WASHINGTON, D.C. – We are pleased that the education budget is back on track and moving in the right direction.  Congressional conferees showed today that improving America’s schools must remain a national priority.  We will press Congress to show the same kind of leadership when it comes to the 2004 budget. 

The conferees today boosted funding for the extremely important Title I program for disadvantaged children as well as for other elementary and secondary education programs.  The conferees raised the Pell grant for higher education and actually restored funding for 40 programs that the Administration’s budget would have eliminated, including the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.  As Congress takes up the 2004 budget in the coming months, we will continue to work with lawmakers to provide sufficient funding to meet the many challenges faced by our schools and their students.