Education Secretary Arne Duncan testified before the Senate Budget Committee today, in large part to defend the massive increases in education spending that have occurred under President Obama (68 percent, including the stimulus). In his 2012 budget, Obama calls for an 11 percent increase in spending on education.
Sen. Jeff Session (R., Ala.), ranking Republican, pointed out that when it comes to education, more spending doesn’t necessarily produce better results. Case in point:
Spending per student — South Korea: $8,000; United States: $12,000.
International ranking (reading, math) — South Korea: 1st, 1st; United States: 14th, 25th.
And yet, the Obama administration not only thinks we have the money to spend more on education (we don’t, as Sessions points out), but that doing so is the only way to “win the future.” If the figures above are any indication, it clearly isn’t.
In the clip below, Session and Duncan are discussing federal Pell grants. The number of grant recipients are projected to rise from about 6 million in 2008 to 9.6 million in 2012. During that same period, grant costs are set to double to $36 billion.
Overall, the amount of money the federal government gives out or guarantees in student loans is set to increase from $98 billion in 2008 to $167 billion in 2012, an increase of 68 percent.
As Duncan tries to make the case for more spending, Sessions interjects: “Why don’t we just spent three times as much? Won’t that just help us fix it all?”
Duncan responds by arguing that when in comes to Pell grants, the administration “made some very tough cuts,” i.e. asking for a $5 billion increase while “reducing costs” by $20 billion:
Sessions: “This is Washington math. You haven’t cut Pell grants. Pell grants are increasing dramatically, Mr. Secretary. The numbers are plain.”
Duncan: “That’s correct, and they would have increased even more substantially, even more significantly did we not made the tough painful decision to eliminate…”
Sessions: “You’re proposing they be increased that much, they’re not going to be increased that much becaue we don’t have the money!”
Lots more here.