, LLC, Bloomfield Hills 
42 

LifeWays, Jackson 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Detroit, Detroit 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Michigan Statewide, Kalamazoo 

Matrix Human Services, Detroit 

Michigan Alliance of Cooperatives, Blanchard 

Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling, East Lansing 

Michigan Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, Lansing 

Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education (MAASE), Holland 

Michigan College Access Programs and Personnel, Marquette 

Michigan Community Action Agency Association, Okemos 

Michigan Community Service Commission, Lansing 

Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, East Lansing 

Michigan Music Education Association, Jackson 

Michigan Protection and Advocacy Services, Lansing 

Michigan School Counselor Association, Grand Rapids 

Michigan’s Children, Lansing 

Mott Community College Workforce Development, Flint 

Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency, Traverse City 

Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors (OSAS) Local 28—American 

Federation of School Administrators 9AFSA, Detroit 

Ottawa County Great Start Collaborative, Holland 

Ottawa County Great Start Parent Coalition, Allendale 

Paw Paw Housing Commission, Paw Paw 

Provider Alliance of the Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards, 

Lansing 

RESULTS, Greater Detroit 

Saginaw County Youth Protection Council, Saginaw 

Sault Area Public Schools, Sault Ste. Marie 

Save Michigan Seniors, Kalamazoo 

Senior Nutrition Services, Region IV, Benton Harbor 

Shiawassee Regional Education Service District, Corunna 

South Central Michigan Works!, Hillsdale 

Southeast Michigan Census Council, Southfield 

Southwest Counseling Solutions, Detroit 

Superior AIDS Prevention Services, Iron Mountain 

Temple B’nai Israel, Petoskey 

The Arc Michigan, Lansing 

Walker Firehouse Cafe/Senior Neighbors, Grand Rapids, Michigan 

Watersmeet Township School District, Watersmeet 

Wisdom Institute, Detroit 

Minnesota 

A Minnesota Without Poverty, Minneapolis 

Bois Forte Tribal Government, Nett Lake 

Children’s Defense Fund—Minnesota, St. Paul 

CROSS Meals on Wheels, Rogers 

Deer River Public School District, Deer River 

Education Minnesota, St. Paul 

Entrepreneur Fund, Duluth 

Family Life Mental Health Center, Coon Rapids 

Family Service Rochester, Rochester 

Hamline University, St. Paul 

Houston County Public Health Department, Caledonia 

Hunger Solutions Minnesota, St. Paul 

Hutchinson Housing & Redevelopment Authority, Hutchinson 

Innocence Project of Minnesota, St. Paul 

Integrated Community Solutions, Inc., Fridley 

JM Grants, Sartell 

Litchfield Public Schools Early Childhood Programs, Litchfield 

Little Falls Partners for Peace, Little Falls 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Duluth, Duluth 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Twin Cities, St. Paul 

Local Public Health Association of Minnesota, St. Paul 

McLeod County Public Health, Glencoe 

Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation (MMCDC), Detroit Lakes 

Minnesota Association for Career and Technical Education, Fergus Falls 

Minnesota Association for College Admission Counseling, Northfield 
43 

Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, St. Paul 

Minnesota Head Start Association, Inc., Duluth 

Minnesota Housing Partnership, St. Paul 

Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, Minneapolis 

Minnesota Occupational Therapy Association (MOTA), St. Paul 

Minnesota School Psychologists Association, Winona 

Minnesota School Social Workers Association, Gibbon 

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), White Bear Lake 

Minnesota Workforce Council Association, Saint Paul 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota, St. Paul 

Naytahwaush Community Charter School, Naytahwaush 

Nett Lake School District, Nett Lake 

Religious Community of Women, Little Falls 

RESULTS-Twin Cites, Minnesota (Domestic), Minneapolis 

Southeast Minnesota Workforce Board, Rochester 

The Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers, Minneapolis 

Waubun-Ogema-White Earth Public Schools, Waubun 

Workforce Development, Inc., Southeast 

Mississippi 

Biloxi Branch NAACP, Biloxi 

Disability Rights Mississippi, Jackson 

Faye’s Playhouse & Learning Center, Verona 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Mid South Delta, Greenville 

Mississippi Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, Jackson 

Mississippi Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, Olive 

Branch 

Mississippi Association of Secondary School Principals, Columbia 

Mississippi Council of Administrators of Special Education (MS CASE), Mendenhall 

Mississippi Families as Allies, Jackson 

Mississippi Innocence Project, Oxford 

Nollie Jenkins Family Center, Inc., Lexington 

Pontotoc Housing Authority, Pontotoc 

Public Policy Center of Mississippi, Jackson 

Missouri 

Advance National Education Association, Advance 

Bayless Education Association, St. Louis 

Blue Springs National Education Association, Blue Springs 

Bridgeway Women’s Center, St. Charles 

Caruthers Street Charities, Inc. dba Project HOPE, Cape Girardeau 

Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) Head Start, Columbia 

Central Missouri Community Action- Head Start, Laddonia 

Dent County Health Center, Salem 

Disabled Citizens Alliance for Independence, Viburnum 

Epilepsy Foundation of Missouri and Kansas, Kansas City 

Farmington National Education Association, Farmington 

Ferguson-Florissant National Education Association, Ferguson 

Festus Housing Authority, Festus 

Head Start, Salem 

Independence Housing Authority, Independence 

Independence National Education Association, Independence 

Jefferson County Health Department, Hillsboro 

Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation, Hillsboro 

Joplin Adult Education and Literacy, Joplin 

Kaiden’s Voice for the Abused, Springfield 

Kansas City Adult Education & Literacy, Kansas City 

Kansas City Criminal Justice Task Force, Kansas City 

Kansas City Missouri School District Adult Education and Literacy, Kansas City 

Lindbergh National Education Association, St. Louis 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Greater Kansas City, Kansas City 

Lutheran Family & Children’s Services of Missouri, St. Louis 

Mississippi County Health Department, Charleston 

Missouri Adult Education & Literacy Administrators Association, Jefferson City 

Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education, Jefferson City 

Missouri Association for Social Welfare, Jefferson City 

Missouri Association of Local Public Health Agencies, Jefferson City 

Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals, Columbia 
44 

Missouri Council for Exceptional Children (MO–CEC), Blue Springs 

Missouri Council of Administrators of Special Education, Jefferson City 

Missouri Development Disabilities Council, Jefferson City 

Missouri Division of Workforce Development, St. Louis 

Missouri National Education Association, Jefferson City 

Missouri Public Health Association, Jefferson City 

Missouri School Counselor Association, Jefferson City 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), St. Louis 

National Council of Jewish Women, St. Louis Section, St. Louis 

Normandy National Education Association, St. Louis 

North East Community Action Corporation, Bowling Green 

Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation, Springfield 

Pettis County Health Center, Sedalia 

Phelps/Maries County Health Department, Rolla 

Second Harvest Community Food Bank, Saint Joseph 

Senior Citizens Community Center, Paris 

Shelby County Health Department, Shelbyville 

Smithville R–II School District, Smithville 

St. Francois County Health Center, Park Hills, 

St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE), St. Louis 

St. Louis Lead Prevention Coalition, St. Louis 

Starkloff Disability Institute, St. Louis 

Taney County Health Department, Branson 

Waynesville R–VI School District, Waynesville 

Westside Community Action Network Center, Kansas City 

Youth In Need, Inc., St. Charles 

Montana 

ADAPT Montana, Missoula 

Billings Clinic, Billings 

Box Elder Public School District 13G, Box Elder 

Dixon School District # 9, Dixon 

Dodson Schools, Dodson 

Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center, Miles City 

Family Support Network—Montana, Billings 

Harlem Public Schools, Harlem 

Helena Indian Alliance, Helena 

Lodge Grass Public School District No. 2 & 27, Lodge Grass 

MEA–MFT, Helena 

Montana Aspire TRIO, Great Falls 

Montana Public Health Association, Choteau 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Helena 

Not Dead Yet Montana, Missoula 

Polson School District, Polson 

Poplar School Districts 9 & 9B, Poplar 

RiverStone Health, Billings 

School Administrators of Montana, Helena 

Teton County Health Department, Choteau 

University of Montana Rural Institute: Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service, Missoula 

Nebraska 

Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership, Omaha 

Head Start CFDP Inc., Hastings 

Lutheran Metro Ministry, Omaha 

Nebraska AIDS Project, Omaha 

Nebraska Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Minden 

Nebraska Head Start Association, Hastings 

Nebraska School Librarians Association, Lincoln 

Nebraska State Education Association, Lincoln 

Progressive Research Institute of Nebraska, Omaha 

Santee Sioux Nation Head Start, Niobrara 

Nebraska (Inc.) 

Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Justice Team, Omaha 

Somali Community Service, Inc., Omaha 

University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha 

Western Nebraska Resources Council, Chadron 

Association of Career and Technical Education of Nebraska, Lincoln 
45 

Nebraska Advocacy Services, Inc., Lincoln 

Nevada 

Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas 

Churchill County School District, Fallon 

Food Bank of Northern Nevada, Reno 

Golden Rainbow, Las Vegas 

Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, Inc., Reno 

Nevada Adult Educators, Las Vegas 

Nevada Occupational Therapy Association, Las Vegas 

Nevada School Counselor Association (NvSCA), Reno, Las Vegas 

Reno Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, Reno 

Washoe County (Nevada) Department of Senior Services, Reno 

New Hampshire 

Center For Life Management, Derry 

Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire, Concord 

Greater Nashua Mental Health Center at Community Council, Nashua 

Housing Action New Hampshire, Concord 

Local 119, Exeter 

Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter, Inc., Nashua 

New Hampshire Association of School Principals, Concord 

New Hampshire Association of Special Education Administrators, Concord 

New Hampshire School Library Media Association, Laconia 

New Hampshire School Library Media Association (NHSLMA), Exeter 

Rockingham Nutrition and Meals on Wheels Program, Brentwood, 

The New Hampshire Occupational Therapy Association, Concord 

University of New Hampshire/McNair (TRiO), Durham 

New Jersey 

Abundant Life Community Development Corporation, Edgewater Park 

Advocates for Children of New Jersey, Newark 

Alternatives to Domestic Violence, Hackensack 

Atlantic Cape Family Support Organization, Northfield 

Bergen County Youth Services Commission, Hackensack 

Burlington County Workforce Investment Board, Mount Holly 

Camden County Family Support Organization, Merchantville 

Cape May City Elementary School, Cape May 

Career and Technical Education Association of New Jersey, Pemberton 

Cathedral Soup Kitchen, Inc., Camden 

Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton, Trenton 

Children’s Aid and Family Services, South Orange 

Citizen Schools New Jersey, Newark 

Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Hillside 

COPE Center, Inc., Montclair 

Cumberland/Salem Workforce Investment Board, Bridgeton 

Englewood Housing Authority, Englewood 

Family Support Organization of Bergen County, Waldwick 

Family Support Organization of Bergen County, Fair Lawn 

Food Bank of South Jersey, Pennsauken 

Garden State Employment & Training Association, Toms River 

Head Start Community Program of Morris County, Inc., Dover 

Homefront, Inc., Lawrenceville 

Horizon Health Center, Jersey City, Bayonne 

Housing Community Development Network of New Jersey, Trenton 

Hudson County Housing Resource Center, Jersey City 

Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, New Brunswick 

JCDTOC, Inc., Cape May Court House 

Kean University, Union 

LEW Corporation, Mountainside 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Greater Newark, Newark 

Meals On Wheels, Inc.—Linden, Linden 

Monmouth County Regional Health Commission, Tinton Falls 

Morris-Sussex-Warren Workforce Investment Board, Morristown 

Mount Carmel Guild, Cranford 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Asbury Park 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Cherry Hill 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Gloucester County, Wenonah 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Greater Monmouth, Freehold 
46 

National Council of Jewish Women, Concordia Section, Monroe Township 

National Council of Jewish Women, Union County Section, Elizabeth 

National Council of Jewish Women, West Morris Section, Morristown 

New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition, Englewood 

New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Ocean 

New Jersey Association of Mental Health & Addiction Agencies, Inc., Mercerville 

New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc., Hamilton 

New Jersey Association of Pupil Services Administrators, Westfield 

New Jersey Campus Compact, Branchburg 

New Jersey Citizen Action, Newark 

New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, Monroe Township 

North Hanover Township Schools, Wrightstown 

Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity, Toms River 

Ocean County Workforce Investment Board, Toms River 

Pleasantville Housing Authority, Pleasantville 

Preferred Behavioral Health of New Jersey, Brick 

Princeton Community Housing, Inc., Princeton 

Project Live, Inc., Newark 

Respond, Inc., Camden 

Straight and Narrow Inc., Paterson 

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/University Behavioral 

HealthCare, Piscataway 

Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey (VNACNJ) Community Health 

Center, Inc., Asbury Park 

New Mexico 

Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque 

Citizen Schools New Mexico, Albuquerque 

Clovis Municipal Schools, Clovis 

Community Against Violence, Taos 

Five Sandoval Indian Pueblos, Inc. Head Start, Bernalillo 

Gallup-McKinley County Schools, Ramah 

Media Arts Collaborative Charter School, Albuquerque 

National Education Association New Mexico, Santa Fe 

National Education Association Santa Fe, Santa Fe 

Native American Disability Law Center, Inc., Farmington 

New Mexico Music Educators Association, Las Cruces 

New Mexico Association of Secondary School Principals, Rio Rancho 

New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, Albuquerque 

New Mexico Council of Administrators of Special Education (NMCASE), Dexter 

New Mexico Forum for Youth in Community, Albuquerque 

New Mexico Occupational Therapy Association, Albuquerque 

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces 

New Mexico Voices for Children, Albuquerque 

Prosperity Works, Albuquerque 

Pueblo of Zuni Head Start, Zuni 

RESULTS-Santa Fe, Santa Fe 

Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico, Albuquerque 

YES Housing Inc., Albuquerque 

Youth Development, Inc., Albuquerque 

National Education Association—Carlsbad, Carlsbad 

New York 

1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds, New York 

Access to Independence of Cortland County, Inc., Cortland 

Advocates for Children of New York, New York 

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, New York City 

Allegany County Office for the Aging, Belmont 

Arbor Housing and Development, Bath 

Arise, Inc., Syracuse 

Boulevard Houses, Brooklyn 

Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Brooklyn 

Brooklyn for Peace, Brooklyn 

Brooklyn Kindergarten Society, New York 

Brooklyn-Queens National Organization for Women, Brooklyn 

Buffalo Council of School Administrators, Buffalo 

Caring for the Homeless of Peekskill, Peekskill 

Cattaraugus County Department of the Aging, Olean 
47 

Center for Children’s Initiatives, New York 

Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York 

Central New York Citizens in Action, Inc., Utica 

Chenango County Area Agency on Aging, Norwich 

Children’s Defense Fund—New York, New York 

Citizen Action of New York, Binghamton 

Citizen Schools New York, New York 

City of Syracuse Lead Program, Syracuse 

Claire Heureuse Community Center, Inc., Jamaica 

Columbia County Office for the Aging, Hudson 

Community Action Planning Council of Jefferson County, New York, Watertown 

Community Service Society of New York, New York 

Cortland County Health Department, Cortland 

Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), New York 

Delaware County Office for the Aging, Delhi 

Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels, Dunkirk 

Early Care & Learning Council, Albany 

Empire Justice Center, Rochester 

Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island, Garden City 

Everyone Reading, New York 

Fifth Avenue Committee, Brooklyn 

Foodnet Meals on Wheels, Ithaca 

Fort Greene Peace, Brooklyn 

Fulton County Office for Aging, Johnstown 

Fulton, Montgomery and Schoharie Counties Workforce Development Board, Inc., 

Amsterdam 

Future Leaders Institute Charter School, New York 

Human Development Services of Westchester, Mamaroneck 

Hunger Solutions New York, Albany 

Innersight, Islip 

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers—Local 43, Clay 

Jackson Resident Association, Inc., Bronx 

Joint Council for Economic Opportunity, Plattsburgh 

Leake and Watts Services, Inc., Yonkers 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Buffalo 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation New York City, New York 

Long Island Educational Opportunity Center, Brentwood 

Madison County Office for the Aging, Inc., Canastota 

Meals on Wheels of Syracuse, New York, Inc., Syracuse 

Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Buffalo & Erie County, Williamsville 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Cattaraugus, Olean 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Central Suffolk, Port Jefferson Station 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Huntington, Huntington 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—LAMP/SW Nassau, Merrick 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—New York City, Staten Island, Staten Island 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—New York State, Albany 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Queens & Nassau, Manhasset 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Rensselaer County, West Sand Lake 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Rochester, Rochester 

National Council of Jewish Women—Lakeville Section, Great Neck 

Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of New York State, Albany 

New Destiny Housing, New York 

New York Annual Conference, United Methodist Church, Brooklyn 

New York Association of School Psychologists, Albany 

New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals (NYATEP), Albany 

New York State Association of College Admission Counseling, Red Hook 

New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO), Albany 

New York State Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Albany 

New York State Dance Education Association, New York 

New York State Head Start Association, Glens Falls 

New York State Rural Housing Coalition, Albany 

New York State School Counselor Association, Leicester 

New York University Langone Medical Center, New York 

Northern Regional Center for Independent Living, Family Support Services, Watertown 

Ontario County Office for the Aging, Canandaigua 
48 

Orleans County Office for the Aging, Albion 

PathStone Corporation, Rochester 

Peace Action Bay Ridge, Brooklyn 

Per Scholas Inc., Bronx 

Program on Applied Demographics—Cornell University, Ithaca 

Rape Crisis Service of Planned Parenthood of the Rochester Syracuse Region, Batavia 

Rural Ulster Preservation Company, Kingston 

Safe Against Violence, Hamden 

Saugerties Public Housing Agency, Saugerties 

School Administrators Association of New York State, Latham 

Schuyler County Office for the Aging, Montour Falls 

Selfhelp Community Services, New York 

Senior Services of Albany, Inc., Albany 

Sexual Assault & Crime Victims Assistance Program, Troy 

St. John’s Riverside Hospital, Yonkers 

St. Lawrence County Office for the Aging, Canton 

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Food Pantry, New York 

Steuben County Department of Social Services/Building Independence for the Long 

Term, Bath 

Supportive Housing Network of New York, New York 

The Children’s Aid Society, New York 

The Doe Fund, New York 

The Osborne Association, Bronx, Brooklyn, Beacon, Poughkeepsie 

Town of Hamburg, New York, Hamburg 

Trabajamos Community Head Start, Bronx 

Ulster County Office for the Aging, Kingston 

VillageCare, New York 

Westchester Community Opportunity Program, Inc., Elmsford 

Whitney M. Young Community Health Center, Albany 

Wyoming County Office for the Aging, Warsaw 

Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, New York 

North Carolina 

Aging, Disability and Transit Services of Rockingham County, Reidsville 

Albemarle Commission Senior Nutrition Program, Hertford 

Avery County Habitat for Humanity, Newland 

Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, Chapel Hill 

Charlotte Family Housing, Charlotte 

Citizen Schools North Carolina, Charlotte 

Clay County Senior Center, Hayesville 

Crisis Council, Inc., Troy 

Cumberland County Council on Older Adults, Fayetteville 

Cumberland County School System, Fayetteville 

disAbility Resource Center, Wilmington 

Disability Rights North Carolina, Raleigh 

Disability Rights & Resources, Charlotte 

Durham County Department of Social Services, Durham 

Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board, Inc., New Bern 

Epilepsy Foundation of North Carolina, Winston-Salem 

Fargo Public Schools, Fargo 

Greensboro Housing Coalition, Greensboro 

Harnett County Elderly Nutrition Program, Lillington 

Harnett County Schools, Lillington 

Healthy Homes and Lead Safety, Leicester 

Jackson County Meals on Wheels, Sylva 

Lincoln County Senior Services, Lincolnton 

Macon Program for Progress, Franklin 

McDowell County Head Start & Preschool Programs, Marion 

Meals on Wheels of Wake County, Raleigh 

Mental Health America of the Triangle, Durham 

Mental Health Association in Greensboro, Greensboro 

Mental Health Association in Wilson County, Wilson 

Mental Health Association of Central Carolinas, Charlotte 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Charlotte 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Durham 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Smithfield 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Wilson 
49 

NC–LEND at The Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, Chapel Hill 

News . . . from our Shoes, Raleigh 

North Carolina Association of Educators, Raleigh 

North Carolina Council of Administrators of Special Education, Wilmington 

North Carolina Council of Administrators of Special Education (NCCASE), Greensboro 

North Carolina Council of Educational Opportunity Programs (NCCEOP), Greensboro 

North Carolina Families United, Raleigh 

North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership, Raleigh 

North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association, Charlotte 

North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals’ Association, Raleigh 

