Secretary Cardona makes the case for robust education spending at House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing

The FY 2024 appropriations process continues in the House this month, with agency heads testifying on the president’s budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year. On Tuesday, April 18, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education held a budget hearing on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 request for the United States Department of Education (ED). Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona outlined the ED’s $90 billion request, which would be an increase of $10.8 billion from the FY 2023 enacted level.

The secretary’s testimony emphasized the FY 2024 proposal’s core themes:

• Achieving Academic Excellence
• Boldly Improving Learning Conditions
• Creating Pathways For Global Engagement
• Making Postsecondary Education Inclusive and Affordable

His comments and responses to questions often focused on the impact of possible funding cuts being discussed by the Republican House majority – efforts that could result in decreased funding for programs like the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers that supports local afterschool and summer learning programs.

Democrats on the Subcommittee largely commended the ED’s FY 2024 budget request. Many Republicans criticized the agency’s recent Title IX proposed rule changes on transgender students in school athletic programs and targeted student debt relief. There was, however, general bipartisan agreement on continued investment in skills-based learning, career pathways, workforce development, and Pell Grants. 

While afterschool and summer learning programs did not come up directly, the importance of wrap-around supports and addressing students’ academic success and mental well-being was an important element of the Secretary’s testimony and the questions and answer portion of the hearing. There was also a focus on providing expanded opportunities for STEM education and career pathways, particularly in rural communities.

Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) opened the hearing with remarks critical of ED’s FY 2024 budget proposal and the proposed 13 percent increase in funding that would, he argued, leave students unprepared for twenty-first century jobs and “saddle the nation” with debt. During his remarks, he also criticized teachers unions, the administration’s actions toward parental choice, and the ED’s targeted student debt forgiveness, but voiced support for Pell Grants and Federal TRIO programs, which assist first generation college students in charting a path to affordable higher education and good-paying jobs.

Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) offered remarks that began by thanking Secretary Cardona for his dedication and commitment to children and learners across the United States. She commended investments in education made via the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, as well as efforts made to address student academic recovery, student mental health needs, and efforts to tackle nationwide teacher shortages. DeLauro praised the FY 2023 funding legislation and the money that was secured for the expansion of ED programs, including record investments in Title I, investments in IDEA grants, as well as funding for full-service community schools. Rep. DeLauro then turned to the FY 2024 budget proposal and its “important investments to ensure students from lower-income backgrounds can succeed.” She commented on the proposal’s increased investment in programs that serve students with disabilities and investments to equip educators with the resources they need to succeed. Lastly, she disparaged Republican-proposed spending cuts to FY 2022 levels, as well as proposed spending caps going forward. She then underscored the impacts that such budget cuts would have on education programs across the country by pointing to a letter written by Secretary Cardona to the Ranking Member. “We should be doing everything we can to increase access to these programs, not cutting off access,” she concluded.

The LHHS Appropriations subcommittee and full committee are expected to mark up the FY 2024 LHHS spending bill over the next two months. The appropriations process is further complicated this year by the need to raise the debt ceiling to prevent default by the federal government. Just a day after the secretary testified, Republican leadership in the House released legislative text of the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, their plan to tie spending cuts to an increase in the debt ceiling. The bill includes a cap on non-defense discretionary spending potentially resulting in a 22 percent cut to education programs like the 21^st CCLC, clawing back unobligated federal COVID relief funds, imposing work requirements for social programs, freezing budget increases at 1 percent growth for a decade, and more. The bill is expected to be voted on by the House next week.

The debate over the budget and appropriations comes at a time when voter support for afterschool and summer is at an all-time high, with voters across political affiliations, community types, racial and ethnic groups, and age groups in agreement that elected officials should invest more resources in programs. Now is a good time to reach out to Congress to warn against cutting investments in programs that help support young people, families, and communities and to emphasize the need to support 21st CCLC and afterschool and summer funding moving forward.