It’s been a full three months since the sequester went into effect, but the Obama administration is still blaming it for our nation’s struggles, this time in the education sector.
During the Senate Budget Committee’s Tuesday hearing on the Department of Education’s fiscal 2014 budget, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testified that the sequester is having a dramatic impact on education.
“Other countries are not managing their education by sequester,” Duncan said, after pointing out that the United States falls behind many other nations in the success of its education program.
In her opening statement, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wa.) also blamed the sequester for our country’s failures in education, again pushing the Obama administration’s ‘Big Bad Sequester’ rhetoric.
“I am very concerned about this sequester and it’s impact on middle-class families and children,” she said.
She accused the Republicans of putting forth a fiscal 2014 budget that makes no attempt to roll back the sequester in “a balanced or fair way.”
Countering the Obama administration’s talking points, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) pointed out that the Department of Education’s spending had increased per student, but there had not been a direct student success return on that investment.
“You’ve got to get past the sounds bites,” Duncan told Johnson.
“You’re trying to get past the numbers,” Johnson shot back.
Johnson also asked about how many education systems were unionized in other countries. The Secretary said he didn’t have the numbers before him.
“Many, many,” Duncan assured Johnson.
During the hearing, Duncan again pushed the universal preschool system President Obama proposed during his 2013 State of the Union address — despite the fact that studies show universal preschool might actually harm children instead of help them.