North Carolina School Library Media Association, Raleigh 

Pamlico County Senior Services, Alliance 

Parent VOICE, Charlotte 

Pender County Schools Head Start, Burgaw 

Residents for Affordable Housing, Mooresville 

Sarah’s Refuge, Inc. Domestic Violence & Rape Crisis Center, Warsaw 

Senior Resources of Guilford, Greensboro 

Senior Services of Forsyth County, Winston Salem 

Special Education Department Iredell-Statesville Schools, Statesville 

Swain County Schools, Bryson City 

Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UECDD), 

Chapel Hill 

United Family Services, Charlotte 

WAGES, Goldsboro 

Warren-Vance Community Health Center/Northern Outreach Clinic, Henderson 

Watauga County Project on Aging, Boone 

Western North Carolina AIDS Project, Asheville 

North Dakota 

Abused Adult Resource Center, Bismarck 

Dunseith Public School District, Dunseith 

Eastern Dakota Housing Alliance, Fargo 

Ft. Yates Public School District #4, Ft. Yates 

Grand Forks Housing Authority, Grand Forks 

Grand Forks Senior Center, Grand Forks 

Grand Forks Special Education Unit, Grand Forks 

Kenmare Wheels & Meals, Kenmare 

Lake Region Outreach Office, Rolla 

Minot Area Homeless Coalition, Inc., Minot 

Minot Commission on Aging, Minot 

North Dakota Association of Secondary School Principals, Bismarck 

North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People, Bismarck 

North Dakota Education Association, Dickinson 

North Dakota Music Educators Association, Fargo 

North Dakota Reading Association, Bismarck 

North Dakota School Counseling Association, Jamestown 

Parshall School District #3, Parshall 

Protection and Advocacy Project, Bismarck 

Red River Valley Community Action, Grand Forks 

Selfridge Public School District #8, Selfridge 

Solen Public School District #3, Solen 

South Central Adult Services, Valley City 

St. John School District #3, St. John 

Valley Senior Services, Fargo 

Welcome House, Inc., Bismarck 

YWCA Minot, Minot 

Northern Mariana Islands 

Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, Saipan MP 

Ohio 

Access Center for Independent Living, Dayton 

American Association of University Professors—Wright State University, Ohio Conference, Lima 

Area Agency on Aging 3, Lima 

Cleveland Housing Network, Cleveland 
50 

Coalition on Homelessness & Housing in Ohio, Columbus 

Cogswell Hall, Inc., Cleveland 

Columbus State Community College Disability Services, Columbus 

Community Counseling Center, Ashtabula 

Community Development Corporation Resource Consortium, Inc., Dayton 

Consortium for Healthy & Immunized Communities, Inc., Cleveland 

Council for Older Adults, Delaware 

Cuyahoga County Board of Health (Greater Cleveland), Parma 

Elyria City Health District, Elyria 

Epilepsy Foundation of Central Ohio, Columbus 

Fairborn City Schools, Fairborn 

Families Connected of Clermont County/Chapter of the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Batavia 

Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network, Cincinnati 

Guernsey County Senior Citizens Center, Inc., Cambridge 

Hand ’N Hand Activity Center for Adults with Disabilities, Springfield 

Hocking Hills Inspire Shelter, Logan 

Holmes County General Health District, Millersburg 

Housing Research & Advocacy Center, Cleveland 

Housing Solutions of Greene County, Inc., Xenia 

Juvenile Justice Coalition of Ohio, Bath 

Lancaster Fairfield Community Action Agency, Lancaster 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Toledo 

Lorain County Workforce Development Agency, Elyria 

Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, Cleveland 

Mad River Local Schools, Riverside 

Mature Services, Inc., Akron 

Meigs County Council on Aging, Inc., Pomeroy 

Mobile Meals, Inc., Akron 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Seneca, Sandusky, Wyandot counties, Tiffin 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Stark County, Canton 

National Council of Jewish Women—Cleveland, Cleveland 

Ohio Association for Adult and Continuing Education, Columbus 

Ohio Association for Career and Technical Education, Westerville 

Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, Columbus 

Ohio Campus Compact, Granville 

Ohio Council of Behavioral Health & Family Services Providers, Columbus 

Ohio Education Association, Columbus 

Ohio Educational Library Media Association, Columbus 

Ohio Music Education Association, Lima 

Ohio River Foundation, Cincinnati 

Ohio Rural Community Assistance Program, Fremont 

Ohio School Social Worker Association, Bay Village 

Ohio TRiO, Mansfield 

Ohio Workforce Coalition, Fremont 

PowerNet of Dayton, Dayton 

Public Allies Cincinnati, Cincinnati 

RESULTS Columbus, Columbus 

Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign, Logan Counties, Springfield 

Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley, Youngstown 

Shared Harvest Foodbank, Fairfield 

Stark County Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority, Canton 

Summit County Public Health, Summit County 

The Arc of Ohio 

The Foodbank, Inc., Dayton 

The MetroHealth System, Cleveland 

The Ohio Head Start Association, Dayton 

Toledo Fair Housing Center, Toledo 

Towards Employment, Cleveland 

Tri-County Independent Living Center, Inc., Akron 

Trumbull Mobile Meals, Inc., Warren 

United Steel Workers Local 8530, Mansfield 

Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry, Youngstown 

Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, Cincinnati 

Working In Neighborhoods, Cincinnati 

YWCA H.O.P.E. Center, Toledo 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, 

Cincinnati 
51 

Voices for Ohio’s Children, Cleveland 

Oklahoma 

Cherokee Strip Reading Council, Enid 

Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes Head Start Program, Concho 

Four Winds Iowa Tribe, Perkins 

Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma Early Head Start & Expectant Families Program, Perkins 

J&J Educational Services, Kinta 

New Lima Public School, Wewoka 

Oaks Mission School, Oaks 

Oklahoma National Association of Secondary School Principals, Kingfisher 

Oklahoma Reading Association, Enid 

Oklahoma Therapeutic Foster Care Association, Oklahoma City 

OSCA, Shawnee 

Salina Public Schools, Salina 

Wickliffe School, Salina 

Oregon 

American Association of University Women—Oregon, Salem 

CASA of Oregon, Sherwood 

Cascade AIDS Project, Portland 

Centennial Education Association, Portland 

University of Oregon Center on Human Development—University Center for Excellence in 

Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), Eugene 

Community Alliance of Tenants, Portland 

Community Information Center, Portland 

Community Pathways, Inc., Portland 

Corvallis Education Association, Corvallis 

Crook County Health Department, Prineville 

Dallas Education Association, Dallas 

Disability Rights Oregon, Portland 

Eugene Education Association, Eugene 

Full Access, Eugene 

H & W Mechanical Inc., Tigard 

Head Start of Lane County, Springfield 

Health Education Network, Corvallis 

Hillsboro School District, Hillsboro 

Homeless Against Homelessness in America, Portland 

Hood River Education Association, Hood River 

Job Growers, Inc., Salem 

Josiah Hill III Clinic, Portland 

Lane Workforce Partnership, Eugene 

Madras Education Association, Madras 

Mid-Columbia Children’s Council, Hood River 

Morrow County Education Association, Boardman 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Lane County, Eugene 

National Education Association—Parkrose Faculty Association, Portland 

Network For Oregon Affordable Housing, Portland 

North Clackamas Education Association, Milwaukie 

Northwest Oregon Labor Council, AFL–CIO, Portland 

Northwest Pilot Project, Portland 

Occupational Therapy Association of Oregon, Salem 

Oregon Association of School Libraries, Portland 

Oregon Campus Compact, Portland 

Oregon Developmental Disability Coalition, Salem 

Oregon Education Association, Portland 

Oregon Food Bank, Portland 

Oregon Head Start Association, Phoenix 

Oregon Head Start Association, Salem 

Oregon Health & Science University, Portland 

Oregon Health & Science University Institute on Development & Disability—University Center for 

Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), Portland 

Oregon Military Support Network, Portland 

Oregon Pathways Alliance, The Dalles 

Oregon Rehabilitation Association, Salem 

Oregon School Counselor Association, Cornelius 
52 

Oregon School Social Work Association, Portland 

Oregon TRiO Association, Portland 

Oregon Wild, Portland 

Parkrose Faculty Association, Portland 

Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, Portland 

Partnership Project, Portland 

Phoenix-Talent Education Association, Phoenix 

Rogue Workforce Partnership, Medford 

Salem Keizer Education Association, Salem 

Southern Oregon Child & Family Council—Head Start and Early Head Start, Medford 

Tax Fairness Oregon, Portland 

Umpqua Community College/JOBS Program, Roseburg 

Western Farm Workers Association, Hillsboro 

Worksystems, Inc., Portland 

Pennsylvania 

ActionAIDS, Philadelphia 

Adult Literacy Program at Bayard Taylor Library, Kennett Square 

Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Homestead 

Allegheny Valley Association of Churches, Natrona Heights 

Allegheny Valley School District, Cheswick 

Area Agency on Aging, Philadelphia 

Association of Pittsburgh Priests, Pittsburgh 

Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania (ASPP), Doylestown 

Baldwin-Whitehall School District, Pittsburgh 

BFW Group, L.L.C., Philadelphia 

Brentwood Borough School District, Pittsburgh 

Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition, Bryn Mawr 

Center for Literacy, Inc., Philadelphia 

Center for Social Policy and Community Development, Philadelphia 

Central Intermediate Unit 10 Development Center for Adults, Pleasant Gap 

Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, Harrisburg 

Centre County Women’s Resource Center, State College 

Chester County Family Literacy, Kennett Square 

Chester County Food Bank, Downingtown 

Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), Harrisburg 

Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, Harrisburg 

Clairton City School District, Clairton 

Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem 

Community Counseling Center of Mercer County, Hermitage 

Community Development Action Corporation, Norristown 

Community Education Center, Altoona 

Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County, Sharon 

Community Learning Center, Philadelphia 

Community Organization for Mental Health and Retardation (COMHAR, Inc.), 

Philadelphia 

Community Services Group, Sunbury 

Cornell School District, Corapolis 

Coro Center for Civic Leadership, Pittsburgh 

Crawford County READ Program, Titusville 

Crime Victim Center of Erie County, Erie 

Deer Lakes School District, Russellton 

Delaware County Community College, Downingtown 

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Pennsylvania, Erie 

Dickinson Center, Inc., Ridgway 

Disabled In Action, Philadelphia 

Elizabeth Forward School District, Elizabeth 

Employment and Training, Inc., Huntingdon 

Employment Skills Center, Carlisle 

Feast of Justice, Philadelphia 

Focus On Renewal, McKees Rocks 

Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh 

Franklin County Headstart, Chambersburg 

Garraty Workforce Investment, Hummelstown 

Goodwill Literacy Initiative, Pittsburgh 

Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh 

Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, Philadelphia 
53 

Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Duquesne 

Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, Pittsburgh 

Greater Washington County Food Bank, Eighty Four 

H & J Weinberg Food Bank, Wilkes-Barre 

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 

Highlands School District, Natrona Heights 

Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, Glenside 

Housing Authority of Chester County, Chester County 

Housing Authority of the County of Dauphin, Steelton 

Hunger-Free Pennsylvania, McMurray 

Immigration and Refugee Services, ESL Program, Harrisburg 

Institute on Disabilities—University Center for 

Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), Philadelphia 

International Union of Operating Engineers Local 95, Pittsburgh 

Interplay Child Care Center, Pittsburgh 

JEVS Human Services, Philadelphia 

Just Harvest: A Center for Action Against Hunger, Pittsburgh 

Kensington Hospital Early Intervention Services Department, Philadelphia 

Keystone Oaks School District, Pittsburgh 

Lake Erie Region Conservancy, Erie 

Lawrence County Housing Authority, New Castle 

Lifelong Learning Choices, New Castle 

LifeSpan, Inc., Homestead 

Lincoln Intermediate Unit Franklin County Literacy Council, Chambersburg 

Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon, Lebanon 

Literacy Council of Norristown, Norristown 

Literacy Council of Reading-Berks, Inc., Reading 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Philadelphia 

Luzerne County Community College, Nanticoke 

Marywood Adult Literacy Education Program, Scranton 

McKeesport Area School District, McKeesport 

Meals on Wheels of Chester County, Inc., West Chester 

Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County, Allentown 

Mental Health Association of Northwestern Pennsylvania, Erie 

Mollie’s Meals, Pittsburgh 

Multicultural Community Resource Center, Erie 

National Alliance for Mental Illness, Lansdale 

National Alliance on Mental Illness—Chester County, West Chester 

Nazareth Housing Services, Pittsburgh 

Neighborhood Networks, Philadelphia 

Northgate School District, Pittsburgh 

Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network, Philadelphia 

Penn Action, Bucks County 

Penn Hills School District, Pittsburgh 

Penn Medicine, Philadelphia 

Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education (PAACE) State College 

Pathways Pennsylvania, 

Holmes 

Pennsylvania Association Council of Administrators of Special Education, Mountain 

Top 

Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling, Gettysburg 

Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Education, Philadelphia 

Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals, 

Summerdale 

Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, Harrisburg 

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, Harrisburg 

Pennsylvania Council of Churches, Harrisburg 

Pennsylvania Head Start Association, Harrisburg 

Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association, Harrisburg 

Pennsylvania Partners, Camp Hill 

Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, Whitehall 

Pennsylvania State Education Association, Harrisburg 

Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council, Lords Valley 

PenTrans, Philadelphia 

Perkiomen School, Pennsburg 

Perry County Literacy Council, Newport 

Philadelphia Neighborhood Networks, Philadelphia 

Phoenix Rising Counseling Services, Scranton 
54 

Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development, Pittsburgh 

Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network, Saylorsburg 

Plum Borough School District, Plum 

ProJeCt of Easton, Inc., Easton 

Providence Connections, Pittsburgh 

Public Allies Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 

Quaker Valley School District, Sewickley 

Reading Muhlenberg Career & Technology Center, Reading 

Regional Center for Workforce Excellence, Northwest WIA 

Robert Morris University, Moon 

Room to Grow Child Development Center/YMCA Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 

Shaler Area School District, Glenshaw 

South Fayette Township School District, McDonald 

South Hills Interfaith Ministries, Bethel Park 

South Park School District, South Park 

Squirrel Hill Community Food Pantry, Pittsburgh 

St. James Social Justice and Peace Committee, Wilkinsburg 

Stairways Behavioral Health, Erie 

Temple University Center for Social Policy and Community Development (CSPCD), 

Philadelphia 

The Advocacy Alliance, Zionsville 

The Arc of Pennsylvania, 

The Thomas Merton Center, Pittsburgh 

TIU 11 Community Education Services, Lewistown 

Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 Community Education Services, Lewistown 

Tutors of Literacy in the Commonwealth, State College 

United Methodist Church, Erie 

Vita Education Services, Doylestown 

West Allegheny School District, Imperial 

West Chester Food Cupboard, West Chester 

West Jefferson Hills School District, Jefferson Hills 

West Mifflin School District, West Mifflin 

Westmoreland Food Bank, Delmont 

Women’s Christian Alliance, Philadelphia 

Won Community Center, Glenside 

YWCA Lancaster, Lancaster 

Puerto Rico 

Centro Deambulantes Cristo Pobre, Ponce 

Coalicion de Coaliciones Pro Personas sin Hogar de PR, Inc., Ponce 

Head Start Program, Guaynabo 

One Stop Career Center of Puerto Rico, Inc., San Juan 

Rhode Island 

Childhood Lead Action Project, Providence 

Children’s Friend, Providence 

Economic Progress Institute, Providence 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Rhode Island, Providence 

Mental Health Association of Rhode Island, Pawtucket 

Paul Sherlock Center on Disabilities, Providence 

Rhode Island Association of School Principals, Providence 

Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, Pawtucket 

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, Providence 

Rhode Island School Psychologist Association, Providence 

Tiverton Senior Center, Tiverton 

Women’s Development Corporation, Providence 

Woonsocket Head Start Child Development Association, Inc. 

South Carolina 

Affordable Housing Coalition of South Carolina, Columbia 

Berkeley County School District, Moncks Corner 

Clemson University, Clemson 

Florence Crittenton Programs of South Carolina, Charleston 

Habitat for Humanity Georgetown County, Georgetown 

Humanities Foundation, Mount Pleasant 

Lowcountry Housing Trust, Charleston 

Protection & Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc., Columbia 

South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Columbia 

South Carolina Association of School Social Workers, Columbia 
55 

South Carolina Head Start Association, Inc., Hartsville 

South Carolina School Counselor Association, Eutawville 

South Carolina TRiO, Greenville 

Southern Association for College Admission Counseling, North Augusta 

The Arc of South Carolina, 

United Way of Greenville County, Greenville 

Watertree AIDS Task Force, Sumter 

South Dakota 

Brandon Valley School District, Brandon 

Center for Active Generations, Sioux Falls 

Center for Disabilities, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), 

Sioux Falls 

Custer School District, Custer 

Flandreau Public School, Flandreau 

Hot Springs School District 23–2, Hot Springs 

Impact Schools of South Dakota, Sioux Falls 

Kadoka Area School District 35–2, Kadoka 

Learning Disabilities Association of South Dakota, Chamberlain 

Lyman School District, Presho 

McLaughlin Public School, McLaughlin 

Smee School District, Wakpala 

South Central School District, Bonesteel 

South Dakota ASPIRE, Mitchell 

South Dakota Association for Career and Technical Education, Watertown 

South Dakota Council of Administrators of Special Education, Canton 

South Dakota Education Association, Pierre 

South Dakota Occupational Therapy Association, Sioux Falls 

Todd County School District, Mission 

Wagner Community School District, Wagner 

White River School District 47–1 SD, White River 

Tennessee 

Black Children’s Institute of Tennessee, Nashville 

Center for Literacy Studies, Knoxville 

Clarksville Retired Teachers (TEA, NEA, ACA), Clarksville 

Disability Law & Advocacy Center of Tennessee, Nashville 

Disability Resource Center, Knoxville 

East Tennessee State University, Johnson City 

Epilepsy Foundation Southeast Tennessee, Chattanooga 

Fleming Construction Co., Collierville 

Kingsport Public Housing, Kingsport 

Kingsport/Sullivan County Adult Education, Kingsport 

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis 

Learning Disabilities Association of Tennessee, Memphis 

Ledford Engineering and Planning, L.L.C., Arlington 

Metro Nashville Council, Nashville 

Nashville CARES, Nashville 

New Level Community Development Corporation, Nashville 

Regional Intervention Program-Gallatin, Gallatin 

Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital & Center, Inc., Oak Ridge 

Telecom Training Corporation, Nashville 

Tennessee Association for Adult and Community Education, Ripley 

Tennessee Association of Special Programs, Knoxville 

Tennessee Education Association, Nashville 

The Arc Tennessee 

Volunteer Behavioral Health Care System, Murfreesboro 

Texas 

Arc of Greater Beaumont, Beaumont 

Austin Resource Center for Independent Living, Austin 

Baylor University Family Abuse Center, Waco 

Builders of Hope CDC, Dallas 

CASA of Southeast Texas, Beaumont 

Center for Public Policy Priorities, Austin 

Children’s Defense Fund—Texas, Houston 

Citizen Schools Texas, Houston 

City Wide Community Development Corporation, Dallas 
56 

Copperas Cove Independent School District, Copperas Cove 

Crisis Center of the Plains, Plainview 

Denton Affordable Housing Corporation, Denton 

Denton County Homeless Coalition, Denton County 

Disability Rights Texas, Austin 

Education Equals Making Community Connections, Plantersville 

Family Health & Aids Care Services International (FAHASI), Houston 

Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels, Rosenberg 

Fort Sam Houston Independent School District, San Antonio 

Freedom House, Weatherford 

Gateway to Care, Houston 

Health Care for All—Texas, Houston 

Hill Country Crisis Council, Inc., Kerrville 

Houston Center for Independent Living, Houston 

InnerWisdom Counseling Center, Houston 

K.E.E.P.S., Austin 

Kaufman County Senior Citizens Services, Inc., Terrell 

La Fe Policy Research and Education Center, San Antonio 

Lackland Independent School District, San Antonio 

Legacy Community Health Services, Houston 

Lewisville Independent School District, Flower Mound 

Liberty County Project on Aging, Liberty 

Llano Grande Center, Elsa 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Houston, Houston 

LoneStar LEND, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, Houston 

Meals on Wheels and More, Austin 

Meals on Wheels Association of Texas 

Meals on Wheels of Texoma, Gainesville 

Meals on Wheels, Waco 

Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, Dallas 

Mental Health America of Southeast Texas, Beaumont 

Mental Health Association in Jefferson County, Beaumont, 

Mi Escuelita Preschool, Dallas 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Lubbock 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), San Antonio 

