By Ravi Bhatia – Talk Radio News Service

On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), along with other House members and representatives from various universities, touted the research conducted with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Also known as the stimulus package, the ARRA allocated $21.5 billion for scientific research, purchasing equipment and science-related construction projects.

“There was a time, if you promise not to tell anybody, when in Washington you had to choose between science and faith, take your pick,” Pelosi said. “And [then] we said, ’science is an answer to our prayers.’ It’s all pretty compatible.”

The university officials universities pointed to the website www.scienceworksforUS.org, which details the stimulus-sponsored research being conducted across the country. ScienceWorksForUS is an initiative of the Association of American Universities, the Association of Land Grant Universities, and the Science Coalition, who together represent 200 research institutions.

Obama Economic Advisor Christina Romer believes that the Recovery Act accounts for “only” 10 percent of the cumulative projected deficit over the next 10 years. Romer says she came to that figure through estimates from the Congressional Budget Office on the costs of the recovery act. (0:14)

 

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By Laura Smith, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

While Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is certainly pleased over the strides made by many schools, he concedes that more needs to be done to improve education.

During an award ceremony Wednesday honoring Texas’ Aldine Independent School District (ASID), Duncan noted that only seven out 10 public school students finish high school, and that only one in four college students can do college work.

“This simply isn’t just a personal failure. It’s a national failure,” Duncan said.

An additional $100 billion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds has recently been allocated for education reform.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation awarded the Aldine Independent School District (AISD) from outside Houston the 2009 Broad Prize for Urban Education. This award is the largest education award in the country, and the school district will receive $1 million in college scholarships.

Superintendent Dr. Wanda Bamberg Ed.D., accepted the award.

Aldine has shown some of the most consistent student achievement gains nationally in the last decade and has been recognized as one of the top five most improved urban American school systems in four of the last six years.

The four finalists were Broward County Public Schools in southern Florida; Gwinnett County Public Schools outside Atlanta; the Long Beach Unified School District in California; and the Socorro Independent School District in Texas. Each finalist will receive $250,000 in college scholarships.

Dr. Bamberg said Aldine is 84% economically disadvantaged, and have watched their college students and college participation numbers decline in the past few years. She said the scholarship is truly the only way students can further their education.

“When you see the conditions that our students live, and understand that they truly do live in poverty in some places, then this doesn’t just represent a scholarship opportunity, it doesn’t just represent four years at school, it represents a future and a complete change of life for that individual student and, in many cases, the family of that student,” Bamberg said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said excellence is what the Broad Award has always been about. She said the nation’s children success is essential to the success of the U.S.

“Those blessed with the most serve all of us,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi said that while a high school diploma may gain entry into the workforce, but a college degree is a ticket to higher wages, more job security and a brighter future.

By Courtney Costello- Talk Radio News Service

Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) held a hearing Tuesday to propose the Sustainable Communities Partnership. This partnership includes Secretary of Transportation (DOT), Ray LaHood, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Shaun Donovan, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson.

The objective of the new alliance will be to publicize efforts to improve affordable housing, promote efficient and low cost transportation options, and to protect the environment during these changes. A $150 million dollar sustainable communities initiative will help fund the partnership.

“As the Chairman said, we need to synchronize climate change, energy, community development, housing and transportation policy in the most comprehensive way possible,” said Secretary Donovan. “Creating an office of sustainable housing and communities inside HUD to serve as a single point of contact with other federal agencies is the best way we can achieve that goal.”

The committee also stated that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide momentum with the $1.5 billion discretionary Tiger Grant program. This program will fund the Transportation Act that will promote sustainability and provide better transportation in rural and urban communities around the country.

The proposed program details six principles that will serve as the base for the agencies to work together. These include producing supplementary transportation options, advancing sustainable and affordable housing, increasing economic opportunities, revitalizing current communities, organizing funding and policies and enriching all communities.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

President Barack Obama
Photo by Michael Ruhl

Today President Barack Obama announced a new effort to stimulate tomorrow’s economy by reviving higher education through expanding Pell Grants and removing barriers to success. The public face for his new initiative is to be Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice-President Joe Biden and Community College Professor.

Obama’s plan, detailed at opportunity.gov, would help the unemployed go back to school to build new skill sets, with the goal of helping them gain future employment through specialized technical training.

“The idea here is to fundamentally change our approach to unemployment in this country, so that it’s no longer just a time to look for a new job, but is also a time to prepare yourself for a better job,” Obama said. “Our unemployment system should be not just a safety net, but a stepping stone to a new future.”

Among the barriers to success that the President wants to break down are state programs in which a worker might lose temporary financial support if they were to enroll in an education program. Obama said that in some places a worker may be unemployed, but may not qualify for federal assistance to get an education because of the salary they had a year ago but no longer make. The President said that he is committed to working with states to change these laws.

The President said that knowledge is the most valuable skill that one can sell. He encouraged all Americans to aim for getting at least 1 year of higher education, whether it is a community college, a four year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship.

“By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” Obama said optimistically.

This announcement came on the same day as the release of April’s unemployment statistics, which saw the loss of more than half a million jobs. The unemployment rate for April was 8.9 percent, up from 8.5 percent in March and 8.1 percent in February. April’s numbers have already surpassed both the White House’s and the Federal Reserve’s projections for all of 2009, which were 8.1 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

Acknowledging that unemployment is as its highest rate in 25 years, the President urged patience, reminding us that the economic problems didn’t happen overnight, and couldn’t be fixed immediately.

“We’re still in the midst of a recession that was years in the making and will be months or even years in the unmaking,” Obama said. He continued, “We should expect further job losses in the months to come.”

Obama said that the Economic Stimulus Package is yielding real results, manifest in higher consumer spending and home sales, and an increase in construction spending. He praised the Recovery Act, and said, “Because of this plan, cops are still on the beat and teachers are still in the classroom; shovels are breaking ground and cranes dot the sky; and new life has been breathed into private companies.”

Fixing the economy and reforming education are two goals Obama has set for his administration. He said that in the weeks to come he would start working towards more education initiatives.