Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions
Floor Speech
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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today my colleague Senator HUTCHISON and I have introduced legislation to repeal a House provision in the Education Jobs Bill that discriminates solely against the state of Texas. As a result of the House language, Texas will be denied over $800 million in federal funding.
The Hutchison-Cornyn bill will strip the language requiring Texas to make a commitment for three years of funding in order to be eligible for any of the $10 billion in the Education Jobs Fund. To be in compliance with the provision, the state would have to violate its own constitution. The Texas Legislature has sole authority to determine state appropriations--they cannot be dictated by the federal government. Additionally, one legislature cannot bind a future legislature. Moreover, this provision singles out Texas because all other states must only commit to one year of funding in order to receive Education Jobs Program funding.
The House language also stipulates that Texas must distribute funds through Title I funding formula, rather than allowing the governor to determine the funding distribution, as is the case in the other states and territories. In Texas this would preclude 31 districts from receiving any funds, and will result in less funding for 66 percent of the state's school districts.
Unfortunately, on September 9, 2010 the U.S. Department of Education denied an application from Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott for
$830 million from the Education Jobs Fund.
The real impact of the House language, however, is felt in school districts across our state. Recently, for example, I received a letter from the Superintendent of the Hamlin Independent School District informing me that the West Texas school district was forced to cut more than $80,000 from the district's budget to cover rising salary costs. If Texas is prohibited from applying for the Education Jobs Fund, Hamlin ISD stands to lose over $90,000 in federal dollars, an amount that could compensate for the district's current budget cuts.
Our bill would put a stop to Texas Democrats' efforts to play politics with much-needed funding for Texas schools and teachers. Texas taxpayer dollars belong in Texas schools--not in California or New York, as the Doggett Amendment would have it. I urge my colleagues to pass our bill so we can remove this partisan roadblock and move quickly to restore critical Federal funding to Texas schools.
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