National Birth Defects Prevention Network, Houston 

National Council of Jewish Women, Houston Section, Houston 

Nueces County community Action Agency—Early Head Start, Corpus Christi 

Nutrition and Services for Seniors, Beaumont 

Parent/Child Incorporated, San Antonio 

Pottsboro Independent School District, Pottsboro 

Project Transitions, Austin 

Senior Center of Walker County, Huntsville 

Senior Community Outreach Services, Inc., Alamo 

Sexual Assault Resource Center, Bryan 

Tarrant County Housing, Fort Worth 

Texans Care for Children, Austin 

Texas Association of Local Health Officials, Austin 

Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education, Austin 

Texas Food Bank Network, Austin 

Texas Homeless Network, Austin 

Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, Austin 

Texas School Public Relations Association, Austin 

Texas Tenants’ Union, Dallas 

The Kitchen ‘‘Meals on Wheels,’’ Wichita Falls 

The Woodlands Grass Roots Environmental Education Network (GREEN), The 

Woodlands 

TIRR Foundation, Houston 

Urban Progress Community Development Corporation (UPCDC) Texas, Inc., Dallas 

Wood County Health Department, Quitman 

Gregory Housing Authority, Gregory 

Utah 

Brigham City Senior Center Meals on Wheels, Brigham City 

Crossroads Urban Center, Salt Lake City 

Disabled Rights Action Committee, Salt Lake City 

Seekhaven Family Crisis & Resource Center, Moab 

The Learning Center for Families, St. George 
57 

Tri-County Independent Living Center, Woods Cross 

University of Utah Health Sciences, Salt Lake 

Utah Association for Career and Technical Education, Salt Lake City 

Utah Association of Secondary School Principals, West Jordan 

Utah Developmental Disabilities Council, 

Utah Education Association, Salt Lake City 

Utah Food Bank, Salt Lake City 

Utah Housing Coalition, Salt Lake City 

Utah School Counselor Association, Murray 

Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities, Logan 

Utahns Against Hunger, Salt Lake City 

Voices for Utah Children, Salt Lake City 

Vermont 

Addison County Community Trust, Vergennes 

Area Agency on Aging for Northeastern Vermont, St. Johnsbury 

Bennington County Head Start, Bennington 

Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing, Brattleboro 

Brattleboro Housing Authority, Brattleboro 

Central Vermont Council on Aging, Barre 

Champlain Housing Trust, Burlington 

Chelsea Area Senior Citizen’s Center, Chelsea 

Department of Economic Housing & Community Development, Montpelier 

Franklin Central Supervisory Union, St. Albans 

Galley Senior Meals Program, Barre 

Greater Northfield Senior Citizens, Inc., Northfield 

Hunger Free Vermont, South Burlington 

Lamoille North Supervisory Union, Hyde Park 

Lamoille South Supervisory Union, Morrisville, Stowe, Elmore 

North Country Schools Supervisory Union, Newport City 

Northgate Residents’ Ownership Corporation, Burlington 

Safe Kids Addison County, Vergennes 

Sexual Assault Crisis Team, Barre 

South Royalton Area Senior Citizen’s Center, South Royalton 

Twin Valley Seniors, Inc., Marshfield 

United Counseling Service of Bennington County, Bennington 

Vermont Adult Learning, Waterbury 

Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition, Burlington 

Vermont Center for Independent Living, Montpelier 

Vermont Child Passenger Safety, Milton 

Vermont Community Loan Fund, Montpelier 

Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators, Montpelier 

Vermont Education Opportunity Program (VEOP), Brandon 

Vermont Educational Opportunity Programs (VEOP), Castleton 

Vermont Occupational Therapy Association, Plainfield 

Vermont-NEA, Montpelier 

VocRehab Vermont, Williston 

Voices for Vermont’s Children, Montpelier 

Washington West Supervisory Union, Waitsfield 

Virginia 

A Hope 4 Tomorrow, Inc., Portsmouth 

Beach House, Inc., Virginia Beach 

Byrd Elementary School, Richmond 

Coalition for Justice, Blacksburg 

Community Housing Partners, Christiansburg 

ENDependence Center of Northern VA, Arlington 

Families & Allies of Virginia’s Youth, Arlington 

FeedMore, Inc., Richmond 

Learning Disabilities Association of Virginia, Richmond 

Local Office on Aging, Roanoke 

Mental Health America, Charlottesville-Albemarle, Charlottesville 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) NoVa, Leesburg 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Virginia Beach 

Partnership for People with Disabilities, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities 

(UCEDD), Richmond 
58 

Potomac & Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling, Virginia 

Beach 

Prince George County Public Schools, Prince George 

Public Housing of Residents, Charlottesville 

Richmond Public Schools, Richmond 

Sexual Assault Victims Advocacy Services (SAVAS), Woodbridge 

Social Action Linking Together (SALT), Vienna 

The Virginia School Counselor Association, Manassas 

University of Virginia, Charlottesville 

Virginia Association of Centers for Independent Living, Roanoke 

Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, Richmond 

Virginia Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, Wytheville 

Virginia Association of School Librarians, Richmond 

Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, Richmond 

Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education (VCASE), Hopewell 

Virginia Education Association, Richmond 

Virginia Housing Coalition, Richmond 

Virginia Organizing, Charlottesville 

Voices for Virginia’s Children, Richmond 

Virginia Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Richmond 

Virgin Islands 

St. Croix Educational Administrators’ Association, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands 

Washington 

Above The Line: The Poverty Project, Lacey 

Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington, Spokane 

API Chaya, Seattle 

Asian Counseling & Referral Service, Seattle 

Association of Washington School Principals, Odessa 

Campion Foundation, Seattle 

Career Path Services, Spokane 

Cascadia Community College, Bothell 

Center for Independence, Tacoma 

Children’s Alliance, Seattle 

Church of Steadfast Love, Seattle 

Columbia River Economic Development Council, Vancouver 

Community Psychiatric Clinic, Seattle 

Compass Housing Alliance, Seattle 

Conscious Talk Radio, Issaquah 

Food Lifeline, Seattle 

Frontier Behavioral Health, Spokane 

Heartlandz L.L.C., Bellingham 

HomeStep, Seattle 

Immanuel Community Services, Seattle 

Impact Capital, Seattle 

Inchelium School Board, Inchelium 

Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), Seattle 

International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Seattle 

Islamic Civic Engagement Project, Seattle 

Kitsap Mental Health Services, Bremerton 

Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Seattle 

Lutheran Community Services Northwest, Spokane 

Mount Adams School District #209, White Swan 

Nespelem School District #14, Nespelem 

Northwest Harvest, Seattle 

Northwest Health Law Advocates, Seattle 

Office of Rural & Farmworker Housing, Yakima 

Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling, Seattle 

Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights, Olympia 

Pend Oreille County Counseling Services, Newport 

Pierce County Housing Authority, Tacoma 

Port Gamble Elder’s Program, Kingston 

Port Gamble S’Klallam Housing Authority, Kingston 

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe Early Childhood Education Program Policy Council, 

Kingston 

Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans, Seattle 

Puget Sound ESD, Renton 
59 

Sacred Heart Social Justice Ministry, Pullman 

Save A Life, Puyallup 

Seattle BioMed, Seattle 

Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle 

Seattle Jobs Initiative, Seattle 

Seattle RESULTS, Seattle 

Sexual Assault and Family Trauma Response Center, Spokane 

Skagit Habitat for Humanity, Mount Vernon 

Solid Ground, Seattle 

Sound Mental Health, Seattle 

The Arc of King County, Seattle 

The Arc of Snohomish County, Everett 

The Arc of Tri-Cities, Richland 

The Arc of Washington State, 

Triumph Treatment Services, Yakima 

Washington Association for Career and Technical Education, Olympia 

Washington CAN!, Seattle 

Washington Community Mental Health Council, Seattle 

Washington ElderCare Alliance, Olympia 

Washington Global Health Alliance, Seattle 

Washington Library Media Association (WLMA), Seattle 

Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, Bellevue 

Washington State Council on Aging, Spokane 

Washington State TRIO Association, Seattle 

Wellpinit School District, Wellpinit 

Willapa Behavioral Health, Long Beach 

Women’s Coalition of Washington, Yakima 

WorkForce Central, Tacoma 

Workforce Development Council Seattle-King County, Seattle 

Yakima Valley System of Care, Yakima 

Valley Cities Counseling, Kent 

West Virginia 

Boone County Community Organization, Madison 

CommunityWorks in West Virginia, Inc., Charleston 

Huntington Area Food Bank, Huntington 

Mason County Schools, Point Pleasant 

Mountain Community Action Project of West Virginia, Inc., Buckhannon 

Northern West Virginia Center for Independent Living, Morgantown 

Pocahontas County Health Department, Marlinton 

The Fairmont Morgantown Housing Authority, Fairmont 

Valley HealthCare System, Morgantown 

West Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (WVASSP), Charleston 

West Virginia Campus Compact, Morgantown 

West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, Inc., Weston 

West Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education, Franklin 

West Virginia TRiO Association, Huntington 

West Virginia University, Morgantown 

Wisconsin 

Access to Independence, Madison 

Ashland County Aging Unit, Inc., Ashland 

Association of Wisconsin School Administrators, Madison 

ASTOP Sexual Abuse Services, Fond du Lac 

Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 

City of Kenosha Housing Authority, Kenosha 

CWC HIV/AIDS Advocacy, Policy & Procedure Consultant Service, Milwaukee 

Family Forum, Inc., Superior 

Grassroots Empowerment Project, Madison 

HAVEN, Inc., Merrill 

Independent Living Council of Wisconsin, Inc., Madison 

La Crosse Wisconsin WIC Program, La Crosse 

Learning Disabilities Association of Wisconsin, Kiel 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation Milwaukee, Milwaukee 

Marquette University, Milwaukee 

Menominee Indian School District, Keshena 

Mental Health America of Wisconsin, Madison 

Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board (MAWIB), Milwaukee 
60 

Northwest Wisconsin Concentrated Employment Program (CEP, Inc.), Ashland 

Northwest Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board, Inc., Ashland 

Polk County Health Department, Balsam Lake 

Reach Counseling Services, Inc., Neenah 

Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, Platteville 

Wisconsin Association for College Admission Counseling, Madison 

Wisconsin Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (WAEOPP), 

Superior 

Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Services, Madison 

Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, Madison 

Wisconsin Education Association Council, Madison 

Wisconsin Manufactured Home Owners Association, Inc., Marshall 

Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, Milwaukee 

Wisconsin School Social Work Association, Milwaukee 

Wisconsin WIC Association, Oshkosh 

Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin, Madison 

Wyoming 

Fremont County Public Health, Lander 

Fremont County School District #14, Ethete 

Fremont County School District #21, Fort Washakie 

Natrona County Meals On Wheels, Casper 

Wyoming Association of Secondary School Principals, Laramie 

Wyoming Children’s Action Alliance, Cheyenne 

Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless, Cheyenne 

Wyoming Occupational Therapy Association, Casper 

Wyoming Protection & Advocacy System, Inc., Cheyenne 

Wyoming School Counselors Association, Worland 

Senator MURRAY. And those organizations are very, very concerned about the domestic side and the impact on our country. 

Everybody believes sequestration is a terrible thing. We cannot 

let it happen. We have to come up with a balanced proposal, one 

that we all know has to include something from both sides, including revenue from the wealthiest Americans. They have to be willing to participate in this and pay their fair share. 

So I think the answer is in front of us. It’s just going to take the 

political will from both sides to say that we know that’s what we 

need to do. 

IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION ON U.S. COMPETITIVENESS

But I do think, Mr. Secretary, we have to focus on our economic 

competitiveness. You talked about it in your opening statement. 

And I think the investments that we make are absolutely crucial 

to our country recovering from this recession and creating jobs that 

are so important. 

And I wanted to ask you today what you think that sequestration 

coupled with the appropriations for education and the reductions in 

spending that we have been seeing will have on the effect of our 

competitiveness. 

Secretary DUNCAN. So I worry tremendously today that, in tough 

economic times, we have 2 million at least, I think, 2 million highwage, high-skilled jobs that are unfilled. And I can’t tell you how 

many Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) that I’ve met with and the 

President’s met with who say we’re trying to hire right now, and 

we can’t find the employees with the skills that we’re looking for. 

I think we, in education, have to look ourselves in the mirror and 

be very self-critical and say we have to do a much better job. 

CEOs want to keep those jobs here. They want to hire. They 

want to keep their companies in the United States. But they’re 
61 

going to go to where the knowledgeable workers are, and that’s 

going to be right here or that’s going to be India, China, South 

Korea, or Singapore. 

And so, for me, this fight is about so much more than education. 

It is absolutely about economic competitiveness. And if we think 

being 16th in the world or 20th in the world in college graduation 

rates is going to lead to a strong economy, I just fundamentally reject that. 

If we can again lead the world in college graduation rates, then 

I become very hopeful about our economic competitiveness and having a lower unemployment rate. 

So these two things I said earlier are just absolutely inextricably 

linked. You can’t separate them out. We have to educate our way 

to a stronger economy. 

FOREIGN COUNTRIES INCREASING THEIR COMPETITIVENESS

Senator MURRAY. What about those countries that are nipping at 

our heels, China and India, South Korea? Are they increasing or 

decreasing their investments in education? 

Secretary DUNCAN. Senator, they are not scaling back, I would 

say. It’s not like folks are waiting around for us to pass them by. 

These guys are innovating. They’re creative. They’re putting 

more resources behind this. They’re doing things at a scale and 

with a sense of urgency that I think stuns people here. 

And I’m spending more and more of my time with my international counterparts, because that’s where the competition is. 

And anyone who thinks that the rest of the world is going to 

stand idly by and watch us try and catch up fundamentally doesn’t 

understand how seriously these countries are taking their need to 

educate, to innovate, to be creative, to be entrepreneurial. And our 

competition is very, very strong. 

Senator MURRAY. Mr. Chairman, I think all of us should really 

listen to that. If we want our country to be the top in the global 

economic world that we live in, we’re going to have to make investments just like our competitors do. And this sequestration and this 

budget deal that is in front of us offers us a stark choice today. We 

can move forward and invest, or we can just hide behind cutting, 

and I just do not believe that’s the right way to go. 

BALANCED, BIPARTISAN ACTION NEEDED

There is no magic to this. Revenue has to be on the table. And 

I hope that as more members learn about the impacts of the 

choices that we have in front of us that it will get us to a balanced, 

bipartisan, and fair deal where every American participates in our 

future. 

Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, Senator Murray. 

Senator Reed. 

Senator REED. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And thank you, Mr. Secretary. 
62 

IMPACT OF EXEMPTING DEFENSE FROM SEQUESTRATION

And I want to underscore some points that were made by the 

chairman and by Senator Murray. 

First of all, we have already made $1 trillion in cuts to discretionary spending as a way to begin to approach the deficit. 

And as the chairman pointed out, we’re at the lowest percentage 

of discretionary spending since the 1950s. So the issue of out-ofcontrol spending has to be put in the context of deep cuts already 

and the lowest percentage of discretionary spending for all of these 

programs in 60 years. 

But the point, I think, the chairman made is very well taken, 

which is when you listen to our Republican colleagues, they’re talking about exempting defense, they’re talking about no revenue, 

which means that the 7.8-percent cut you’re talking about is probably closer to 15 percent. And the worst-case plans that are frightening at this moment become absolutely horrible. 

SEQUESTER’S IMPACT ON ALREADY TIGHT STATE/LOCAL BUDGETS

But the point I want to make, Mr. Secretary, is that when you 

get down to the education situation, at the local level, they’re already suffering. States are also trying to deal with this dilemma. 

So we will be doubling down on our cuts at a time when States and 

localities are facing similarly difficult cuts. 

Can you give us the context from both those convergent local 

pressures and a huge, in fact, doubling probably, doubling down of 

cuts? 

Secretary DUNCAN. It’s a great point. And as I talked to educators who have been in the business, who have been working with 

children for 10, 20, 30, 40 years, many from across the country say 

this is the toughest economic climate that they have ever worked 

in, more constrained in resources. 

We were thrilled that the American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act (ARRA) saved a couple of hundred thousand jobs, but we also 

lost a couple hundred thousand jobs across this country. 

And with class size going up; after-school programs being eliminated; some school districts going to 4-day weeks rather than 5-day 

weeks; art, dance, drama, music, physical education going away; 

early childhood cutbacks; none of these things are good for children 

or good for education or ultimately good for our country. 

So you’re exactly right. In the midst of a very, very tough economic time, 40 States, last year, 80 percent of the country—Republican, Democrat—40 States cut funding to higher education. Again, 

we’re trying to lead the world in college graduation rates. That 

doesn’t help us get where we need to go. 

So at the early childhood level, the K–12 level, at the higher education level, these are very, very, very difficult economic times. And 

to compound those challenges, to compound those difficulties, is inconceivable to me. 

Senator REED. In effect, you know, what we’re doing is not only 

in the short run shedding a significant number of jobs. I don’t have 

the exact numbers, but we’ve seen private employment grow consistently over the last several years under the President’s program. 

But what we’ve seen after ARRA was exhausted is public sector 
63 

employment shrink dramatically, particularly in education, and 

that would accelerate, presumably, if these cuts went through and 

moreover were doubled because we’ve exempted defense. 

Secretary DUNCAN. Yes. 

IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN CURRENT REFORM EFFORTS

Senator REED. So in the short run, you lose jobs, which means 

the economy continues to languish. But in the longer run, I think 

all of your efforts, the Race to the Top, commendable efforts, all of 

your tough calls about how do we reform education, will be lost. 

And rather than sort of trying to catch up with China, India, et 

cetera, we’ll fall, in your view, let me ask you, further and further 

behind? 

Secretary DUNCAN. I think that’s exactly right. And again, at a 

time when we have to get better, faster, despite the tough economic 

times, we can’t afford to go in the opposite direction. We can’t afford to do that. 

COMPETITIVENESS IMPORTANT TO NATIONAL SECURITY

Senator REED. Just a final point, as my colleagues have pointed 

out, Secretary Rice, as you pointed out, Secretary Rice, military 

leaders, everyone talks about how this is now a global competition 

for the best-educated people in the world. If we lose that competition, then our fundamental sort of foundation of national security 

will quickly erode. 

And we won’t invent the new technologies. We won’t have the sophisticated military and associated personnel to use it. And essentially, not just in terms of national security, but in terms of the 

fabric of our country, it will deteriorate. 

Secretary DUNCAN. That’s exactly right. I’ll just quickly add, Mr. 

Chairman, that I know our children are as talented, as creative, as 

entrepreneurial, as innovative, as children anywhere in the world. 

I just want to level the playing field for that. I just want to give 

them a chance to fulfill their potential. And if we fail to give them 

the chance to fulfill their academic and social potential, shame on 

us. 

Senator REED. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, Senator Reed. 

Senator Brown. 

Senator Mikulski. 

IMPACT OF SEQUESTER ON SCHOOL REFORM

Senator MIKULSKI. Mr. Chairman, thank you, and thanks for 

holding this hearing to really highlight what a sequester means, 

because there’s a lot of chest pounding going on about the impact 

on defense, but it’s really the impact on our economy both today 

and in the future. 

Mr. Secretary, I want to ask you a question about the impact of 

sequester on reform. You know, in my own home State of Maryland, we boast a State that wins Blue Ribbon Schools, Nobel 

Prizes, and has one of the greatest land grant colleges, the University of Maryland, and an iconic institution like Johns Hopkins Uni-
64 

versity, and a Governor who’s been really committed to school reform. 

So, I want to ask you, you came in to the administration as a 

reformer and you shook it up. And we’ve now been steadily working on reform, how to improve our educational system for the 21st 

century. 

Could you tell us, if we go to sequester, not targeted fiscal discipline initiatives but swashbuckling across departments, what will 

be the impact on reform both today and how you would see its impact, say, 3 to 5 years from now? 

Secretary DUNCAN. It would be a massive step backward. So everything we tried to do to drive reform would be affected, whether 

it’s more money for early childhood education through the Race to 

the Top Early Learning Challenge, whether it’s been Race to the 

Top at the State level, whether it’s been school money to turn 

around chronically underachieving schools. We’re seeing unprecedented creativity and courage from States like Maryland that’s 

been at the forefront of this movement and from States from 

around the country. 

And they want to improve. No one is making excuses. No one is 

saying the status quo is good enough. But we have to be a good 

partner. We have to be there for them. And we have to continue 

to support that great leadership and creativity at the local level. 

And if we walk away from the table, again, we’ll just see a massive step in the wrong direction. 

Just one quick example. We talked about the dropout rate. Our 

School Improvement Grants, thanks in part to them, and to other 

things as well, have helped, so that today, we have 700,000 fewer 

children enrolled in ‘‘dropout factories’’ than just a couple of years 

ago. Now those schools have a long way to go, but that’s real 

progress. 

Do you want to see that go south, or do you want to continue to 

see those numbers of children going to very low performing schools, 

dropout factories, do you want to see those numbers continue to go 

down? 

