Senator Sherrod Brown

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced Senate passage of the FY 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill. The legislation includes three amendments proposed by Brown.

Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program supports the research, exhibition, interpretation, and collection of artifacts related to the history of the Underground Railroad. Since 1998, institutions throughout the country have leveraged these dollars to educate hundreds of thousands of school children. The grant program assists both the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati and the Underground Railroad Tour in Lorain.

“The Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural program provides funding to museums and educational centers to shed light on one of the most important and courageous social movements in our history,” Brown said.

Upward Bound programs across the county are currently being evaluated by the Department of Education. Upward Bound serves low-income, first generation, students at risk of not completing high school or pursuing higher education. Under the current evaluation process, students are recruited for Upward Bound and promised services that are never delivered so as to serve as a control group. Not only does this give students false hope, but serious questions remain on the effectiveness of educational research designs based on control groups. Brown’s amendment would halt the evaluations while an alternative method to assess performance is developed. One hundred Upward Bound programs across the country have been selected for this evaluation, ten of which are in Ohio.

“Upward Bound programs are critically important to our nation’s youth and we should evaluate their effectiveness. But we should do it in a fair, ethical, and valid way,” Brown said.

The Measure To Prevent School Violence was prompted by the tragedy in Cleveland this month. In 2002, the Department of Education and U.S. Secret Service compiled a comprehensive guidance document to help schools respond appropriately when faced with a potentially dangerous student. This document has not been updated since its initial implementation. Following the Virginia Tech shooting last spring, a report of recommendations to prevent and address school violence was released. Brown’s amendment instructs the Department of Education to update and distribute within three months the 2002 guidelines based on findings on the Virginia Tech shooting.

“Parents send their children to school every day trusting they will be safe,” Brown said. “While the risk of violence can’t be eliminated, it must be minimized. By equipping schools with better information, we can help anticipate and prevent school violence. This is a simple step with enormous implications – it can save lives.”

In addition, the Senate 2007 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill would:

Expand Head Start services with an increase of $200 million, which is $300 million more than the president's budget request.

Make college more affordable by supporting a Pell Grant maximum award of $4,800.

Enhance U.S. competitiveness with a $4.8 billion dollar investment in job training, career, and technical education programs.

Ensure a continued commitment to critical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by increasing funding by $1 billion from last year. This is nearly a $1.3 billion increase from the president’s budget request, which had called for cutting NIH funding by $279 million.

Allocate $2.24 billion for the Community Health Centers program in the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). This is an increase of $250 million above the president’s budget request.

Begin to restore workplace protections by requiring OSHA to issue quarterly reports with timetables and benchmarks for safety and health standards, and

Require the Department of Labor to report to Congress on the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Today, the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill passed the full Senate. The bill will now proceed to the House-Senate Conference Committee, before final passage in both chambers. President George W. Bush has threatened to veto the legislation.