New House Appropriations Chair Selected; Cardona Testifies Before Subcommittee

This week, House Republicans selected Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) to fill the remaining term of outgoing House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX). Cole was a longtime Republican leader of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) where he touted critical public education programs including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and one of few Members of Congress who holds a Ph.D. (in history). With the establishment of a new Appropriations Chair, work on Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 funding has begun in earnest. On Wednesday, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testified before the Labor-H Subcommittee to speak to President Biden’s FY 2025 budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Education. During that hearing, Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) elevated components of the budget proposal that would support and diversify the educator pipeline. On that topic, Cardona remarked, “The days of unpaid student teaching should be in our rear view mirror. No other professions do that.” On the topic of mental health in schools, Cardona stressed that it was a crisis even before the pandemic, and given that children are exponentially more likely to receive mental health services in schools, it is of critical importance to be equipped to provide those services.

To view the hearing in full, go here.