The answer is obvious: We have to continue to drive reform. 

BROAD, INDISCRIMINATE IMPACT ON EDUCATION IN ALL LOCAL

EDUCATION AGENCIES

Senator MIKULSKI. So the lack of funding would impact, say, a 

school district like Baltimore or Prince George’s County or even one 

of my rural school districts? 

Secretary DUNCAN. It would impact every single school district in 

the country. 

Senator MIKULSKI. And how would it do that? 

Secretary DUNCAN. It would result in significantly less resources 

across the board. So whether it be title I money, whether it be title 

II money, whether it be money for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, special education money, money for career and technical education, you name it, we would be forced to cut indiscriminately. So every single one of those funding streams that comes 

from us to State and local school districts would be cut. 
65 

POTENTIAL TO UNDERMINE REFORMS ACHIEVED AND PLANNED

Senator MIKULSKI. Do you think it would also sap the energy of 

reform that—I don’t want to put words in your mouth. God knows 

I wouldn’t want to do that with Secretary Arne Duncan. 

But tell me, you know, there’s only so much time in a day administrators have and principals, et cetera. So if they have to put energy into thinking about counting pencils and reusing materials or 

foregoing it rather than energy into reform—do you think it takes 

away from the focus, the energy, the experimentation that was 

going on, that added vitality? In other words, there was juice, there 

was mojo behind reform. 

Secretary DUNCAN. As I visit schools around the country, Senator, I’ve been to hundreds and hundreds of schools, I can’t ask 

people to work much harder. People are working so hard, often in 

very, very difficult circumstances, trying to make a difference and 

trying to help young people be successful academically. To slap 

them in the face and say, we’re going to walk away from our investment, not just financially but to your point, psychologically or 

emotionally, that’s a very, very difficult thing to ask teachers and 

principals or superintendents to adjust to. And we should not be 

putting them in that situation. 

Senator MIKULSKI. So now, particularly after 4 years of reform 

efforts, and let’s face it, there were some tussles with the teacher 

associations, but it seems like now there’s been a de ́tente and now 

a focus on how we can really evaluate teachers and move forward. 

Do you feel that, gee, we’re on the brink now of making even 

more substantial leaps if we stick to the program? 

Secretary DUNCAN. There’s no question. I’d say more than 

de ́tente, I think there’s a common interest amongst everybody that 

we have to work together to lead the world in education, and that 

the status quo wasn’t enough. 

Everyone is not going to agree on every issue, but I think there’s 

a tremendous convergence of agreement of what we have to get 

done and what we have to get done together. And again, to take 

a step backwards, to take a step in the wrong direction, would be 

a huge blow to those efforts, those collective efforts. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Thank you. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Senator Mikulski. 

Senator Durbin. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. Thanks for this hearing. 

CHANGE SINCE THE LAST BALANCED BUDGET

I think it bears repeating that Senator Inouye, the Chairman of 

the Appropriations Committee, gave us a yardstick to measure 

what has happened in the Federal budgeting process since the last 

time our budget was in balance under President Clinton. And in 

that 10- or 11-year period of time, in real dollars, or constant dollars, we have seen the following: In nondefense discretionary 

spending, there has been zero increase—zero increase—in the last 

11 years. In the entitlement mandatory area, there has been a 30- 

percent increase, reflecting the arrival of the boomers and the cost 
66 

of healthcare. On the defense side, there has been, as of this year’s 

budget, a 73-percent increase in spending since the budget was last 

in balance. 

And now what we are facing today is the prospect of even deeper 

cuts on the nondefense discretionary side and education, and 

strong calls from the other side of the aisle to leave defense untouched. 

I want the strongest military in the world. We have it. I want 

to make sure that if my nephew is again deployed to Afghanistan, 

he has the best, and everyone like him has the best, to come home 

safely. 

But it just is incredible to me that we cannot find, within the Department of Defense and Pentagon, savings to help us reduce our 

deficit. There are those who argue we can find none. 

EXAMPLES OF IMPACT ON CHICAGO SCHOOLS

I would like to ask you, Secretary Duncan, go back a little in 

time to your role in the city of Chicago as superintendent of that 

school system, and tell me what this sequestration would mean to 

the school system that you were struggling to build into a model 

for urban education. 

ACCESS TO AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AMONG CUTS

Secretary DUNCAN. The impact would be more things than I can 

state now but just a couple of simple ones: Class size would almost 

automatically increase. Access to summer school for children who 

are struggling would decrease. Access to after-school programming 

would decrease. Access for children with special needs to the services and support they need to be successful would decrease. Career 

and technical education, vocational education, which is really important, would decrease. Access to college counselors would decrease. Access to extracurriculars would decrease. 

And I could go on and on and on but just as a start there. 

Early childhood education with chances to have children enter 

kindergarten ready to succeed academically and socially, those 

things would go down as well. After-school programming, which is 

so hugely important in communities like Chicago, would go down; 

there would just be less access. 

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND DROP IN

CRIME

Senator DURBIN. We recently have gone through a spate of increased crime in our city of Chicago. Mayor Emanuel and the superintendent of police, they are working hard on it. And one of the 

things that they have found in the communities where there are 

activities for young people, after-school programs and activities, 

there’s less violence. It’s pretty obvious. 

To a parent, it’s very obvious. What was the old saying? Idle time 

is the devil’s workshop? 

Senator MIKULSKI. Something like that. 

Secretary DUNCAN. Something like that. 

Senator DURBIN. And what we find here then is a proposal that 

when it comes to cutting at the Federal level, there will be fewer 
67 

activities for enrichment and opportunities just to work-off energy 

available to students in school districts across the country but, particularly, in urban districts where it could have a profound impact 

on the quality of life. 

Secretary DUNCAN. In poor communities, be it inner-Chicago or 

rural or remote areas, we need more opportunities for students 

during the school day, before school, after school, Saturdays, weekends, summers, whatever it might be. We need more opportunities, 

not less. 

There is no way these kinds of massive cuts can lead to more opportunities. It is impossible. 

ALL OPTIONS FOR FISCAL CUTS MUST BE ON THE TABLE

Senator DURBIN. I cannot imagine that we believe we can build 

a stronger America and cut education. That is just counterintuitive 

to all of us in our lives, and counterintuitive to the American story, 

where people came to this country and succeeded because parents 

said to their kids, I may not have much education, but you’re going 

to get the best and you better come home with a good report card. 

That was my family story and the story of America. And now we 

have those who want to walk away from it. 

I’m all for bringing this budget deficit under control. There are 

ways to do it. But if we don’t go back to a model that puts everything on the table, including revenue, including defense, if we don’t 

put it all on the table, we’re going to find ourselves paying a heavier price than even the price of interest on our debt. 

IMPORTANCE OF COMPROMISE

Secretary DUNCAN. I think our democracy was built on the value 

or the notion of compromise, and you don’t have a vibrant democracy without a willingness to compromise. And if somehow that’s 

become a dirty word, that’s very, very troubling to me. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you. 

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator HARKIN. Thanks, Senator Durbin. 

Senator Pryor. 

Senator PRYOR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I would like to ask Senator Durbin why he turned to Senator Mikulski to ask her about the devil’s workshop. That’s what I want 

to know. 

Senator DURBIN. Similar Catholic backgrounds. 

Senator MIKULSKI. I know a lot about that. See me later. 

Senator PRYOR. You’re our in-house expert. 

Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATION BUDGET CUTS

I have seen the numbers from fiscal year 2011, fiscal year 2012, 

the Senate number from fiscal year 2013, and the sequestration 

numbers. 

And if you look at fiscal year 2011, fiscal year 2012, you’ve al- ready taken about a $230 million cut. That’s real money. And we 

know the Senate number. We don’t know what the final number 

will be for fiscal year 2013 yet, but sequestration obviously is going 
68 

to have a negative impact on what you’re able to do and how we 

are going to be able to educate our children. 

ACROSS-THE-BOARD CUT TO EDUCATION

I would like to ask a little bit about the logistics though. I’ve 

seen the estimates that CBO talks about, a 7.8-percent reduction. 

When people talk about sequestration, they talk about an acrossthe-board cut. 

I’m wondering, within your Department, do you see this as an 

across-the-board cut or will you pick and choose certain things to 

cut to try to implement the reductions in a smart way? 

Secretary DUNCAN. I don’t think we have a lot of flexibility there, 

Senator. You know, I mentioned a number of items. I would add 

TRIO to that list, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), School Improvement Grants. 

We would have to cut across the board. 

Senator PRYOR. So if the number, for example, was 7.8 percent, 

you would just have to take each program—— 

Secretary DUNCAN. Regardless of impact, regardless of efficacy, 

regardless of effective versus ineffective. It is a horrendous way to 

think about budget choices. 

GLOBAL COMPETITORS INCREASING, NOT CUTTING BUDGETS

Senator PRYOR. And one of the points I think you made earlier 

is that our competitors in this global economy are not cutting. In 

fact, they’re doing the opposite. Is that fair to say? 

Secretary DUNCAN. That is exactly right. They are investing, 

they are innovating, they are committed to making sure their 

young people have a very high-quality education. 

EDUCATION CUTS ABSENT SEQUESTRATION

Senator PRYOR. Now, if we are able to avoid sequestration, which 

I think is actually possible, we are going to have a lot of work to 

do late this year on the budget and taxes to get the deficit where 

it needs to be. This is going to be a huge undertaking by the Congress. I hope that the Congress and the House and Senate both will 

be serious about it when we get to that point. 

But I think it’s possible that we’ll avoid sequestration, or at least 

limit it in some way. But you will probably still be looking at some 

cuts in education. 

Do you have a game plan for that? Are you just going to wait 

on the Congress to act? 

Secretary DUNCAN. So again, we’ve cut over the past couple of 

years more than $1.2 billion of our budget and have been trying to, 

again, take money out of programs that we think are less than optimally effective and go other ways. And our budget team is as 

smart and talented as I think any team in any agency. And we 

would go through that exercise every single year. 

And, frankly, whether we have a budget increase or a budget cut, 

we make those tough calls. And so we would be prepared to do that 

going forward. We just want to have the ability to do this in a 

thoughtful way. 
69 

EDUCATION IS AN INVESTMENT, NOT AN EXPENSE

At the end of the day, we fundamentally think of education as 

an investment, not as an expense. I think that’s part of the value 

of the debate that our country is having, is education an expense, 

that we should cut back on early childhood education and K–12 reform and access to higher education? Or is this an investment in 

young people, in our country, in our country’s economic future? 

That’s the challenge, that’s the debate, I think, our country is 

looking at. 

GUIDANCE TO LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES IF SEQUESTER IS ENACTED

Senator PRYOR. Let me praise you here just for a minute, because I’ve been meeting with some of our principals, and teachers, 

and educators, and folks involved in that back in Arkansas. And 

you have sent out a letter to school officials alerting them that this 

may be coming. And I think that’s good to be in touch with them. 

But they say that your letter or the communications with the Department of Education have not given a whole lot of guidance, real 

specific guidance on what to do. 

Is the plan that, if we have to do sequestration and we have to 

implement it fully, will you guide them through this process? 

Secretary DUNCAN. We will do everything we can, Senator, to be 

a good partner. Obviously, the vast majority of our energy now is 

to avoid sequestration. And my understanding is sequestration was 

set up so that it was so bad, sort of mutual self-destruction, that 

neither side would want to go down that path. 

Senator PRYOR. Do you agree it is that bad? 

Secretary DUNCAN. I do think it’s that bad. 

And so the vast majority of our time and energy over these next 

5 months is to do everything we can to be a good partner to avoid 

this happening. And if it does happen, we’ll do everything we can 

to instruct and to guide, and to lead folks at the State and local 

level. 

But, Senator, we should not go down that path as a country. 

Senator PRYOR. You know, when I look at your education funding, your budget, your programs, all the things you do, everything 

is important. I mean, the goals were good. We’re trying to educate 

our children for all kinds of good reasons to do that. 

IMPACT ON RURAL AREAS AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

But there are two areas that I’m really concerned about with sequestration. That would be the impact on rural America. And as 

you know, a lot of those schools are struggling already, and you 

look at all the test scores, look at all the funding, look at all the 

issues they’re dealing with, rural America is really struggling. And 

then disabilities, students with disabilities. 

I’m just worried that cuts in those—they’re going to be devastating everywhere, but in those two areas, they really, really 

could be harsh. 

SEQUESTRATION EFFECT ON IMPACT AID

Secretary DUNCAN. No question. And obviously, there’s so many 

things to add to the list, but Impact Aid, to think that we would 
70 

walk away from funding for the children of servicemembers who 

are risking their lives every single day overseas and somehow say 

we’d give less funding to those children’s schools is inconceivable 

to me. 

Senator PRYOR. Mr. Chairman, thank you. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, Senator Pryor. 

Senator Shelby. 

EDUCATION BUDGET INCREASES SINCE 2008

Senator SHELBY. Mr. Secretary, we’ve been hearing numbers 

here about the education budget. It is my understanding, and you 

correct me if I’m wrong on this, that since 2008, the education 

budget has increased $7.2 billion from $59.2 billion to $68.4 billion. 

Are those figures right? 

Secretary DUNCAN. I think those figures should be about right. 

We fundamentally think education is an investment, not an expense. 

Senator SHELBY. But it is an appropriation, so it’s deemed as an 

expense of some kind. It might be an investment. We all like that. 

But it is an appropriation, is it not? It’s money. 

Secretary DUNCAN. Absolutely. We have to educate our way to a 

better economy. 

Senator SHELBY. Sure. Thank you. 

Senator HARKIN. Mr. Secretary, first of all, thank you again, for 

being here and for your very eloquent statement and answers to 

our questions. Thank you for your great stewardship for the Department of Education, and for so many of the reforms that you 

have made. And for ensuring that our kids are the best educated 

in the world. 

We’re going to have some tough months ahead of us, but I think 

what we’ve heard is that, in education, sequestration would be devastating, for present day and for the future of this country. And I 

think you put that in pretty stark terms. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, unless you had something 

else to add. 

Secretary DUNCAN. Thank you for the opportunity, and thank 

you for your leadership. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. 
(71) 

NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES 

Senator HARKIN. And now we’ll call our second panel. 

I’m sorry. Senator Landrieu was hoping to attend today. However, she had a prior commitment. She would like to express her 

apologies and would like to submit some questions for the record. 

Without objection, that will be accommodated. 

Our next panel I’ll introduce as they are taking their seats. 

June Atkinson has served as the State superintendent of the 

Public Schools of North Carolina since 2005. She was the first 

woman elected to this position. Dr. Atkinson received her master’s 

degree in business education from Radford University, a master’s 

degree in vocational and technical education from Virginia Tech, 

and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy from North 

Carolina State University. 

Billy Walker is currently serving his fifth year as superintendent 

for the Randolph Field Independent School District in Universal 

City, Texas. Dr. Walker received his bachelor’s degree in sociology 

and physical education from East Texas Baptist University and 

both his master’s in education administration and his education 

doctorate in educational leadership from Lamar University. 

Mr. Neal McCluskey is the associate director of the Cato Institute Center for Educational Freedom. Mr. McCluskey holds a master’s degree in political science from Rutgers University. 

Tammy Mann serves as the president and CEO of the Campagna 

Center—I hope I pronounced that right—Campagna Center in Alexandria, Virginia, which administers Head Start and Early Head 

Start for more than 400 children. Dr. Mann was recently appointed 

by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the advisory committee for Head Start Evaluation. She received her bachelor’s degree from Spelman College and completed her master’s and 

doctorate in clinical psychology at Michigan State University. 

To all of you, I thank you for being here and testifying today. 

Each of your statements will be made a part of the record in their 

entirety. We’ll go from left to right. And if you could sum up in 5 

minutes or so your basic testimony and leave some room for some 

questions, we’d appreciate that. 

So, Ms. Atkinson, welcome and please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF JUNE ATKINSON, STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA 

Dr. ATKINSON. Thank you, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Shelby. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you 

today about the impact of sequestration on education. 

I am June Atkinson, State superintendent of public instruction 

for the great State of North Carolina, and I’m also a board member 

for the Council of Chief State School Officers. The council just completed its annual summer conference last week, and the issue of se-
72 

questration came up numerous times. My colleagues across the Nation share my concern about the impact of these drastic cuts. 

There are two fundamental issues I want to address. First, my 

strong opposition to automatic, across-the-board funding cuts that 

will be detrimental to education reform and remodeling occurring 

across the country. In North Carolina, as in other States, reforms 

supported by Federal funds are focused on raising student achievement and helping to ensure that our students graduate college, career and citizenship ready. 

Second, the immediate need for clear and complete guidance 

from the Federal Government on how sequestration will work, in 

the event that it goes into effect. 

Fortunately, we have received some initial guidance late last 

week from the administration regarding how portions of advanced 

funding of title I, title II, IDEA part B, and career and technical 

education appropriations will be treated. But States need to have 

the complete picture. 

Chief State school officers across the country are focused on education reform efforts such as implementing the common core State 

standards, developing new assessments to better gauge student 

learning, and developing new teacher and leader evaluation systems to help drive improvements across our educational workforce. 

We are focusing on the use of technology systems to improve the 

effectiveness and efficiency of student and teacher learning. 

We have taken on these tasks in the best interests of our students even during some of the toughest economic times. Simultaneously, though, our education obligations grow, with States expecting to educate 540,000 more K–12 students. 

Let me give you some examples from North Carolina. Sixteen 

percent of our education budget comes from the Federal Government. An across-the-board cut would dramatically stifle our remodeling efforts underway to personalize education so that each student will graduate prepared for options. And let me give you some 

examples. 

We are making tremendous success in turning around our lowperforming schools under the School Improvement Grants program. 

With a cut, we would have an impact upon 1,000 students in North 

Caroline alone. 

We are also implementing a blended learning approach of faceto-face and online instruction for our students with disabilities 

using IDEA funds, which would be subjected to a loss of more than 

$900 million nationally, with an impact upon more than 13,000 

students in North Carolina. 

North Carolina also leads the Nation in credentialing students 

with Microsoft certification. During the last 18 months, 51,225 certifications were issued to our students and some teachers. Without 

support from Career and Technical Education funds for this initiative, we could not have prepared students to facilitate this important initiative for our students. 

And I must also mention that our graduation rate of our students who complete a career technical sequence is 90 percent. 

Every summer, our students who come from homes where no one 

is reading to them or without books to read lose 21⁄2 to 3 months 

of reading progress. They come back to school in the fall and the 
73 

teachers have to re-teach what the students have lost. Through 

title I funding, many of our title I schools such as H.C. Bellamy Elementary School in Wilmington, North Carolina, offer reading programs to help with the reading loss. 

States such as mine are strategically addressing the need of our 

students, especially our most vulnerable students. 

PREPARED STATEMENT

In order for us to move forward, we need specific and complete 

guidance about the cuts. Please look at sequestration and how it 

will hurt States such as mine. Education is a tiny fraction of the 

Federal budget but with enormously high impact on our Nation’s 

future. Teachers and students are not responsible for sequestration, yet they must suffer if sequestration goes into effect. 

Students and educators are not to blame for our Nation’s fiscal 

problems, and they deserve better. I ask for the Congress’s action 

for the good of the country, our schools, and our children. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JUNE ATKINSON

Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Shelby, and members of the Labor, Health 

and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee: Thank you for inviting me to testify here today on the impact of sequestration on education reform and programming. I am June Atkinson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, for the great State of North Carolina and a board 

member for the Council of Chief State School Officers. The Council just completed 

its annual summer conference last week and the issue of sequestration came up numerous times. My colleagues across the Nation share my concern about the impact 

of these drastic funding cuts. 

There are two fundamental issues I want to address today. First, my strong opposition to automatic, across-the-board funding cuts, that will be detrimental to education reform and remodeling occurring across the country. In North Carolina, as 

in other States, reforms supported by Federal funds are focused on raising student 

achievement and helping to ensure all of our students graduate college, career and 

citizenship ready. Second, the immediate need for clear and complete guidance from 

the Federal Government on how sequestration will work, in the event it does go into 

effect on January 2, 2013. States need to know when and how cuts will be made 

to various funding streams that we receive. 

Fortunately, we received some initial guidance late last week from the administration regarding how portions of title I, title II, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) part B, and Career and Technical Education funds that we receive as advanced appropriations will be treated. But States need to know the complete picture. In the absence of complete guidance States cannot adequately help 

their districts and schools prepare. The absence of such guidance will clearly exacerbate the drastic nature of these funding cuts. I implore you to use your congressional authority to prevent sequestration or at the very least require that the administration provide States with as much information as quickly as possible. 

