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Education

Education is the foundation of a strong middle class and vital to our nation's long-term success. Congress must invest in early childhood, special, technical and higher education programs to ensure everyone benefits from our 21st century economy.

Head Start
Education begins before kids ever set foot inside a classroom. Since the 1960s, Head Start has promoted elementary school readiness by providing targeted services to disadvantaged children and families. These services can have a lifelong impact on a child's educational achievement. That's why I support funding to increase enrollment in Head Start programs, including $1 billion in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for Head Start programs.

IDEA
Congress must honor promised investments under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). When IDEA passed in 1975, the federal government committed to spending 40 percent of the average per student cost on special education. However, that level has never been achieved and current funding stands at just 14.7 percent. I'm proud to support legislation that would require regular increases in IDEA spending until we finally hit the 40 percent target.

Technical Education
Technical education is essential to preparing our workforce for the high-wage, high-skill and in-demand jobs of the future. Hundreds of thousands of positions in growing fields like the skilled trades and information technology remain unfilled every year. But with federal help, more people in America can gain the skills necessary to do these jobs and unlock better career paths with higher earning potential. As a member of the Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus, I support robust funding for career and technical education programs. I'm also working to advance legislation to incentivize employers to invest in training their workforce.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was an historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure, and I was proud to vote for it. As part of this investment, funding was made available for workforce development and apprenticeship initiatives in workforce areas such as surface transportation, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, broadband deployment, and more. These workforce development investments will support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic investment to improve our nation’s infrastructure.

Making College Affordable
Tuition at four-year colleges and universities has risen over recent years, even adjusting for inflation. As the cost of college goes up, more families are priced out of higher education. Students who do attend are too often forced to choose between tuition, books, housing and food—and saddled with impossible levels of debt. As a member of the California Public Higher Education Caucus, I'm a strong supporter of debt-free college financing through the Pell Grant program. I also support legislation to allow borrowers to refinance their student loans at historically low market rates.

America succeeds when education is accessible to everyone. I will continue fighting for investments in key educational priorities that boost our middle class and keep America on the cutting edge of discovery and innovation.