Just one day after vetoing an unpopular bill, on Feb. 25 President Obama warned Congress that he’s ready to do it again, this time against the Student Success Act.
Introduced by Rep. John Kline (R-Minnesota), H.R. 5 calls for: removal of federal oversight on education funding, allowance of funds for public schools to go to private and religious academies, and blockage of any Common Core programs. It would also apply a cap on federal education funding. When first introduced in 2013, the House barely passed the bill with a 221-207 vote, receiving no support from Democrats; the bill wasn’t heard that year by?Senate.
Now Kline is reissuing the bill, which is expected to receive House vote this week. Speaker John Boehner issued a statement of support on Feb. 23:
?This measure contains a number of conservative reforms to reduce the federal footprint, restore local control, and empower parents and local leaders to hold schools accountable.?
If the bill passes and also gets approved by Senate, however, the White House intends to veto the bill, it announced.
?H.R. 5 abdicates the historic Federal role in elementary and secondary education of ensuring the educational progress of all of America’s students, including students from low-income families, students with disabilities, English learners, and students of color. It fails to maintain the core expectation that States and school districts will take serious, sustained, and targeted actions when necessary to remedy achievement gaps and reform persistently low-performing schools. H.R. 5 fails to identify opportunity gaps or remedy inequities in access to the resources and supports students need to succeed such as challenging academic courses, excellent teachers and principals, afterschool enrichment or expanded learning time, and other academic and non-academic supports.
?Rather than investing more in schools, H.R. 5 would allow States to divert education funding away from the schools and students who need it the most through the so-called ?portability? provision. The bill’s caps on Federal education spending would lock in recent Federal Budget cuts for the rest of the decade, and the bill would allow funds currently required to be used for education to be used for other purposes, such as spending on sports stadiums or tax cuts for the wealthy. H.R. 5 fails to make critical investments for this Nation’s students, including high-quality preschool for America’s children, support for America’s teachers and principals, and investment in innovative solutions for the public education system.?
The White House also criticized H.R. 5 for its continuation of ?redundant and unnecessary testing(.)?
On Feb. 24 Obama vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline bill, bringing his total veto count to three. Still early in the seventh year of his term, Obama has issued the lowest number of vetoes since James. A. Garfield (zero vetoes), who died after serving as president for only six months.