Chief State school officers across the country are focused on education reform efforts such as implementing the common core State standards, developing new assessments to better gauge student learning, and developing new teacher and leader 

evaluation systems to help drive improvements across our education workforce. We 

are focusing on the use of technology systems to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of student learning. We are developing technology systems to help teachers 

learn and grow professionally. 

We have taken on these tasks in the best interests of our students even during 

some of the toughest economic times. In fact, a recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities highlights that our struggling economy impairs States’ ability to fund services. States have already faced tough choices to close a combined 

$540 billion in budget shortfalls between 2009 and 2012. Moreover, according to the 

report, the 2007 recession caused the largest collapse in State revenues on record: 

As of the first quarter of 2012, State revenues remained 5.5-percent below prerecession levels. Simultaneously, though, our education obligations grow, with States ex-
74 

pecting to educate 540,000 more K–12 students. Our State and local education agencies are currently running on shoestring budgets, and cannot afford additional cuts. 

Let’s take North Carolina as an example. Sixteen percent of our education budget 

comes from Federal funding. A 7–10 percent across-the-board cut projected for sequestration would dramatically stifle our remodeling efforts underway to personalize 

education so that each student will graduate prepared with options. 

—I am proud that we are currently seeing great success in turning around lowperforming schools under the School Improvement Grants program. Under sequestration, this program would be subjected to a loss of more than $40 million 

nationally, with an impact upon more than 1,000 students in North Carolina 

alone. 

—We are also implementing a blended learning approach for our students with 

disabilities using IDEA funds, which would be subjected to a loss of more than 

$900 million nationally, with an impact upon more than 13,000 students in 

North Carolina. It is worth noting that the Federal Government has still not 

lived up to its commitment to provide 40 percent of the excess costs of educating 

students with disabilities. A sequestration cut represents a further lack of that 

commitment. That impact also will hurt our innovative initiative to blend online 

and face-to-face instruction for many of our students with disabilities. Recently, 

North Carolina was just recognized for this exemplary delivery of instruction to 

exceptional children. One of our teachers in this program was recently recognized as the national Virtual Teacher of the Year. In the words of one of our 

students in this blended environment, ‘‘I love the teacher I have in the classroom and the teacher who helps me online. I am now really understanding 

math.’’ 

—We are helping our teachers implement this new blended learning approach 

through online learning modules and professional development funded through 

title II part A, which would be subjected to a cut of almost $200 million nationally and could result in nearly 100 job losses in North Carolina alone. Businesses have gone through retooling, and if we are going to value and respect 

our teachers and students, we must provide necessary professional development 

to help teachers retool their work in the classroom to reach each student. 

—North Carolina also leads the Nation in credentialing students with Microsoft 

certification. During the past 18 months, 51,225 certifications were issued to our 

students and some teachers. Those certifications communicate to businesses 

that our students are prepared for success in the workplace. Without support 

from Career and Technical Education (CTE) funds for this initiative, we could 

not have prepared teachers to facilitate this important initiative to our students. The CTE program faces a loss of nearly $90 million nationally reducing 

instruction and other services for an alarming 52,000 students in my State 

alone. 

—Our State has experienced growth in our English language learner population 

over the past 5 to 10 years. One of the most important aspects of our Federal 

dollars, again, is to help our students who need to become proficient in English. 

As a result of Federal dollars, we have been able to help teachers address in 

better ways the needs of this population of students and yet the cuts to title 

III, English language acquisition funds would impact the services we are offering to more than 100,000 students across North Carolina. 

—Every summer, our students who come from homes where no one is reading to 

them or without books to read, lose 21⁄2 to 3 months of reading progress. These 

students don’t have the opportunity to go to camp, the beach, or even the next 

town. They come back to school in the fall and the teachers have to re-teach 

what the students have lost. Through title I funding, many of our title I schools 

such as H.C. Bellamy Elementary School in Wilmington, North Carolina, offer 

summer reading programs. Last week I visited that school, talked to the students, and to Ms. Karen Sherman who runs the program. I am confident that 

the students in that program will not fall behind this summer. To paraphrase 

one of the students in that summer program, Jackson, ‘‘I am reading everything 

I can.’’ Such a statement should be a reason to celebrate how title I funding 

helps students keep on-track in reading. Yet, under sequestration, title I funds 

would be cut by more than $30 million in North Carolina alone, impacting more 

than 40,000 students and potentially costing my State more than 500 job losses. 

As you can see, States such as mine are strategically addressing the needs of lowincome students in underperforming schools, students with disabilities, English language learners, students seeking industry certification, and the professional development needs of our teaching corps. Our work in addressing the needs of specific 

populations is demonstrating positive results. Our graduation rate is at an all-time 

high, and our student achievement is at an all-time high since we have increased 
75 

our expectations and standards about 4 years ago. I am concerned that sequestration will make it harder to continue our progress and our commitment to long-term 

national competitiveness. 

To be clear, chief State school officers believe wholeheartedly that we must better 

use our limited education funding. In fact, one of the primary topics of the Council’s 

summer conference was strategic resource allocation. We need to focus primarily on 

proven strategies and not continue to fund programming that does not produce results or serve our student’s needs. We will be your partners in any thoughtful process to improve the return on investment in Federal education funding. But, I must 

also be equally clear that across-the-board, indiscriminate cuts do not help us 

achieve our State or national education goals. Chief State school officers will continue to wrestle with how we increase the efficiency and productivity of our educational funding, but we cannot do so if we are simultaneously wrestling with how 

we simply keep the lights on and continue to support effective education programming. 

Exempting some programs from sequestration is not the answer either. Any vote 

to exempt some Federal funding from sequestration while allowing education funding to be subject to sequestration stands in stark contrast to the best interests of 

our children and the long-term economic and national security of this country. You 

are all aware of the recent Council on Foreign Relations report which highlights the 

needs for investing in education in order to maintain our global economic security. 

According to the report, intelligence agencies face critical shortages in the number 

of foreign-language speakers and that fields such as science, defense, and aerospace 

are at risk because of a shortage of skilled workers. 

An analysis from the Alliance for Excellent Education calculates the economic 

benefit of reducing our high school dropout rate by one-half. While our graduation 

rate is at an all-time high, I know that we must continue our work to make sure 

that nearly 100 percent of our students graduate. According to the Alliance, cutting 

our dropout rate in one-half would result in almost $300 million in increased earnings, more than $200 million in increased spending, $650 million in home sales, and 

$28 million in new tax revenue for North Carolina. With numbers like that for 

North Carolina alone, it is hard for me to understand why there isn’t a stronger 

nationwide commitment to educate our children when we can clearly enjoy an economic benefit. 

To my second point, without clear and complete guidance, we cannot prepare for 

these cuts. I respect that the outcome of sequestration discussions will be determined at the highest levels of our political process. I recognize that the process is 

complicated by the pending debt ceiling debate and debates on tax cut extensions. 

I do appreciate the guidance we received last week from the Department of Education about how fiscal year 2012 funding that is advanced into fiscal year 2013 will 

be treated. It is important for States and our school districts to know that any impact of sequestration in title I, title II, IDEA, and CTE will not be felt until July 

2013. As I mentioned previously, the administration has just begun answering some 

critical questions, but I cannot accept the lack of clear guidance from the Federal 

Government to the States on all aspects of the implementation of sequestration. We 

need to know just how sequestration will affect forwarded-funded and advanced appropriations alike. 

We still need guidance that gives us the complete picture. Specifically, we require 

additional information on: 

—unobligated balances from fiscal year 2012 budget authority provided in the fiscal year 2012 omnibus appropriations law; 

—fiscal year 2014 budget authority that will be provided as advanced appropriations in the fiscal year 2013 continuing resolution or appropriations bill; 

—the impact of sequestration on hold harmless and/or maintenance of effort provisions; and 

—most importantly, what will be the specific cut made to each program. 

Sequestration is also creating confusion on the programmatic side. Currently, 

States can reserve 4 percent of title I funds for school improvement activities. School 

districts are also assured that they won’t receive less title I funding from the previous year due to this reservation. Under a 7–10 percent cut, States may not be permitted to make this 4 percent school improvement reservation. 

This is compounded by current efforts in the House appropriations bill to eliminate the separate school improvement grant program. The combination of the inability to make this 4-percent reservation and a loss of school improvement grant funding will eliminate dedicated Federal funding for turning around our lowest achieving schools. 

Without getting the complete picture, we can speculate, but we cannot fully advise 

or support our districts as they prepare budgets in advance of the 2013–2014 school 
76 

year and beyond. It is promising that the House of Representatives passed the Sequester Transparency Act and that Senators Murray and McCain worked in a bipartisan manner to attach an amendment to the farm bill that would have forced the 

administration to provide an even more detailed explanation. 

On behalf of my State colleagues, let me also say that if we are subjected to sequestration then I also encourage you to think about new flexibilities you can offer 

States and districts in the use of their now reduced Federal dollars. If the Federal 

Government does, indeed, provide significantly less Federal funding in future years, 

it must make corresponding reductions in compliance burdens placed upon States 

and districts. 

Sequestration came into being because of the failure of the Congress to agree on 

how to resolve disagreements on fundamental issues of revenue and spending. Education is but a tiny fraction of the Federal budget but with enormously high impact 

on our Nation’s future. Teachers and students are not responsible for sequestration, 

yet they will suffer the most if sequestration goes into effect. Students and educators are not to blame for our Nation’s fiscal problems, and they deserve better. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Dr. Atkinson. 

And now we’ll move to Dr. Walker. 

Dr. Walker, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF BILLY WALKER, Ed.D., SUPERINTENDENT, RANDOLPH 

FIELD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, UNIVERSITY CITY, 

TEXAS 

Dr. WALKER. Good morning. Thank you, Sir. 

Good morning, Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Shelby, and 

members of the subcommittee. My name is Billy Walker, and I am 

the superintendent of Randolph Field Independent School District, 

and I also serve as the executive director for the Texas Association 

of Federally Impacted Schools. 

I would like to take just a moment, Senator Harkin, to thank you 

for your support of Project Student Outreach, Access, and Resiliency (SOAR). Randolph Field piloted SOAR at Home and SOAR at 

School in 2007 and 2008, an awesome program for our military 

children. And the University of Northern Iowa was a key player in 

that success. 

Randolph Field is a public school district located on Randolph Air 

Force Base in the San Antonio, Texas, area. Our student body is 

made up of children of active-duty members from all branches of 

our military. We have approximately 1,200 students, equally 

spread between the elementary and secondary campuses. Since our 

students come from military families, our real annual mobility rate 

is approximately 30 percent. 

My expectation for everyone in our district is to ensure that each 

student learns more and at higher levels, every day. 

Approximately one-half of our funding comes from Texas through 

the normal State funding mechanism, and the remaining half 

comes from the Department of Education through title I, IDEA, 

and Impact Aid. 

While Impact Aid is the lifeblood for our district—excuse me— 

Title I and IDEA are important programs to school districts nationwide. As 1 of the 7 coterminous districts in the Nation, the boundaries of the base comprise the boundaries of our district, meaning 

our school district doesn’t have a local tax base. Our district uses 

Impact Aid funding in lieu of the tax dollars normally raised locally 

to provide salary and benefits for our employees, transportation, 

and facility needs, and among other things, fill the gaps left to the 

district due to less than full IDEA funding. 
77 

The threat of sequestration takes the complex and difficult situation of school funding to unprecedented levels. We started the work 

of reducing our budget 3 years ago as fiscal experts projected significant reductions in the near future. Texas reduced K–12 funding 

by some $5 billion over the current biennium. 

Earlier this spring, school districts in Texas were notified that 

the State would be withholding 10 percent of Federal funding because of sequestration. 

We are certainly not alone. The American Association of School 

Administrator’s Economic Impact Series found that 71.2 percent of 

school districts reported a reduction in State and local revenues 

over the last 2 school years, and 57 percent anticipate a decrease 

for the upcoming school year. 

Sequestration will exacerbate the issue of funding. Superintendents nationwide are deeply concerned about the impact that cuts 

will have on schools, programs, and students, including our ability 

to fulfill the educational obligation to children with special needs. 

Last year, our school district experienced a 5-percent reduction 

in IDEA funding and approximately 17-percent reduction in title I 

part A revenue. Our Impact Aid revenue was reduced by approximately 5 percent last year, and we anticipate an additional reduction of 7 to 8 percent for the upcoming school year. 

To make matters worse, Impact Aid is the only current-year 

funded education program, which means on January 2, 2013, Impact Aid will sustain an immediate cut of more than $100 million. 

If by October 1, the Congress doesn’t authorize full-year spending, 

initial payments to Impact Aid districts could be as low as 50 percent, significantly lower than many districts require to operate effectively, without carrying a fund balance or borrowing funds. No 

matter what happens, children will be at school as scheduled. 

PREPARED STATEMENT

Today, I’m also concerned about the law’s long-term implications. 

If sequestration is truly a 10-year project, the devastating budget 

cuts may force us to close our doors. 

Unfunded mandates have always complicated our work. Now 

with the advent of further significant reductions in revenue, children, including those who know only war and whose parents have 

honorably served our country, are the ultimate lifelong losers in a 

game that should give them all they need to be successful, productive citizens. 

The concept of doing more with less is admirable, but there 

comes a time when there is not enough left to adequately and equitably educate the children of America. 

Thank you for this opportunity to share my district’s story. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF BILLY WALKER, ED.D. 

Good morning Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Shelby, and members of the 

subcommittee. My name is Billy Walker and I am the superintendent of Randolph 

Field Independent School District and Executive Director of the Texas Association 

of Federally Impacted Schools (TAFIS). 

I would like to take a moment of personal privilege to thank Senator Harkin for 

his support of Project Student Outreach, Access, and Resiliency (SOAR). We had the 
78 

privilege at Randolph Field Independent School District to pilot SOAR at Home and 

SOAR at School in 2007–2008. 

Randolph Field is a public school district located wholly on Randolph Air Force 

Base in the San Antonio, Texas, area. Our student body is made up of children of 

active-duty members from all branches of our military. We have about 1,200 students—600 at the elementary campus and 600 at the secondary campus. The demographic makeup of our student body reflects very closely the make up of the military 

in general, 9 percent of our students are economically disadvantaged, and since our 

students come from military families, our real annual mobility rate is approximately 

30 percent. 

My team will tell you that my expectation for everyone in our district is to ensure 

that each student learns more, and at higher levels, every day. Our district is a 

prime example of high expectations and hard work paying off in excellent results 

in most any assessment one might make of us. 

Approximately one-half of our funding comes from Texas through the normal 

State funding mechanism and the remaining one-half comes from the Department 

of Education through title I, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and 

Impact Aid (fiscal year 2012 total: $6,102,297, fiscal year 2013 total: $5,554,019). 

While Impact Aid is the lifeblood for our district, title I and IDEA are important 

programs to school districts nationwide. (The net for our district to provide all services as mandated for special needs students is ¥$210,507 for fiscal year 2012.) As 

1 of the 7 coterminous districts in the Nation, the boundaries of the base comprise 

the boundaries of our district, meaning our school district doesn’t have a local tax 

base. Impact Aid replaces the lost local revenue due to the Federal presence. For 

example, our district uses Impact Aid funding in lieu of the tax dollars that would 

normally be raised locally to ensure a comprehensive academic, co-curricular, and 

extracurricular program, provide salary and benefits for our employees, handle facility needs, operate our transportation, custodial and school nutrition departments, 

and fill in the gaps left to the district due to less than full IDEA funding at the 

Federal level. 

The threat of sequestration takes the complex and difficult situation of school 

funding, both in America and in my State of Texas, to unprecedented levels. We 

started the work of reducing our budget some 3 years ago as fiscal experts at both 

levels of government projected significant reductions in the near future. At the State 

level, Texas reduced K–12 funding by some $5 billion over the current biennium. 

This resulted in a reduction in State funding of approximately 10 percent over 2 

years (2011–2012 (5 percent) and 2012–2013 (5 percent)). Earlier this spring, the 

Texas Education Agency notified school districts that the State would be withholding 10 percent of funding because of sequestration. We are certainly not alone: 

The most recent report in the American Association of School Administrator’s Economic Impact Series found that 71.2 percent of school districts reported a reduction 

in State/local revenues between the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 school years, and 57 

percent anticipate a decrease for the 2012–2013 school year. 

As we were looking to the future, my leadership team, board, staff, and I diligently reviewed all personnel, programs, and expenditures to make reductions to 

balance the budget for the 2012–2013 school year. Based on my experiences with 

delayed Impact Aid funding and the uncertainty of the appropriations process, I ultimately insisted that the sequester reduction be built into the budget. We’ve done 

our best to prepare for the cuts, and I could not, in good conscience, mortgage the 

fiscal future of our district with obligations that we would most likely not be able 

to sustain. To reach a balanced budget, we made the following reductions: 

At the campus level, eliminated: 

—elementary reading specialist and librarian; 

—middle school reading specialist and secretary; 

—secondary English teacher, science teacher, math teacher, and the 1:1 laptop 

initiative; and 

—the baseball, cross country, and swimming programs. 

At the district level, faculty, staff, and administration did not receive a traditional 

pay raise for the 2011–2012 or 2012–2013 school years. Eliminated: 

—one custodian and the custodial supervisor; 

—one staff member from the curriculum department; 

—facility planner/coordinator position; and 

—one technology department staff member. 

Additionally, we are considering not taking the band, cheerleaders, and dance team 

to away football games, and eliminating field-based excursions for all students during the 2012–2013 academic year. 

In the 2011–2012 fiscal year, our school district experienced a 5-percent reduction 

in IDEA funding and a 17-percent reduction in title I part A revenue. Sequestration 
79 

will exacerbate the ongoing issues surrounding the critical issue of funding required 

to fulfill the educational obligations of children with special needs. While these programs don’t comprise the majority of Federal funding for Randolph, superintendents 

nationwide are deeply concerned about the impact that cuts to these and other Federal education programs will have on schools, programs, and students. Our level of 

Impact Aid revenue was reduced by approximately 5 percent for the 2011–2012 

year, and we anticipate an additional reduction of 7 percent to 8 percent for the 

2012–2013 academic year. 

To make matters worse, Impact Aid is the only current-year funded education program, which means on January 2, 2013, Impact Aid will sustain an immediate cut 

of more than $100 million. If by the October 1 start of the fiscal year the Congress 

hasn’t authorized full-year spending, initial payments to Impact Aid districts could 

be as low as 50 percent. This is significantly lower than many districts require to 

operate effectively, meaning school districts must either have a fund balance capable 

of sustaining the district until their Impact Aid payment arrives, or they must borrow the funds needed to ensure the continued operation of the district. No matter 

what happens, the children will be at school as scheduled. 

Today, I’m concerned about the law’s long-term implications. If sequestration is 

truly a 10-year project, the devastating budget cuts may force us to close our doors. 

Unfunded mandates have always complicated our work. Now, with the advent of 

further significant reductions in revenue, the dream of a high-quality education for 

all becomes a dream unfulfilled; programs that provide opportunities for children to 

discover their passion in life languish on the shelf; and children, including those 

who know only war and whose parents have honorably served our country for over 

a decade, are the ultimate lifelong losers in a game that should give them all they 

need to be successful, productive citizens. The concept of doing more with less is admirable, but there comes a time when there is not enough left to adequately and 

equitably educate the children of America. 

Policymakers must do everything in their power to ensure that each child in this 

great Nation has the opportunity to learn more, and at higher levels, every day. 

Thank you for this opportunity to share my school district’s story. I look forward 

to answering any questions. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Mr. Walker. 

Now we will turn to Mr. McCluskey. 

Mr. McCluskey, please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF NEAL P. McCLUSKEY, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, CENTER 

FOR EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM, THE CATO INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON, DC 

Mr. MCCLUSKEY. Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Shelby, thank you for inviting me to speak with you today. 

My name is Neal P. McCluskey, and I am the associate director 

of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization. My comments are my own and do not represent any position of the institute. 

Cuts such as those that would be made to Federal education programs through sequestration are necessary. Not only does the Federal Government have no constitutional authority to fund and administer education programs, but the last 40-plus years of Federal 

involvement are a clear demonstration of futility. 

Begin with Head Start, which has existed since 1965 and has cost roughly $180 billion through its lifespan. Despite its longevity, 

it has failed to demonstrate lasting benefits. Indeed, a 2010 Federal study found overwhelmingly that the program has no lasting 

positive academic effects, and that’s not its only problem. 

Head Start has long suffered from serious waste and abuse. Indeed, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports in 2000, 

2005, and 2008 found widespread noncompliance with financial 

management standards and very poor efforts to remediate the 

problem. 
80 

Next, Federal elementary and secondary education programs. As 

the charts on my written testimony illustrate, on a per-pupil basis, 

inflation-adjusted Federal spending has grown immensely over the 

last several decades, ballooning to 375 percent of their original 

1970 value by 2010. And this increase did not just compensate for 

funding losses at the State and local levels. 

