The drive to get more federal special education funds got a boost from a new public opinion poll today.
And New Hampshire Republican Representative Charlie Bass vows to use its results to get his GOP colleagues to push the issue forward.
NHPR Correspondent Don Rush has this report from Washington.
REPUBLICAN POLLSTER FRANK LUNTZ
HAD A WARNING ESPECIALLY FOR G-O-P.
MAKE SURE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?
KEEPS ITS WORD?TO FUND 40 PERCENT OF
THE COSTS?OF SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.
HIS SURVEY FOUND?THAT 84 PERCENT
OF AMERICANS OPPOSE?DENYING EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES TO DISABLED STUDENTS?
BECAUSE OF A LACK OF MONEY.
IN ADDITION?THE SURVEY FOUND THAT
AMERICANS BY A WIDE MARGIN?WANT THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE FUNDING.
AND?LUNTZ NOTED?THERE?S A POLITICAL
COST?TO NOT FULLY FUNDING THE PROGRAM:
?TAPE?(SOUND: If a congress person or Senator votes against making this change, by three to one the public is likely to vote against them.
SO?EFFORTS ARE UNDERWAY ON CAPITOL
HILL?TO ENSURE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?
EVENTUALLY MEETS ITS FULL COMMITMENT.
ON THE HOUSE SIDE?THE BUDGET
RESOLUTION?CALLS FOR MEETING THAT
GOAL IN TEN YEARS.
AND REAUTHORIZATION OF THE LEGISLATION
COMES UP NEXT YEAR.
NEW HAMSPHIRE CONGRESSMAN?CHARLES
BASS?IS A KEY ARCHITECT OF THE EFFORT.
AND HE PROMISED:
?(SOUND: And when that reaches the floor of the House that?s when we?re going to have Frank Luntz -- if I have anything to say about it -- come to the Republican Conference and show these tables that indicate just how powerful the full funding of special education. Not just with Republicans and Democrats but with families communities and schools and parents)
RIGHT NOW?NEW HAMPSHIRE RECIEVES?
AROUND 32 MILLION DOLLARS IN FEDERAL MONEY.
AND?THAT WOULD RISE TO 36
MILLION UNDER?THE HOUSE PLAN THIS YEAR.
BUT THE PRESIDENT? PROPOSAL
WOULD NOT?REACH FULL FUNDING. (I don?t understand that)
BASS EXPECTS PRESIDENT bush?A FORMER
GOVERNOR HIMSELF?TO GO ALONG WITH
THE CONCEPT OF FULL FUNDING.
BUT?THERE?S ANOTHER CATCH.
THE NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICAN
WANTS TO MAKE funding MANDATORY?RATHER
THAN DEPENDING ON THE WHIM OF CONGRESSIONAL
APPROPRIATORS.
AND?THE ADMINISTRATION IS NOT CONVINCED (of what)
CONGRESSMAN BASS:
?(SOUND: The question is the mechanism. Discretionary verses mandatory. And that?s going to be a debate we will have. They?re not on board with the
mandatory at this point. But we may give them the opportunity hopefully when the bill comes out of the House and the Senate)
FOR NEW ENGLAND STATES LIKE NEW
HAMPSHIRE AND MAINE?THE FEDERAL DOLLARS
MEAN MUCH MORE?BECAUSE of LOCAL FUNDING
OF THE SCHOOLS.
EVEN OUTSIDE OF THE REGION?THERE
IS SUPPORT?FROM LIBERAL
DEMOCRAT like PAUL WELLSTONE?WHO JOINED
BASS.
BUT MONEY COULD BE AN ISSUE IN THE
FUTURE?WITH THE PRESIDENT?S HUGE TAX
CUT?SUPPORTed BY house republicans.
SO?THE MINNESOTA SENATOR COULD NOT
HELP?BUT CHIDE HIS gop COLLEAGUES:
?(SOUND: I won?t go into a long tirade about tax cuts. But I do think there comes a point ? and everybody can draw the line at their own place ? where how much
you do in tax cuts comes into a collision course with how much money is left for investment)
WHEN ASKED ABOUT THIS FINANCIAL DIVIDE?
BASS LEANED BACK AND REPLIED:
?(SOUND: Everybody has their own priorities. I would suggest for example that if we trimmed 50 billion dollars out of the farm bill we could have fully funded special education. I?m not sure that Mr. Wellstone from Minnesota?his state getting 10 percent of the total loot that was in that farm bill would necessarily agree with
me.
THE PRESIDENT DID MAKE EDUCATION?A
SIGNATURE ISSUE OF HIS COMPASSIONATE
CONSERVATISM.
BUT WITH THE NEW WAR ON TERRORISM?AND
FEDERAL BUDGET DEFICITS LOOMING ON THE
HORIZON?THE FINANCIAL ROAD?AHEAD MAY BE A
DIFFICULT ONE for special education funding.
FOR NHPR NEWS
THIS IS DON RUSH
IN WASHINGTON
