By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Sen. Rand Paul put a quick end to Wednesday morning's Senate markup of a long-awaited education reform bill to overhaul the 10-year-old No Child Left Behind law.
Memo to President Barack Obama and the debt negotiators: You can save $13 billion by fixing a glitch in the new health care law.
Brushing off criticism that Congress is moving too slowly on education reform, a key House committee chairman said Thursday that he believes he can push a package of five reform bills through the House this year and end the "draconian" approach of the expiring No Child Left Behind Act.
Republicans made good on their threat to boycott Tuesday's Senate committee hearing on for-profit colleges, while Democrats appear intent on introducing legislation to rein in a sector of higher education they say leaves students heavily in debt but with very limited job prospects to show for it.
Senate Republicans still haven't decided whether they will show up for Tuesday's hearing on for-profit colleges, the primary target of the Education Department's controversial "gainful employment" rule released last week.
These aren't your parents' colleges. There are typically no sprawling campuses, no fraternities or sororities, no students reading books under trees and no sports teams.
Ten years ago, former President George W. Bush's signature education initiative, the No Child Left Behind Act, garnered strong bipartisan support and passed the Senate on an 87-10 vote. As Congress now starts work on a policy overhaul, that "planetary alignment" between the parties is nowhere to be found.
For-profit colleges, already the target of Senate Democrats, took another beating in a report released Wednesday by an education trade publication that says such institutions "defraud" young people.
Next month's Senate hearing on for-profit colleges could be a one-party affair.
Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, say they will fight any cuts in the federal Pell Grant program, for which spending has ballooned to the point that the Obama administration admits it can't be maintained.
The clock is ticking on former President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act.
PRESIDENT BUSH
The Senate education panel yesterday approved legislation that would cut student-loan subsidies to lenders by about $18.3 billion and spend most of that to increase student grants, forgive some students' debt and bolster other student programs.