Overall, per-pupil expenditures have nearly tripled since 1970. 

Meanwhile, scores on the National Assessment of Educational 

Progress have been almost completely stagnant for 17-year-olds, 

the final products of our schools. 

These huge spending increases coupled with more moribund 

achievement powerfully illustrate that we haven’t gotten any bang 

for our Federal education bucks. And those expenditures could be 

reduced considerably without ill achievement effects. 

Indeed, it is quite likely that Federal education dollars have kept 

recipient districts from having to take politically difficult but necessary actions to increase their efficiency and effectiveness. 

Connected to this it seems that the most pressing concern for 

many people is that sequestration would reduce education employment. High-end estimates for 2013 published by the National Education Association predict losses of about 46,000 jobs. While no one 

wants to see anyone lose employment, the Federal Government has 

a staggering debt that must be addressed. 

And as the third chart of my testimony illustrates, over the last 

four decades, there have been huge increases in public school staffing, but, again, outcomes have flat-lined. And 46,000 jobs, that’s 

not even close to 1 percent of the total public-schooling workforce. 

Public schooling is supposed to educate children, but it is instead 

often treated as a jobs program. 

Last, higher education. Regrettably, Pell grants appear to have been exempted from sequestration, taking roughly $42 billion off 

the table. While conclusive data are not available, a reasonable estimate suggests that only around 40 percent of first-time, full-time 

students receiving Pell grants complete bachelor’s degrees within 6 

years. 

In addition, a growing body of research indicates that schools either raise their prices or lower their own institutional aid in response to Pell grants. 

Sequestration would, however, translate likely into higher fees 

on student loans. This would be a small move in the right direction, towards aid that places more of payment burden on the people 

consuming the education. 

The huge ill effects of super abundant third-party money in higher education are revealed in sticker price inflation that eclipses the 

inflation rate of even healthcare, dismal completion rates in colleges, and one-third of bachelor’s degree holders occupying jobs that 

don’t require the credential. Federal financial aid, by making students less sensitive to the real costs of their education and enabling 

colleges to briskly raise prices, actually defeats its affordability 

goal. 

In addition to increasing fees for student loans, sequestration 

would require that cuts be made to aid that Washington provides 

to institutions, as well as research in colleges and universities. The 

former should be of little concern. Federal funding mainly trans-
81 

1Michael Puma, et al., ‘‘Head Start Impact Study Final Report: Executive Summary,’’ U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impactlstudy/reports/impactlstudy/executivelsummarylfinal.pdf January 2010. 2Tad DeHaven, ‘‘Head Start and Other Subsidies,’’ Downsizing the Federal Government, 

http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hhs/subsidies#ledn3, September 2010. 3 National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, 2011, Table 386, 

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11l386.asp. 

lates into inefficiency, and Washington provides only a minute sliver of overall funding directly to institutions. 

Regarding research, while much research is of value, it is likely 

not of greater value than getting the Nation’s shambles of a fiscal 

house in order. In addition, research by Austan Goolsbee, the 

former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, found that 

a large portion of Federal research and development funding translates not into greater innovation but higher salaries for researchers. 

PREPARED STATEMENT

The Federal Government has accumulated an almost unimaginably huge debt, and sequestration offers but a small first step toward addressing it. Thankfully, cuts can be made, in fact, need to 

be made to Federal education programs. 

Thank you. And I look forward to your questions. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF NEAL P. MCCLUSKEY

Chairman Harkin, members of the subcommittee: thank you for inviting me to 

speak with you today. My name is Neal P. McCluskey and I am the associate director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization. My comments are my own and do not 

represent any position of the institute. 

Cuts such as those that would be made to Federal education programs through 

sequestration are both necessary and overdue. Not only does the Federal Government have no constitutional authority to fund and administer education programs— 

no mention is made of education in the specific, enumerated powers given to the 

Federal Government in Article I, Section 8—but the last 40-plus years of Federal 

involvement in education provide a clear demonstration of futility. 

Start with preschool. The primary Federal preschool program is Head Start, 

which in fiscal year 2012 received almost $8 billion. The program has existed since 

1965 and has cost roughly $180 billion through its lifespan. Despite its longevity, 

the program has failed to demonstrate lasting benefits. Indeed, a 2010 Federal 

study found that the program had only two statistically significant positive cognitive 

effects that lasted through first grade, and negative mathematics effects for kindergarten students who entered Head Start when 3 years old.1 In the vast majority 

of measures no meaningful effects were found one way or the other. 

Unfortunately, the essentially nonexistent positive effects of Head Start are not 

the program’s only problem. As reports from the Government Accountability Office 

(GAO), local media outlets, and other sources have revealed, Head Start has long 

suffered from serious waste and abuse. Indeed, GAO reports in 2000, 2005, and 

2008 found widespread noncompliance with financial management standards and 

very poor efforts to remediate the problem.2

Next there are Federal elementary and secondary education programs, a category 

that, according to the Federal ‘‘Digest of Education Statistics,’’ accounted for almost 

$79 billion in 2011.3

As Figure 1 illustrates, on a per-pupil basis, inflation-adjusted Federal spending 

on K–12 education has grown immensely over the last several decades, ballooning 

to 375 percent of its 1970 value by 2010. And this increase did not just compensate 

for funding losses in at the State and local levels. As Figure 2 shows, overall perpupil expenditures through high school graduation have nearly tripled since 1970. 

Meanwhile, mathematics, reading, and science scores on the National Assessment 

of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Federal testing regime often called ‘‘The Na-
82 

tion’s Report Card,’’ have been almost completely stagnant for 17-year-olds, the 

‘‘final products’’ of our elementary and secondary education system. 

INFLATION-ADJUSTED FEDERAL K–12 SPENDING PER PUPIL AND ACHIEVEMENT OF 17- 

YEAR-OLDS, PERCENT CHANGE SINCE 1970

FIGURE 1. 

INFLATION-ADJUSTED COST OF A COMPLETE K–12 PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PERCENT

CHANGE IN ACHIEVEMENT OF 17-YEAR-OLDS SINCE 1970

FIGURE 2. 

Rightly, the primary concern for many people is that sequestration would deal a 

crippling blow to academic achievement. The NAEP and spending data, however, 

simply do not justify this. Indeed, they powerfully illustrate that we haven’t gotten 

any lasting bang for our Federal or overall education bucks, and those expenditures 

could be reduced considerably without ill achievement effects. Indeed, it is quite 
83 

4 National Education Association, ‘‘Impact of Sequestration on Federal Education Programs,’’ 

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/ImpactloflSequestrationlonlFederallEducationl 

ProgramslReformattedl06-26-12.pdf, July 12, 2012. Total was calculated by summing total job 

losses in categories listed on previous page that would likely impact elementary and secondary 

education. 5 National Center for Educational Statistics, The Condition of Education, Figure 36–1, http:// 

nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicatorlpex.asp. 6The latest staffing data from the Digest of Education Statistics, 2009 puts public-school employment at 6.36 million people. National Center for Education Statistics, ‘‘Digest of Education 

Statistics, 2011,’’ Table 85, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11l085.asp. 

likely that Federal education dollars keep recipient districts from having to take politically difficult but necessary actions to increase the efficiency of their operations. 

Directly connected to the efficiency question, it seems that the most pressing concern for some people is not the academic effect that sequestration might have on 

education but the employment effect. And job losses would ensue: High-end estimates of elementary and secondary job losses from sequestration in 2013 published 

by the National Education Association predict decreases of 46,000 jobs.4 That certainly appears to be a large number, and no one wants to see anyone lose employment. But the Federal Government has an immense, nearly $16 trillion debt, and 

as Figure 3 shows, huge increases have occurred in school staffing relative to enrollment. Coupling that with the achievement data in Figures 1 and 2, it is clear that 

much heftier staffing has not created better outcomes. 

PERCENT CHANGE IN PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYMENT AND ENROLLMENT SINCE 1970

FIGURE 3. 

Public schooling is supposed to educate children efficiently and effectively, but it 

has very much been treated as a jobs program instead. That has done no discernible 

educational good and contributed to the Nation’s mammoth debt. 

Originally, Federal K–12 funding was meant to operate in a compensatory fashion. But at least the recent evidence suggests that no major, nationwide funding inequities exist. According to the Federal Condition of Education, districts with the 

highest levels of poverty have spent essentially the same amount on a per-pupil 

basis as have those with the lowest level of poverty since 1997–1998. And both have 

appreciably outspent districts with middling levels of poverty since 1995–1996 (the 

first year for which data is available).5 Those numbers should be updated (the final 

school year with data is 2006–2007), but there is no meaningful evidence that the 

pattern has appreciably changed. 

Our public schools have, essentially, been on a decades-long hiring binge with ultimately no gains to show for it. And a reduction of 46,000 jobs would be miniscule 

compared to overall public-school staffing, which well exceeds 6 million people.6

Last, let’s turn to higher education. 
84 

7 Richard Vedder, ‘‘Only 40 Percent of Pell Grant Recipients Get Bachelor’s Degrees,’’ Chronicle of Higher Education, http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/only-40-percent-of-pell-grant-recipients-get-bachelor-degrees/30139, September 6, 2011. 8 John D. Singell, Jr., and Joe A. Stone, ‘‘For Whom the Pell Tolls: The Response of University 

Tuition to Federal Grants-in-Aid,’’ Economics of Education Review 26, no. 3 (2006): 285–95; Lesley J. Turner, ‘‘The Incidence of Student Financial Aid: Evidence from the Pell Grant Program,’’ 

Columbia University Working Paper, April 2012; Stephanie Riegg Cellini and Claudia Goldin, 

‘‘Does Federal Student Aid Raise Tuition? New Evidence on For-profit Colleges,’’ NBER Working 

Paper No. 17827, National Bureau of Economic Research, February 2012. 9For empirical evidence that student aid helps fuel tuition inflation, in addition to the studies 

cited in note 8 see those cited at Neal McCluskey, ‘‘The Student Aid ‘Myth’ Myth,’’ 

Cato&Liberty, http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/the-student-aid-myth-myth/, December 8, 2011. 10 No sector of higher education has higher than 65.4 percent 6-year graduation rates for 4- 

year programs, and for public 2-year institutions (community colleges) only 20.4 percent of firsttime, full-time students finish within 150 percent of ‘‘normal’’ time. National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, 2011, Table 345, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11l345.asp. 11 Anthony P. Carnevale and Stephen J. Rose, ‘‘The Undereducated American,’’ Georgetown 

University Center on Education and the Workforce, http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/ 

cew/pdfs/undereducatedamerican.pdf, June 2011. 12Federal appropriations to schools calculated using U.S. Department of Education, ‘‘Education Department Budget History Table,’’ http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/history/ 

edhistory.pdf, August 5, 2011. State and local appropriations from State Higher Education Executive Officers, ‘‘State Higher Education Finance: fiscal year 2011,’’ Figure 2, http:// 

www.sheeo.org/finance/shef/SHEFlfiscal year 11.pdf, 2012. 13 Austan Goolsbee, ‘‘Does Government R&D Policy Mainly Benefit Scientists and Engineers?’’ 

The American Economic Review 88, no. 2 (1998): 298–302. 

Regrettably, Pell grants have been exempted from sequestration, taking roughly 

$42 billion off the table. This might be understandable were Pell grants shown to 

effectively enable low-income students to enter and complete college without pushing sticker prices higher, but such is not the case. While conclusive data are not 

available, The Center for College Affordability and Productivity estimates that only 

around 40 percent of first-time, full-time students receiving Pell grants complete 

bachelor’s degrees within 6 years.7 In addition, a growing body of research indicates 

that schools either raise their prices or lower institutional aid in response to Pell 

grants.8

While Pell grant is off-limits, sequestration will translate into higher fees on student loans. This might seem like it would make college less affordable for students, 

but it would be a very small move in an absolutely necessary direction for Federal 

student aid: towards aid that places more of payment burden on the people consuming the education. 

The huge ill effects of too much third-party money in higher education, especially 

from the Federal Government, are plain to see: 

—‘‘sticker price’’ inflation that eclipses even that even in healthcare; 9

—dismal completion rates; 10 and 

—one-third of bachelor’s degree holders occupying jobs that do not require the credential.11

Federal financial aid, by making students less sensitive to the real costs of their 

education and enabling colleges to briskly raise prices, defeats both the affordability 

goal of the aid and has helped to render higher education extremely inefficient. Any 

moves in the direction of having students bear more of the cost of their education 

would, perhaps counter intuitively, result in greater long-term college affordability 

by forcing schools to lower prices and cut abundant waste. 

In addition to increasing fees for student loans, sequestration would require that 

cuts be made to aid that Washington provides to institutions, and as well as to research occurring in colleges and universities. The former cuts should be of little concern: Not only does Federal funding mainly appear to translate into inefficiency, but 

Washington provides only a small sliver of overall funding directly to institutions. 

In 2011, such Federal aid tallied just slightly more than $1 billion, versus the 

roughly $85 billion State and local governments furnished to public colleges for general operating expenses in the 2011–2012 academic year.12 Trimming just part of 

this relatively tiny Federal amount would have a negligible effect. 

Regarding research, while much research is of value, it is very difficult to say it 

is of greater value than getting the Nation’s shambles of a fiscal house in order. In 

addition, research by Austan Goolsbee, the former chairman of the Obama Administration’s Council of Economics Advisors, found that a large portion of Federal funding for research and development translates not into greater innovation but higher 

salaries for researchers.13 Like aid to students, the benefits seem largely to accrue 
85 

to those employed by the money, not to society or the people the aid is intended 

to help. 

The Federal Government has accumulated an almost unimaginably huge debt, 

and sequestration offers only a small first step toward addressing spending recklessness. Thankfully, significant cuts can almost certainly be made to discretionary 

spending without adversely affecting the activities that Federal money is supposed 

to advance. Education is a perfect example of this, with overwhelming evidence revealing that Federal spending has, at best, done no overall good, and has quite likely caused appreciable harm. It has insulated Head Start providers, schools and districts, and colleges from pressures to become efficient and effective, and has taken 

funds from taxpayers in order to greatly increase education employment and the 

comfort of those working in colleges and universities. Trimming such wasteful funding, as sequestration would do, would be but an opening move in the right direction. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, Mr. McCluskey. 

And now we’ll turn to Dr. Tammy Mann. Please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF TAMMY L. MANN, Ph.D., PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE 

CAMPAGNA CENTER, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 

Dr. MANN. Thank you. 

Good morning, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Shelby, 

thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the potential 

impact of impending sequester of nondefense discretionary programs, in particular, early childhood education programs. 

I have been privileged to serve as president and CEO of The 

Campagna Center in Alexandria for the past year and have worked 

in the field of early childhood education for the better part of 20 

years. The Campagna Center currently serves more than 1,700 

children through a range of early childhood, school age, youth, and 

family-development programs designed to empower and engage 

parents as they address their children’s academic and social needs. 

We, like many other early childhood centers across the country, 

successfully blend, braid, and leverage a multitude of local, State, 

and Federal funding with private investment and shared community resources to provide the highest quality services to the most 

vulnerable families in Alexandria. 

The looming 7.8-percent cut to nondefense discretionary programs will have serious, immediate, and disruptive impact on vulnerable children and families we serve. Due to increases in our operating costs over the past few years, in particular deferred maintenance, health insurance for staff, rising utility costs, we simply do 

not have the budget cushion to withstand this large of a reduction 

without cutting children, families, and staff from our program. 

We know that the Congress is committed to Head Start. Over the 

past few years, there has been solid bipartisan support for the 

quality early childhood education, and Head Start has not had to 

cut children from its programs. However, we work hand in hand 

with childcare services and other early learning programs, especially those funded or supplemented with State dollars. 

Over the last year, States across the country have made significant cuts to childcare and pre-K programs. The ripple effects of 

this, combined with further cuts via sequestration, will be devastating to early learning across the country. 

In Virginia alone, it is estimated that more than 800 children 

and their families would no longer receive federally funded 

childcare assistance. Without such assistance, families will be faced 

with the difficult decision of what to do with their children while 

at work, unfortunately, choices that can lead to children being 
86 

placed in unsafe environments or their parents being forced to reduce their hours or even quit their jobs. 

For Head Start and Early Head Start, the cut would equate to 

the loss of roughly 1,100 children and their families in the State, 

according to the National Head Start Association. 

My agency, The Campagna Center, is a delegate of the city of Alexandria. And among the children we serve, we are funded to provide assistance to 309 Head Start children and 108 Early Head 

Start children as a grantee. A cut of this magnitude would mean 

that approximately 24 fewer children would be served in Head 

Start and 10 fewer in Early Head Start. 

Currently, we have to raise an additional $75,000 each year just 

to be able to continue providing quality services to our Early Head 

Start children, because the current funding level has not been able 

to address our rising costs. This is in addition to the 20-percent 

non-Federal share match that we have to provide to operate the 

program. 

There is simply no way we could absorb a cut as deep as proposed with other funding sources in this very challenged economic 

environment. 

Additionally, due to the economic woes, the need in our community has grown much faster than our ability to provide services. 

As a city, Alexandria has deep pockets of poverty that greatly undermine many families’ abilities to pay for early childhood services. 

Last year, we had 206 children on our waitlist for Head Start and 

169 for Early Head Start. Unfortunately, we expect this number to 

keep growing even without facing deep cuts. 

For our program’s spring enrollment fair, we had well over 500 

parents seeking a spot for their children in our program. Any cuts 

in funding would certainly push more families onto long waiting 

lists, where the chance to gain access to early childhood education 

is slim to none. 

In addition to the depth of the cut, one of our greatest fears is 

the timing. A January 2013 target date for these cuts go into effect 

is right in the middle of the program year for us as well as our K– 

12 colleagues. 

Just recently, I had the opportunity to talk with a parent that 

knows firsthand how much Head Start has meant to her. The 

mother came to our program in 2010 after having experienced a divorce and was in need of assistance on many levels. With very little 

family support and few resources at her disposal, she was concerned about how she was going to make ends meet and provide 

for her children. In 2 short years, despite becoming homeless, her 

oldest child has thrived in our program, and has since successfully 

completed kindergarten, and is doing very well in school. 

This parent has been able to enter a training program that has 

her close to earning her child development associate credential, and 

she is gainfully employed as a teacher assistant and very much motivated to do what it takes to continue her own education and support her children’s education. 

She credits her success to the support she has received from 

teachers, home visitors, and family support staff in our program. 

This mother’s story reflects the story of many parents who have 
87 

come to rely on Head Start and other early care and education programs that support child and family success. 

It’s clear that cuts in this area will have lasting impact. Quality 

early education prepares the Nation’s youngest children for a lifetime of learning and success. In fact, studies show that for every 

$1 invested in a Head Start, society earns at least $7 through increased earnings, employment, family stability, as well as decreased welfare dependency, healthcare costs, crime costs, grade retention, and special education. 

PREPARED STATEMENT

I firmly agree that our national deficit is a looming problem. As 

an advocate serving children, I too am concerned about leaving significant debt behind to be paid for by the next generation. 

On behalf of my colleagues across the country, I urge this subcommittee to take a leadership role in finding a balanced approach 

that averts the sequester and ensures that this deficit reduction effort is not financed with cuts to programs that help our most vulnerable citizens. Hundreds of thousands of children and families in 

your home States are counting on it. 

Thank you. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF TAMMY L. MANN, PH.D. 

Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Shelby: Thank you for the opportunity 

to testify today about the potential impact of the impending sequester of nondefense 

discretionary programs, in particular, early childhood education programs supported 

through Head Start, Early Head Start, and Child Care funding. I have been privileged to serve as president and CEO of The Campagna Center, in Alexandria, Virginia, for the past year and have worked in the field of early childhood education 

for more than 20 years. The Campagna Center serves more than 1,700 children 

through a range of early childhood, school age, youth, and family development programs designed to empower and engage parents as they address their children’s 

academic and social needs. We, like many other early childhood centers across the 

country, successfully blend, braid, and leverage a multitude of local, State, and Federal funding with precious private investment and shared community resources to 

provide the highest quality services to the most vulnerable families in Alexandria. 

The looming 7.8-percent cut to nondefense discretionary programs will have serious, immediate, and disruptive impact on the vulnerable children and families we 

serve. Due to increases in our operating costs over the past few years, in particular 

deferred maintenance, health insurance for staff, and rising utility costs, we do not 

have the budget cushion to withstand this large of a reduction without cutting children, families, and staff from our program. Nationally, the Department of Health 

and Human Services estimates that this cut, via sequestration, will result in 

100,000 fewer children receiving Head Start and Early Head Start services, and 

80,000 fewer children receiving child care assistance. 

