Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona Delivers Senate Oral Testimony on the Department of Education’s Budget Request (FY25)

Chair Baldwin, Ranking Member Capito, Vice Chair Collins, distinguished Members of the Committee – thank you for the opportunity to testify today on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request for the United States Department of Education.

And thank you for your leadership and our continued partnership.

I’m proud of how we’ve worked together, in a bipartisan fashion, during this Administration to raise the bar for American education.

Together, we’ve prioritized substance over sensationalism, defending public education instead of defunding it, and recognizing that investing in education is investing in a better future for all of us.

It’s in that spirit that I come here today – to discuss a budget that is not only about our priorities at the Department of Education, but about what we’re hearing directly from parents and others all over this country, in red and blue states alike, about where we have common ground when it comes to our hopes for our children.

This budget is about making responsible choices, together, to invest in that foundation for American opportunity – and raise the bar for our nation’s future.

It’s about sustaining academic recovery from the impacts of the pandemic through $82.4 billion in calculated investments to accelerate learning and success at a crucial time for our students to regain lost ground, while also adhering to the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act.

It’s about investing in a stronger future for all Americans by boosting funding to close achievement gaps in low-income communities through Title I, support students with disabilities through IDEA, support multilingual learners through Title III, and recruit, retain, and develop great teachers.

It’s about investing in safer schools and the mental health of our students by making more funding available for more school counselors and mental health professionals, and more Full-Service Community Schools.

It’s about giving more young people access to the American Dream by building more pathways to rewarding careers and opening doors to higher education for all students by improving college affordability, retention, and completion, including through free community college and increased student supports.

And it’s about making these investments in our nation’s future while fully honoring the caps under a bipartisan agreement to reduce the deficit.

Make no mistake: when we look beyond the headlines and the noise, there is so much common ground in our country about what matters most for our students, whether it’s:

• Getting all students to read by third grade,
• Providing mental health supports in the midst of a youth mental health crisis,
• Opening career and college pathways so students have more options for rewarding lives and careers,
• Or making higher education more affordable and accessible for those who choose that path.

And I know we’re going to continue to work together to build on that common ground, prioritizing results over rhetoric.

We can raise the bar for our nation, together. And I look forward to working with you to do so. Thank you.