Buddy Carter, U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia First District
This week the House passed the Every Student Succeeds Act to reduce the federal role in K-12 education, restore local control, and empower parents.
The Every Student Succeeds Act is a proposal approved by a House and Senate conference committee to replace No Child Left Behind. The legislation – described by the Wall Street Journal as the “largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter century,” – puts unprecedented restraints on Washington’s intrusion into classrooms, reins in the Department of Education, and puts the keys to our children’s education and future back in local control.
Our education system is failing our children and it’s not going to be fixed with the “Washington-knows-best” mentality. As a father and grandfather, I know firsthand this is a gravely flawed mentality. Our children deserve the best education possible and the system can only be fixed by those who know students best – parents, teachers, and communities.
The legislation also guts Common Core by making it illegal for federal bureaucrats to force the standards on states, schools, or students. All children learn differently and at their own pace and they should not be punished for this because of one-size-fits-all standards.
I am proud to support this agreement to prohibit the Obama Administration’s federally prescribed education standards and end Washington’s intrusion into our nation’s classrooms.
BLOCKING THE EPA’S ATTACK ON AMERICAN ENERGY AND JOBS
Also this week, the House voted to block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing controversial new job-killing energy regulations that could significantly increase energy costs for American families with questionable environmental benefits.
The first resolution passed in the House, S.J. Res. 23, disapproves of the EPA’s proposed regulations for new power plants. Under the rule, the agency would require new coal-fired power plants to install technology not yet commercially available.
The second resolution passed in the House, S.J. Res. 24, disapproves of the EPA’s proposed regulations for existing power plants that would set unachievable emissions requirements. The rule would require states to submit plans to the agency to meet the new mandates. States that fail to submit a satisfactory plan would become subject to a “Federal Plan” under which the agency has proposed it would implement a federal regulatory cap-and-trade program.
According to Southern Company, the impact of these rules would include higher costs, reduced reliability, lower tax revenues for our state and communities, and the potential loss of 800 jobs within the company.
The rules are nothing less than a de facto ban on American energy that will raise costs, kill jobs, and reduce the reliability of electric power in America. To make things worse, even the EPA admits neither rule will have any meaningful impact on global temperatures. I hope these resolutions send a clear message that the American people do not support this radical plan to destroy jobs and take more money out of the pockets of hardworking American families.