We know that the Congress is committed to Head Start—over the past few years 

there has been solid bipartisan support for quality early childhood education and 

Head Start has not had to cut children from its programs. However, we work handin-hand with child care services and other early learning programs, especially those 

funded or supplemented with State dollars. Over the last year, states across the 

country have made significant cuts to child care and pre-K programs. The ripple effects of this, combined with further cuts via sequestration, will be devastating to 

early learning across the country. 

In Virginia alone, it is estimated that more than 800 children and their families 

would no longer receive federally funded child care assistance. Without child care 

assistance, families will be faced with the difficult decision of what to do with their 

children while at work. Unfortunately, that choice can lead to kids being put in unsafe environments or their parents forced to reduce their hours or even quit their 

jobs. For Head Start and Early Head Start, the cut would also equate to the loss 
88 

1Ludwig, J. and Phillips, D. (2007). The Benefits and Costs of Head Start. Social Policy Report. 21 (3: 4); Deming, D. (2009). Early childhood intervention and life-cycle skill development: 

Evidence from Head Start. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(3): 111–134; 

Meier, J. (2003, June 20). Interim Report. Kindergarten Readiness Study: Head Start Success. 

Preschool Service Department, San Bernardino County, California; Deming, D. (2009, July). 

Early childhood intervention and life-cycle skill development: Evidence from Head Start, p. 112. 

of roughly 1,140 children and their families in the State, according to the National 

Head Start Association. 

My agency, The Campagna Center, is a delegate agency of the city of Alexandria 

and among the children we serve, we are funded to provide assistance to 309 Head 

Start Children and 108 Early Head Start children as a grantee. A cut of this magnitude would mean that approximately 24 fewer children would be served in Head 

Start and approximately 10 fewer in Early Head Start. Currently, we have to raise 

an additional $75,000 each year just to be able to continue providing quality services to our Early Head Start children because the current funding level has not been 

able to address our rising costs; this is in addition to the 20 percent non-Federal 

match that we have to provide to operate the program. There is simply no way we 

could absorb a cut as deep as proposed with other funding sources in this very challenged economic environment. Teacher and Teacher Assistant jobs would be lost, as 

well as reductions in time for staff that support our teachers—Family Service Support professionals, Nutrition Specialists, and others that are vital to the life success 

of our children. 

Additionally, due to economic woes, the need in our community has grown much 

faster than our ability to provide services. As a city, Alexandria has deep pockets 

of poverty that greatly undermine many families’ ability to pay for early childhood 

services. Last year we had 206 children on our waitlist for Head Start and 169 children on the Early Head Start waiting list. Unfortunately we expect this number to 

keep growing even without facing deep cuts; for our program’s Spring enrollment 

fair, we had well over 500 parents seeking a spot for their children in our program. 

Any cuts in funding would certainly push more families onto long waiting lists, 

where the chance to gain access to early childhood education is slim to none. 

In addition to the depth of the cut, one of our greatest fears is its timing. January 

2013, the target date these cuts go into effect, is right in the middle of the program 

year for us as well as our K–12 colleagues. We simply do not know how we can possibly tell families that their services will lapse come January. These services are 

critical to helping stabilize at-risk families, so that their children will be assured 

a home environment that nurtures a lifetime of learning and success. 

Just recently, I had the opportunity to talk with a parent that knows firsthand 

how much Head Start has meant to her family. This mother came to our program 

in 2010 following a divorce and was in need of assistance on many levels. With very 

little family support and few resources at her disposal, she was concerned about 

how she was going to make ends meet and provide for her children. In 2 short years, 

despite becoming homeless, her oldest child thrived in our program, has since successfully completed kindergarten, and is doing very well in school. This parent has 

been able to enter a training program that has her close to earning her Child Development Associate credential and she is gainfully employed as a teacher assistant 

and very much motivated to do what it will take to continue her education and support her children’s education. She credits all of this success to the support she received from teachers, home visitors, and family support staff in our program. This 

mother’s story reflects the story of many parents who have come to rely on Head 

Start and other early care and education programs that support child and family 

success. 

Cuts in this area will have lasting impact. Quality early education prepares the 

Nation’s youngest children for a lifetime of learning and success. In fact, studies 

show that for every $1 invested in a Head Start child, society earns at least $7 

through increased earnings, employment, and family stability; 1 as well as decreased 
89 

2Meier, J. (2003, June 20). Kindergarten Readiness Study: Head Start Success. Interim Report. Preschool Services Department of San Bernardino County. 3Frisvold, D. (2006, February). Head Start participation and childhood obesity. Vanderbilt 

University Working Paper No. 06–WG01; Currie, J. and Thomas, D. (1995, June). Does Head 

Start Make a Difference? The American Economic Review, 85 (3): 360; Anderson, K.H., Foster, 

J.E., & Frisvold, D.E. (2009). Investing in health: The long-term impact of Head Start on smoking. Economic Inquiry, 48 (3), 587–602. 4 Reuters. (2009, March). Cost of locking up Americans too high: Pew study; Garces, E., Thomas, D. and Currie, J. (2002, September). Longer-term effects of Head Start. American Economic 

Review, 92 (4): 999–1012. 5 Barnett, W. (2002, September 13). The Battle Over Head Start: What the Research Shows.; 

Garces, E., Thomas, D. and Currie, J. (2002, September). Longer-Term Effects of Head Start. 

American Economic Review, 92 (4): 999–1012. 6 NHSA Public Policy and Research Department analysis of data from a Montgomery County 

Public Schools evaluation. See Zhao, H. & Modarresi, S. (2010, April). Evaluating lasting effects 

of full-day prekindergarten program on school readiness, academic performance, and special 

education services. Office of Shared Accountability, Montgomery County Public Schools. 

welfare dependency,2 healthcare costs,3 crime costs,4 grade retention,5 and special 

education.6

I firmly agree that our national deficit is a looming problem; as an advocate serving children, I too am concerned about leaving significant debt behind to be paid 

for by the next generation. On behalf of my colleagues across the country, I urge 

this subcommittee to take a leadership role in finding a balanced approach that 

averts the sequester and ensures that this deficit reduction effort is not financed 

with cuts to programs that help our most vulnerable citizens. Hundreds of thousands of children and families in your home States are counting on it. Thank you. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, Dr. Mann. Thank you all very much 

for your testimony. 

As I said, your whole testimonies will be made a part of the 

record. We’ll start a round of 5-minute questions. 

First, Tammy Mann, Dr. Mann, last April, I went down to the 

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and their affiliate had issued a report 

calling for more investment in early childhood education. Not less, 

more. This is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Coming from a business community to unite in an effort to convince us, and I assume 

people on the local level and everywhere else, to invest more in 

early childhood education. 

So I want to point out this concern is also coming from the business community, but it’s not just recent. In 1990—it was either 

1990 or 1992, the Committee on Economic Development was headed by the president and CEO of Honeywell at that time. It came 

out with a report on what needed to be done on education in America from a business standpoint, from a business community standpoint, what needed to be done. And their entire report was focused 

on putting more into early childhood education, early learning programs. That was 1990 or 1992, I forgot exactly which year. 

So again, the business community this year stepped up again. 

But we never seem to quite get there. 

For both you and Dr. Walker, your statements read—or Dr. 

Walker, your statement—the concept of doing more with less is admirable, but there comes a time when there’s not enough left adequately and equitably to educate the children of America. 

Dr. Atkinson, you said our State and local education agencies 

(LEAs) are currently running on shoestring budgets and cannot afford additional cuts. 

For both of you, what kinds of things have you done already to 

reduce costs? And if sequestration goes into effect, where are you 

going to go for this extra money? Can you go to your local jurisdiction, your States? Can you address it yourself? Where would you 
90 

get that lost revenue, or would you just have to lay off teachers and 

cut services? 

Dr. ATKINSON. North Carolina has no place to go. We have 

moved very aggressively to become more efficient and more effective in our delivery of public education. 

Harvard just recently issued a report indicating that North Carolina was one of six States getting the most gain of student achievement with the incremental dollars that we have. We ranked 45th 

in the Nation, according to the 2010 census for educational spending. 

Our instructional resources budget has been cut 50 percent. 

Senator HARKIN. Excuse me. You ranked 45th out of 50 States 

in educational spending? 

Dr. ATKINSON. That’s correct, Sir. 

Senator HARKIN. So you’re at the bottom? 

Dr. ATKINSON. Yes, we are. And not only are we at the bottom, our school districts will face about $190 million less money to serve 

12,000 more students along with our 1.5 million children that we 

have in our State. 

Through Race to the Top dollars—thank goodness—we have been 

able to continue to build a more efficient and effective system 

where we can have some economies of scale, such as instead of our 

115 school districts doing requests and proposals for services, we 

want to do it one time for our 115 school districts. 

We have started a virtual high school, the second largest in the 

Nation. That virtual high school supplements instruction in schools 

where they could no longer have teachers, and it helps our rural 

schools in the State to offer more opportunities. 

We have been cutting and cutting. We have approximately 5 percent of our budgets spent in administration. That’s one of the lowest in the Nation, and I’m sure that any business would be very 

proud to have an administrative cost at 5 percent. 

We have made cuts in teacher assistance. We’ve had to eliminate 

more than 6,000 positions over the last couple of years. 

So we have no place to go to get to make up for the difference 

that would occur should sequestration take place. North Carolina 

is a State that has had its share of hurricanes, and we’ve been trying to build and we are well on our way to building a very strong 

foundational house, but sequestration would be like a hurricane 

coming through and blowing off the roof of what we have done to 

move us to the place where nearly 100 percent of our students can 

graduate from our schools prepared with options. 

Senator HARKIN. Mr. Walker. 

Dr. WALKER. Yes, Sir. Learning is the byproduct of good teaching. And in order to have learning, we have to have the people. 

And so over the last couple of years, we’ve actually already started 

reducing our staff, which means larger class sizes. 

For example, we’ve reduced an English teacher, a math teacher, 

a science teacher at the high school level; reading specialists—one 

at the elementary, one at the middle school; a librarian; a facility 

planner; a person in our curriculum department at the campus 

level. 

Senator HARKIN. So has the number of your students decreased 

at the same time? 
91 

Dr. WALKER. No, Sir. Our numbers have stayed the same. We’re 

having to put more students in the classroom now. No pay raises. 

So, essentially, what we’re having to do is we’re having to look 

at our personnel. We eliminated the baseball, swimming, and crosscountry programs, but we did that in order to keep our elementary 

art, our elementary music, our secondary theater arts, music programs, all those programs in the fine arts. We’re trying to keep a 

balance. 

But, ultimately, Sir, when it all boils down and you look at it, 

we have to touch people’s lives and we have to reduce our staff. 

And at some point, we have to have a bare minimum to operate 

to take care of the Federal and State mandates for educating our 

children. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you. 

Senator Shelby. 

Senator SHELBY. Thank you, Senator Harkin. 

It’s been estimated that the Federal contribution, on average, is 

about 10.8 percent of a local school district’s total funding. I think 

that’s nationwide. 

On a local level, this means that an automatic cut, for example, 

of 7.8 percent to the Federal share for an average school district 

would equal a cut of about 84 percent of its total funding. 

I know you don’t want to cut anything. I agree with you that sequestration is not the way to do it. You know, we’re going to have 

to do things in the future a little differently up here, because we’re 

challenged economically, as we all know, just as you are in North 

Carolina, you are in Texas, you are in Virginia. My people in Alabama, we understand that. 

Mr. McCluskey, I want to direct my first question to you. First 

of all, I believe access to a quality education is critical to the success of our citizens and the competitiveness, as has been a said 

here, of our Nation in the global economy. However, there is not 

always a strong correlation between spending and outcomes. We 

know that. 

Since 1970, Federal education spending on a per-pupil basis has 

increased from $435 to $1,159 in 2008. Yet according to the most 

recent performance report ranking 15-year-olds from the 34 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States ranked 25th in math and 17th in 

science. 

Can the approximate 7.8-percent cuts we’ve been talking about 

under sequestration be taken without adversely affecting student 

achievement? 

Mr. MCCLUSKEY. I think the overwhelming evidence, and a lot 

of it I laid out in my testimony, is that we have spent huge 

amounts of money. We’ve had gigantic increases and sustained over 

decades. And it simply hasn’t, in any way, translated into better 

outcomes, into better performance, and it’s the Federal Government’s own test that shows that, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. 

And you bring up the international data, and that’s also interesting, because we spend more than almost any other Nation in the 

OECD on education and still get very poor results. 

Senator SHELBY. But the outcome is different, isn’t it? 
92 

Mr. MCCLUSKEY. What’s that? 

Senator SHELBY. The outcome, considering what other nations 

spend and what we spend. 

Mr. MCCLUSKEY. Absolutely. So they do much better on, usually, 

much less spending per pupil. 

We can talk about this as an investment, but if it is an investment, it’s an investment that’s been paying no return for decades. 

And considering the size of the debt and considering that this is 

money that comes from taxpayers who might be able to use it for 

much more efficient things that they really need, I can’t see how 

it can be justified to continue spending like this. 

Senator SHELBY. Dr. Atkinson, if cuts still need to be taken to 

education funding, and I think we’re going to have to look at everything up here whether we want to or not, and it was up to individual States, for example, to make these cuts, what specific programs would you target and what innovative strategies would you 

support to achieve some efficiencies in education, because I do believe whether it’s defense, whether it’s education, or whether it’s 

health, that they are some efficiencies there that we should all 

strive to get to. What would you suggest, if any? 

Dr. ATKINSON. I believe that my colleagues across the Nation 

would agree that should sequestration have to occur, and should 

cuts have to occur, that States must be offered flexibility in making 

cuts where we see through our data that we are not as effective 

or efficient in one area as we would be in another. 

So we need to offer that flexibility to States, because it may not 

be the same in all of our States where we see inefficiencies and ineffectiveness. 

I believe that we also must work collaboratively to get efficiencies. For example, the adoption of the common core standards 

is a good example of how States can come together, focus on the 

common standards, share resources dealing with professional development, share resources as it relates to helping students understand the content and to apply that content. 

There are other examples with online professional development. 

There are other examples that can be used in having accessible to 

all of our States online instruction that can complement or supplement the instruction that a teacher would provide in the classroom. 

Senator SHELBY. Dr. Walker, I voted against the sequestration 

legislation, as the Mr. Chairman did, that brought us where we are 

today. But if it does come about, would it be better to deal with 

it now as opposed to kicking the can down the road if you had a 

little certainty there? 

Dr. WALKER. Absolutely, Sir. 

Senator SHELBY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you. It’s true we both voted against it, 

but I think I voted against it because it raised no revenue and—— 

Senator SHELBY. Probably for different reasons. 

Senator HARKIN. And you probably voted against it because it 

didn’t cut enough. So different reasons. 

Senator SHELBY. I didn’t say we voted against it for the same 

reason. 

Senator HARKIN. Let’s see, I just wanted to cover one other thing 

here. 
93 

Yes, Mr. McCluskey, I had one thing I wanted to ask you about 

in your testimony here. You know, I always like it when people cite 

studies and stuff, but I found in my long career here that when you 

cite a study that’s been cited by somebody else, been cited by somebody else and cited by somebody else, it’s going to take on a life 

of its own. But you really don’t know what the real facts are. 

So just to read, in your testimony, you said that, ‘‘Indeed, GAO 

reports in 2000, 2005, and 2008 found widespread noncompliance 

with financial management standards and very poor efforts to remediate the problem.’’ We’re talking about Head Start. This is 

Head Start. 

You said, ‘‘As reports in the Government Accountability Office, 

local media outlets, and other sources have revealed, Head Start 

has long suffered from serious waste and abuse. Indeed, GAO reports in 2000, 2005, and 2008 found widespread noncompliance 

with financial management standards and very poor efforts to remediate the problem.’’ 

I was very intrigued by that, since I was here in those years and 

was on this subcommittee, either as ranking member or chair, and 

I didn’t remember those, so I asked my staff to look at it. What we 

found out was that the GAO study found possible abuse of eligibility rules. 

This is where kids may have been—their families may have been 

more than 100 percent of poverty but their kids were in the Head 

Start program. And they found this in eight Head Start centers. Do 

you know how many Head Start centers are in the country, Mr. 

McCluskey? 

Mr. MCCLUSKEY. Quite a few. 

Senator HARKIN. Sixteen hundred. So I question the usage of 

your words ‘‘widespread noncompliance.’’ I’m sure that somebody 

else may pick up your citing of this and then cite the study in 

something else and then it takes on a life of its own. 

But I doubt that finding possible abuse of eligibility rules at 8 

out of 1,600 Head Start centers is an indictment of widespread 

noncompliance and poor efforts to remediate the problem. 

Mr. MCCLUSKEY. In fact, I’m not the only one I think who’s found 

evidence of this and acted on it. In fact, the Obama administration 

has undertaken a new effort to impose some sort of accountability 

on Head Start centers due to widespread problems, at least what 

they are perceiving as widespread problems, within Head Start of 

financial management and things like this. 

So I don’t think I am the only one who senses a problem in this 

area. The Obama administration seems to be working on that expectation or thought that’s out there as well. 

Senator HARKIN. Well, again, maybe your definition of ‘‘widespread’’ is a little bit different than mine, but 8 of 1,600 doesn’t 

seem widespread. 

Everything has problems. We always try to focus on how we can 

do things better. I understand that. But I don’t know that that’s 

an indictment of the Head Start program. 

Mr. Walker, I wanted to ask you, you said in your testimony— 

you mentioned something. I heard it. You said something about 

State and Federal mandates in education. What do you mean by 

Federal mandates in education? 
94 

Dr. WALKER. One of the mandates that we deal with is, is dealing with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), with 

some of the issues that come out of No Child Left Behind, dealing 

with the testing requirements that we’re under. It flows through 

the State, but it’s through No Child Left Behind. 

There are various areas that we have that we have to act and 

we have to do things, and that’s what I term a mandate. 

Senator HARKIN. Let me address myself to one of those, IDEA. 

There is, I think, a mistaken perception, hearing from you, a 

well-known educator, that IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act, is a Federal mandate. It is not a Federal mandate. 

It’s a constitutional mandate. 

You see, under the Constitution of the United States, no State 

has to provide a free public education. There’s no constitutional 

mandate that says that any State has to provide a free public education. 

What the Constitution does say, however, as the Supreme Court 

has interpreted over the years, is that if a State does provide a free 

public education, it cannot just provide a taxpayer-based free public 

education for white boys. It cannot just provide a free taxpayerfunded public education for Christian boys and girls. 

The Supreme Court has said that you can’t discriminate based 

on race, sex, or natural origin, et cetera, et cetera. 

A case came before the circuit court for Pennsylvania—PARC v. 

Pennsylvania—PARC, P–A–R–C—Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens vs. Pennsylvania. Here, I’m into trouble—early 

1970s, I believe. 

In which some parents of kids with disabilities—intellectual disabilities—brought about a case saying that their kids were being 

discriminated against. They were taxpayers, and their kids were 

not being given a free, appropriate public education. 

The district court found for the parents. It was appealed to the 

circuit court. The circuit court upheld that, and the Supreme Court 

denied it. 

The Supreme Court was saying, you’re right, this is a constitutional requirement. You cannot discriminate on the basis of disability, if you’re going to have a free public education. 

The Federal Government came along—then I came to Congress. 

The Federal Government comes along and says, well, and the 

States came to the Federal Government and said, my gosh, now we 

are going to have to educate kids with disabilities. It’s a constitutional requirement just like we have to educate girls now. We have 

to educate African-Americans. We have to educate new immigrants 

who come into this country. 

So the States came and said, my gosh, this is going to be a new 

burden. The Federal Government said, okay, I’ll tell you what we’ll 

do, we’ll make a deal. We’ll provide funding to help meet this constitutional requirement you have, but here are some of the things 

you have to do if you want some of the Federal money. You don’t 

have to take the Federal money. But if you do, here are some of 

the requirements you have to meet. 

And the Federal Government at the time, it was our goal to have 

the Federal Government pay for at least 40 percent of the increased cost, whatever it might cost to educate the kids with a dis-
95 

ability, that we would pay for 40 percent of it, as a goal. It wasn’t 

guaranteed, but that was the goal. 

I’ve been involved in trying to reach that goal for 30 years. We’ve 

never made it. We got it up a little bit under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but that went away. 

But be that as it may, the requirement that every school district—yours, too—educate kids with disabilities is not a Federal 

mandate. It’s a constitutional requirement. Even if there were no 

IDEA at all, you would still have to educate those kids with a disability. Not a Federal mandate whatsoever. 

The only mandate is if you take the money, you have to meet certain requirements in terms of IDEA. You don’t have to take the 

money. 

So I just wanted to make that clear, that a lot of times, there 

are Federal mandates. But many times they’re not Federal mandates; they’re constitutional requirements that we have to meet in 

order not to discriminate against one class or another of our citizens. 

