Sen. Lamar Alexander

Many Ways to Repeal and Replace Obamacare

Vice President-elect Mike Pence is planning to meet with House Republicans on Wednesday to discuss Obamacare repeal and replacement plans. Eager to save the signature piece of legislation of his presidency, President Barack Obama plans to meet with Democrats on the same day to strategize on how to fend off the GOP’s attacks.

In this Oct. 24, 2016, file photo, the HealthCare.gov 2017 web site home page as seen in W

Rhetoric of ‘Bipartisan’ Every Student Succeeds Act Can’t Mask Its Federal Control of Education

Establishment Washington Republicans could not say enough this past week about how the 1,061-page Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reduces the federal government’s role in education and that it eliminates the fed’s coercion of states to stick with the unpopular Common Core standards. Perhaps most significant to these Republicans is that the bill was a self-proclaimed model of “bipartisanship.”

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Senate Passes Legislation To Replace No Child Left Behind

The U.S. Senate approved the conference legislation known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a measure that – once signed into law by President Obama – will replace the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal law and will serve as the latest iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

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Senate Poised To Pass NCLB Rewrite, Alexander and Murray Congratulate Each Other on ‘Bipartisanship’

Alexander, who chairs the Senate committee that oversees education, and ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, congratulated each other numerous times on the floor of the Senate for completing the 1,061-page “bipartisan” conference legislation, much of which was apparently crafted behind closed doors and passed by the House last week after having been published for review only two days earlier.

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Transparency? NCLB Rewrite Draft Won’t Be Finalized Until Two Days Before Lawmakers Vote

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization bill was approved by a conference committee – by a vote of 39-1 – after just several hours of “conference.” But the bill will not be published in final form for lawmakers and parents to read until November 30 – just two days before it is voted on in the House on December 2. As Indiana parent Indiana parent Erin Tuttle says, “House members will be forced to vote on a bill they haven’t read. The American people expected a new style of leadership under Speaker Ryan, not more of the same.”

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House Votes To Reauthorize No Child Left Behind

Many in the GOP reportedly refrained from voting until the last minute and some changed their votes under pressure from Republican leadership. Only one conservative amendment, introduced by Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) was adopted, by a vote of 251-178, that would allow parents to opt their children out of standardized testing.

AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

Politico: Senate No Child Left Behind Amendments ‘Hashed Out Behind Closed Doors By Democrats’ Over Civil Rights Issue

It’s worth noting that in the half-century since the ESEA was passed as part of Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” billions of dollars have been spent – by both Democrat and Republican administrations – on education and so-called “helpful” programs for “disadvantaged” children, and yet Democrats are still fighting for more federal control and federal programs and subsidies in order to “close the achievement gap.”

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No Child Left Behind Rewrites in House and Senate Draw Intense Criticism From Grassroots

The House’s version of the redo, known as the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), was pulled from the House floor by GOP leadership in late February after it was determined the measure lacked sufficient support. Grassroots parents’ groups – many that have been fighting against the Common Core standards in their states – voiced their concerns that the Student Success Act still required excessive federal intrusion into the right of states to set their own education policies.

AP Photo/Jessie L. Bonner