At Tuesday’s hearing, Sec. Cardona testified in support of the Department of Education’s FY 24 budget proposal, which seeks a 13% overall funding increase above current funding levels. Republican Members of the Subcommittee, led by new Chair Rob Aderholt (R-AL) expressed concerns about proposed funding increase, citing concerns about continued deficit spending. Democratic Members focused the bulk of their comments on the impact of expected budgetary cuts Republicans will make in FY 24, including to the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, with Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) anticipating a 20-30% overall cut. In addition, there were discussions about Pell Grant funding, whether the department was prepared to restart student loan repayments, the Parental Bill of Rights, school choice, STEM, as well as Short Term Pell to help address employers’ need for skilled workers.

Our memo on the hearing may be accessed here.