Now, No Child Left Behind, again, yes, there are mandates in No 

Child Left Behind, Federal mandates. Again, those come basically 

through title I funding. If a State wants title I funding, here is 

what you have to do. 

I will point out again and again, as I point out as chairman of 

this subcommittee and as chairman of the authorizing committee, 

no State has to take title I money. There is no requirement for any 

State that you must take Federal money for education. If you want 

it, then here are the requirements you have to meet. 

I have my own problems with No Child Left Behind. That’s why 

I worked with Senator Enzi on the authorizing committee, not the 

appropriating committee, authorizing committee, to pass legislation 

to get rid of No Child Left Behind, because I came to the conclusion 

that it was a bad piece of legislation. So we got it through our committee, but we can’t get it through the Senate floor right now. 

But those are the things that we have to work on. But again, I 

always point out that there is no requirement that any State has 

to take that money. If a State wants to, they can pay for all their 

education all by themselves. But even if a State did, even if North 

Carolina decided to pick up everything, they still can’t violate the 

Constitution of the United States as long as they’re a State in this 

Union. 

So when we think about these mandates, just be careful about 

whether we say they are a Federal mandate or are they a constitutional requirement that taxpayers—a State cannot use taxpayer 

money to come in and just do it for one class of people and discriminate against another class of people. I think we all understand that. That’s sort of common sense, as we say right now. 

Well, I should say, Senator Shelby already left. But I did want 

to respond about the funding of early—that per student funding 

has gone from $435 in 1975 to $1,159 in 2008, yet the United 

States has ranked some place down there in the ranking system. 

I don’t know what the inflationary factor increase from 1970 to 

now would be. It’s 40-some years. I suppose that would probably 

put it in equal terms maybe around $800. I don’t know. And so 

then $300 in there. 
96 

Look at the difference between 1970 and now. I mean, we weren’t 

educating kids with disabilities then. They were all housed in institutions, and we were paying through the nose for that discriminatory action. So we’ve saved money there, but we put it into education, for educating kids with disabilities. 

So, yes, we might be spending more per student, but some of that 

money was being spent on institutional care for students or kids 

that just weren’t being educated. 

From my area, I know a lot of kids went through 8th grade, 10th 

grade, dropped out of school and got a job in a factory. They could 

do that then. You can’t do that anymore. 

And so we’re educating more kids now, a lot more children than 

what we did in 1970. 

We’ve had an influx of English language learners into this country. We had the wave that came when my mother, who was an immigrant, came to the country. Then it subsided, and we had another big wave come. 

That has an effect on our schools and school spending also. So 

to say that we’ve increased spending on students a tremendous 

amount since 1970, it doesn’t really tell me a lot until you factor 

in all those other factors as to what the student population is like 

right now. 

And to be sure, I wish the United States—and Secretary Arne 

Duncan said it—we’ve got to do a better job on educating kids. 

I politely disagree with my friend from the Cato Institute, who 

says the Federal Government has been the cause of all this terrible 

stuff. We only provide 8—between 8 and 10 percent of all the funding for elementary and secondary education in this country. And 

we’re at a high point. It used to be less than that. 

I would assume if you go back to 1970, there’s probably around 

4, 5, or 6 percent of total funding for elementary and secondary 

education. Now, it’s up to 8 or 9 percent. 

So if there’s a fault, how about looking at the 92 percent that the 

States are funding? Ninety-two percent of all of the funding for elementary and secondary education come from States and local governments, not from the Federal Government. Is it the Federal Government’s fault or is it the State and local government’s fault that 

we rank so low on this? 

To blame it all on the Federal Government, when they provide 

8 percent, is to ignore the elephant in a room, which is the State 

and local governments who provide 92 percent of the funding for 

education. You know, maybe they haven’t done enough to bolster 

education in State and local governments. 

We had a hearing earlier this week on higher education, and 

there is a direct correlation between States that have decreased 

their funding for higher education and increased tuition. So if 

States have decreased their funding for higher education, tuition 

goes up, students borrow more money. That’s why we have student 

debt today higher than credit card debt. 

So I say these things, I think about this. Is it really the Federal 

Government or is it State and local governments that bear the 

brunt of this? 

Well, again, I thank all of you. I think you’ve made us think 

about a lot of things. If nothing else, I think what we pointed out 
97 

here, and I think maybe for different reasons voted against it, but 

I think we both agree that sequestration would be devastating, either on the defense side or the nondefense side. I just think that 

most of us have been focused on the defense side. I think now we’re 

beginning to focus on what would happen in nondiscretionary defense spending if, in fact, we had sequestration. 

Again, an impetus for us to get them together, reach compromises as we’ve done, as I pointed out, we’ve done in the past. 

There’s no reason why we can’t do it now. 

ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

So I thank you all for what you do in your local areas for education, and thank you for taking the time to be here and to testify 

and to give us the benefit of your thinking. 

[The following questions were not asked at the hearing but were 

submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the hearing:] 

QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY SENATOR TOM HARKIN

ARE FEDERAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS EFFECTIVE? WOULD SEQUESTRATION HARM

FEDERAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS?

Question. Mr. Secretary, during the hearing we heard testimony from Mr. Neal 

McCluskey who stated that ‘‘. . . the last 40-plus years of Federal involvement in 

education provide a clear demonstration of futility’’ and that education is a perfect 

example of why cuts can be made without adversely affecting the activities the Federal money is supposed to advance with ‘‘. . . overwhelming evidence revealing that 

Federal spending has, at best, done no overall good, and has quite likely caused appreciable harm.’’ Would you please comment on these opinions? 

Answer. I don’t think we need to get into a debate about the effectiveness of the 

Federal role in education over the past four decades to demonstrate whether or not 

sequestration would have a negative impact on students, parents, teachers, and 

schools. The bottom line is that we know from our partners in State and local education agencies, from superintendents and school boards, and from parents and 

principals that our schools rely on Federal education programs to meet the educational needs of all students but especially students from low-income families, students with disabilities, English learners, and other students who face challenges in 

meeting State academic standards and graduating from high school college- and career-ready. We also know that millions of postsecondary students and their families, 

as well as the institutions of higher education that these students attend, depend 

on the Department of Education to process student financial aid applications and 

deliver the grant and loan assistance that students need to obtain a postsecondary 

education. There is simply no question that sequestration would have a severely adverse impact on these beneficiaries of strong Federal support for State and local 

education systems, particularly at a time when State and local budgets are still recovering from the recent economic recession. 

I would just add that we do pay attention to evidence of effectiveness regarding 

the Department’s programs, and we have not been shy about proposing the elimination of programs that either are not effective or have limited impact. This is why, 

with the help of the Congress, we have eliminated or consolidated no fewer than 

49 programs over the past 3 years, for a total savings of $1.2 billion. In my view, 

we have been very successful in cutting the ‘‘fat’’ from Federal education programs; 

sequestration would require us to cut into the bone and risk significant damage to 

students and schools across the Nation. 

IMPACT ON EDUCATION PROGRAMS OF SEQUESTRATION IF PELL GRANT PROGRAM IS

EXEMPT

Question. In a September 2011 analysis of sequestration’s impact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that nonexempt, nondefense discretionary programs will face an across-the-board cut of 7.8 percent in fiscal year 2013. At that 

time, it was unclear how the Pell grant program factored into CBO’s analysis and 
98 

whether the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) believed the program was 

subject to sequestration or if it was exempt. 

As you know, I released a report on July 25th entitled ‘‘Under Threat: Sequestration’s Impact on Nondefense Jobs and Services’’, that provided a detailed, State-level 

analysis of sequestration’s effect on dozens of education, health, and labor programs 

using CBO’s 7.8-percent across-the-board cut estimate. I recently learned that OMB 

has ruled that the Pell grant program is exempt from sequestration. Given that the 

Pell grant program’s discretionary costs represented 33 percent of the Department 

of Education’s total discretionary budget in fiscal year 2012, I would like to know 

how OMB’s recent decision affects the cuts that will need to be made to nondefense 

discretionary spending, particularly at the Department, to achieve the required savings under sequestration. 

Answer. Pell grants will be exempt from the fiscal year 2013 sequester. In its September report pursuant to the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, OMB took 

the Pell grant exemption and many other factors into account and estimated that 

the sequester for nondefense discretionary programs would be 8.2 percent. 

QUESTION SUBMITTED BY SENATOR HERB KOHL

SEQUESTRATION GUIDANCE FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Question. Over the past few weeks, we have heard more and more about how sequestration might affect our Research I universities and what it will mean for student financial aid and support programs. However, our smaller regional colleges and 

universities still have a lot of questions about what sequestration might mean for 

them. Does the Department of Education have any guidance for our smaller institutions of higher education? 

Answer. The administration continues to urge the Congress to pass a balanced 

package of deficit reduction that would replace the potential sequestration. As the 

September report on sequestration stated, ‘‘. . . no amount of planning can mitigate 

the effect of these cuts.’’ However, the exemption for Pell grants would make it easier for these smaller institutions than without the exemption. 

QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY SENATOR MARY L. LANDRIEU

IMPACTS ON REFORM

Question. I commend the administration on its strong commitment to education 

reform through initiatives like Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation (i3), the 

Charter Schools Program, and the Teacher Incentive Fund. Targeted investments in 

such evidence-based programs have leveraged significant education reforms in Louisiana and across the country. 

Mr. Secretary, can you please address how sequestration might alter the administration’s education reform agenda and its impact on our Nation’s efforts to close the 

achievement gap? 

Answer. Reducing investments in education is not the way to close the achievement gap or stimulate reform. The sequester would cut significant funding from our 

foundation formula programs, like title I and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), that provide resources for districts and schools serving our neediest students. It would be hard to avoid reductions in the number of teachers at a 

time when school enrollment is increasing. That would not be the formula for future 

success in turning around our economy or preparing more students to be ready for 

college or careers. I agree that our reform initiatives have been levers in producing 

reforms. I think we need to do more, not less, to stimulate reforms. Now more than 

ever, when we need to boost our economy by filling jobs with a future, we should 

be increasing our investments in approaches like Race to the Top. 

PREPARATION FOR SEQUESTER

Question. I appreciate that the Department has started communicating with Chief 

State School Officers about sequestration so that they can start preparing for the 

impending cuts. Since there is no guarantee the Congress will prevent sequestration, I hope that you will continue to communicate with our State education leaders 

regarding sequestration. 

Mr. Secretary, can you please discuss the next steps the Department will take to 

prepare for sequestration and to ensure that our States are prepared, as well? 

Answer. We are glad that the guidance on the major formula programs with advance funding (title I of Elementary and Secondary Education Act [ESEA], IDEA 
99 

part B, Teacher Quality, and Career and Technical Education) was helpful to the 

States. We will continue to monitor progress in the Congress. As we have said before, the administration continues to urge the Congress to pass a balanced package 

of deficit reduction that would replace the potential sequestration. As the September 

report on sequestration stated, ‘‘. . . no amount of planning can mitigate the effect 

of these cuts.’’ We believe the reductions in spending would be significant and hope 

they can be avoided. 

PREVENTING SEQUESTRATION

Question. Although this hearing is focused on the impact of sequestration on education, I think it’s worth discussing efforts to prevent sequestration from happening 

in the first place. 

Mr. Secretary, how much outreach has the Department conducted on Capitol Hill 

to educate Members of Congress and their staff on the severity of circumstances surrounding these cuts, and will the Department increase its efforts as fiscal year 2013 

approaches? 

Answer. The Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–155) required the President to submit to the Congress a report on the potential sequestration triggered by the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to 

propose, and the Congress to enact, a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion as 

required by the Budget Control Act of 2011. In response, in September, the Office 

of Management and Budget issued a detailed report based on assumptions required 

by the STA. The report provided the Congress with a breakdown of exempt and nonexempt budget accounts, an estimate of the funding reductions that would be required across nonexempt accounts, an explanation of the calculations in the report, 

and additional information on the potential implementation of the sequestration. 

In addition to that report, the administration has also been actively discussing the 

repercussions in hearings like this one and in communications that provide as much 

information as possible at this point in the process. The President has proposed alternatives to the sequester on at least two occasions, and the administration believes that its balanced approach to deficit reduction is preferable to the arbitrary 

across-the-board reductions. 

QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY SENATOR RICHARD C. SHELBY

EDUCATION PROGRAM PRIORITIES IF SEQUESTRATION TAKES EFFECT

Question. Mr. Secretary, if the Congress is able to come up with a plan that would 

lessen the sequestration amount but still require additional discretionary spending 

reductions, where would you propose to take these cuts, and what are the priorities 

you want protected? 

Answer. I believe that education is an investment that is even more important 

in our tough economic times. I would not be reducing our education investments. 

Where it was possible, we have already made many reductions and achieved significant long-term savings. For example, we have already eliminated 49 programs in 

the past 3 years. Those programs didn’t produce expected results, were duplicated 

by other programs, or had achieved their original purpose. Those eliminations save 

$1.2 billion each year. We also made changes in our student aid programs including 

$68 billion in savings by eliminating unnecessary subsidies to banks. We invested 

these savings in Pell grants and increased the maximum Pell grant award. And in 

order to ensure that the Pell grant program remains fully funded, we made hard 

choices to reduce student loan subsidies for graduate students and ended the yearround Pell. In addition, we kept the interest rate on subsidized Stafford loans for 

low-income students from doubling from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. 

ACTIONS TAKEN TO INCREASE PROGRAM EFFICIENCIES GIVEN POTENTIAL

SEQUESTRATION

Question. Within the Department, what steps have you taken to try and lessen 

the impact of sequestration on critical education programs, and, in particular, what 

are you doing to increase efficiencies knowing there could be an upcoming reduction 

in resources? 

Answer. No amount of planning will prepare for the arbitrary sequester. While 

we have issued guidance on how we will handle advance-funded appropriations, we 

have not been planning for significant reductions in our key programs. We are operating under the continuing resolution now, which assumes that funding for fiscal 

year 2013 will approximate the levels appropriated in fiscal year 2012. 
100 

SEQUESTRATION IMPACT ON UNOBLIGATED BALANCES, HOLD-HARMLESS, AND

MAINTENANCE-OF-EFFORT PROVISIONS

Question. The Department of Education has provided limited guidance to States 

about how the sequester will affect certain programs—in particular, how education 

programs that are advance-funded are impacted. However, it remains unclear how 

unobligated balances from fiscal year 2012 will be affected and how hold harmless 

and/or maintenance-of-effort (MOE) provisions will be impacted. Can you provide 

the subcommittee details on how these provisions will be affected? 

Answer. We do not believe that unobligated balances from fiscal year 2012 (i.e., 

funding that the Department has not obligated to States, school districts, or other 

recipients) will be affected by the fiscal year 2013 sequester. There would be no 

changes in hold-harmless and/or MOE provisions. Those are usually not dependent 

on the final level of appropriation for a given authority. 

OPTION FOR NEW STATE AND LOCAL FLEXIBILITIES UNDER SEQUESTRATION?

Question. Dr. June Atkinson, the State Superintendent for North Carolina, testified that the Department of Education should offer States and districts new flexibilities if sequestration is implemented. Does the Department have the authority to 

provide such flexibilities, and, if so, what specific flexibility, if any, is the Department considering providing to States and districts if sequestration is implemented? 

Answer. At this point, we do not see additional flexibilities arising from the sequester. The sequester will reduce the appropriations that are provided. The basic 

authorizing statutes will not be changed by the reduction in funding. 

SEQUESTRATION IMPACT ON LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES WITH GREATER RELIANCE ON

FEDERAL FUNDING

Question. It is estimated that the Federal contribution comprises on average only 

about 10.8 percent of a local school district’s total funding. On the local level, this 

means that an automatic cut of 7.8 percent to the Federal share for an average 

school district would equal a cut of about .84 percent of its total funding. However, 

concerns have been raised that local school districts that rely on Federal funding 

for a larger portion of their budget, such as title I school districts, will have greater 

challenges implementing sequestration cuts. What actions could the Department of 

Education take to lessen the impact on school districts that rely heavily on Federal 

funding? 

Answer. The sequester would significantly reduce Federal funding. The cuts in 

formula programs that receive advance funding for next school year will have to 

consider reductions in staff and services. Those districts relying heavily on Federal 

funding will have to make the largest adjustments. We would try to share examples 

of cost-cutting efforts that would minimize the negative impact on students and 

teachers, but at this point, we are not engaging in such planning. 

SEQUESTRATION IMPACT ON ORIGINATION FEES FOR STUDENT LOANS

Question. Mr. Secretary, you discuss in your testimony the impact that budget sequestration would have on the ability to administer student aid programs. It is my 

understanding that under sequestration the Department of Education would also be 

required to increase the origination fees for Federal student loans which would increase borrowing costs for students. Can you discuss the changes that the Department expects to make to origination fees on student loans under sequestration? 

Answer. The Department is proud of its role overseeing the Federal student aid 

programs which assist nearly 15 million students annually to afford the cost of a 

college education. Part of this role includes offering low-interest student loans to 

students and families regardless of income, with favorable repayment and forgiveness options, and with low origination fees. Unfortunately, during a period of sequestration the Department would be required to raise existing origination fees for 

Direct Loans by the percentage specified in the sequestration order. All loan types— 

Stafford, unsubsidized Stafford, PLUS, and Consolidation loans—are subject to this 

increase. 

Currently, subsidized Stafford and unsubsidized Stafford loans have a 1-percent 

origination fee, and PLUS loans have a 4-percent origination fee. (Consolidation 

loans do not have such a fee.) The borrower is charged a calculated origination fee 

equal to a percentage of the principal amount of the loan. The fee is then subtracted 

from the principal amount before the loan funds are disbursed to the borrower. 

Thus, a borrower would see a smaller disbursement than a loan in the same amount 

before sequestration. 
101 

QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY SENATOR MARK KIRK

SEQUESTRATION IMPACT ON LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON

IMPACT AID FUNDS

Question. I understand that sequestration for the Impact Aid program will take 

effect on January 2, 2013, while sequestration for the majority of the other large 

elementary and secondary education programs will not go into effect until the 2013– 

2014 school year. I have a few questions regarding sequestration for Impact Aid. 

Will heavily impacted districts receive the blanket 7.8-percent cut you described 

in your testimony on January 2, 2012, or will the 7.8-percent cut be applied to the 

Impact Aid program as a whole, with the possibility that the heavily impacted districts may receive less of a cut, because these districts have no other options with 

which to make up the loss of local tax revenue? 

Answer. Most Federal support for the major K–12 education programs is appropriated on a ‘‘forward-funded’’ basis, so a sequestration for those programs would 

not have an impact until the 2013–2014 school year. In contrast, Impact Aid is a 

‘‘current-funded’’ program. The Department obligates the great majority of the funding very soon after we receive an appropriation or during the period of a continuing 

resolution, and the program generally supports school district operations in the year 

of the appropriation. Because of this difference in timing, the January 2, 2013, effective date of a sequestration would affect the Impact Aid funding that eligible districts receive this school year. 

We do not yet know how a sequestration would take effect on a program-by-program basis and, thus, don’t know whether the reduction would be the same for all 

programs within the Impact Aid account. I do note that heavily impacted school districts eligible under section 8003(b)(2) are funded from the same appropriation line 

item as school districts that receive regular Impact Aid payments under section 

8003(b)(1). The authorizing statute requires that both types of payments be reduced 

in a similar manner when funds are insufficient to provide payments at 100 percent 

of the Learning Opportunity Threshold payment or 100 percent of full 8003(b)(2) 

funding. Therefore, in the event of sequestration, heavily impacted districts would 

receive the same cut to their Impact Aid payments as regular districts. 

DEPARTMENTAL GUIDANCE TO IMPACT AID DISTRICTS ON PLANNING FOR

SEQUESTRATION

Question. How are you working with the specific Impact Aid districts so they can 

plan for reduction in Federal assistance? The State of Illinois has two communities 

that receive heavy-impact aid, and the funding from this program contributes significantly to their budget. 

Answer. In a series of webinars for Impact Aid grantees during early September, 

the Department provided a funding outlook for fiscal year 2013 to alert school districts to the possibility of reduced payments. The Department described multiple 

scenarios under a continuing resolution for part of the fiscal year, and shared basic 

information on the possibility of sequestration. The Department will be prepared to 

implement sequestration and provide guidance to grantees if necessary, but the administration remains confident that the Congress will pass legislation to avoid such 

drastic and untargeted cuts. 

CONCLUSION OF HEARING

Senator HARKIN. I will gavel to close unless somebody had something they wanted to offer. 

Going, going, thank you very much. The subcommittee will stand 

in recess. 

[Whereupon, at 11:54 a.m., Wednesday, July 25, the hearing was 

concluded, and the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.] 

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