Education

As a former school board president, I understand the importance of making a quality education available to all children. The lessons that are learned in classrooms across Indiana and our country provide our children with the foundation they will need to have successful future. As your Congressman, I will work to see that Hoosier schools and teachers have the resources they need to provide students with a quality education.

In our competitive 21st Century economy, a college degree is more important than ever. In order to make it easier for Hoosiers to afford a college education, I supported The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provides immediate relief to college students by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by $500. When combined with other increases enacted during the 110th Congress, the maximum Pell Grant award will have increased by $1,500--or 37 percent–-since January 2007. I also supported increasing college aid by cutting in half interest rates on unsubsidized student loans and providing incentives to colleges to keep tuition increases to less than 1 percent per year.

I support performance measures to ensure quality in our schools. However, the federal government must be a partner with, not a burden on, our schools. To the end, I support fully funding The No Child Left Behind Act to ensure that both our educators and children have the resources they need to meet the expectations that we have set for them.