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New Leadership for Senate HELP Committee - IDEA Part B Full Funding Bill IntroducedSeptember 11, 2009—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) will be the new HELP Committee Chairman. Due to Senate rules, Senator Harkin must relinquish his current position as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, which also handles child and adult nutrition programs. Senator Harkin also chairs the Senate Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Subcommittee. He introduced S 1682, the IDEA Full Funding Act, which would authorize annual increases over a six-year period in mandatory funds for IDEA Part B. Senators Harkin and Roberts say that these dollars, plus the annual discretionary appropriations for IDEA Part B, would enable Congress to fully fund the program by 2015. Congress promised in 1975 that it would provide 40% of the extra costs of educating students with disabilities, but has fallen considerably short of fulfilling its promise. Currently, federal appropriations for IDEA, Part B grants are funded at about 17% of the cost of special education programs. Additionally, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is providing about $22.8 billion in extra emergency funds for IDEA Grants to States. This brings the federal share of IDEA funds to approximately 34%. But the ARRA funds are a one-time investment only. | |||||
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