NTU: The Taxpayer's Tab, January 19, 2012

Most Expensive Bill of the Week


The Bill: H.R. 2935, Defending Special Education Students and Families Act
Annualized Cost: $6.2 billion ($31.1 billion over five years)

When it passed the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), Congress pledged to pay 40 percent of the cost associated with educating and providing services to disabled students. According to Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO), “the federal government covers only about 16 percent of the special education costs.” In FY 2011, Congress appropriated $11.5 billion in IDEA spending. H.R. 2935 would increase IDEA funding over the next five years. The bill commits the federal government to the 40 percent funding level going forward.

To offset some of the bill’s cost, H.R. 2935 would make cuts to certain defense programs including:

•Joint Strike Fighter: Navy and Marine versions of the F-35 fighter aircraft would be terminated. Those affected services would be authorized to procure new F/A-18 Super Hornets to fill fighter gaps.
•Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle: Research, development, and orders made for the Marine amphibious assault vehicle would be canceled.
•Aircraft Carriers: One Navy carrier group and its air wing would be decommissioned.

NTUF estimates that the spending increases in H.R. 2935 total $49.9 billion, while the spending cuts total $18.8 billion. Thus, the net change in annual federal spending would be $31.1 billion.

A previous edition of The Taxpayer’s Tab looked at a related bill, H.R. 864, the Keep Our PACT Act. That legislation would fully fund IDEA as well as certain sections of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The bill, introduced by Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), would result in an annual cost of $23.1 billion. The bill does not include any offsets in spending. You can read the article here.


To learn more or discuss this bill visit WashingtonWatch.com.


READ THE ENTIRE "TAXPAYER'S TAB:
http://action.ntu.org/site/MessageViewer?dlv_id=12801&em_id=9802.0