Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

"As the father of three young children, I know the importance of providing all of America's children with best education possible. This means smaller classrooms, better teachers, more modern technology and greater funding for education programs. Education is the key to maintaining our global competitiveness, and I am working every day in Washington to improve our public education system."

Crowley Fighting for Queens and the Bronx:

* Congressman Crowley believes in an equal distribution of education funding throughout the City.
* Led New York City delegation in demanding the elimination of a legal provision that shortchanges children in Queens and the Bronx of their fair share of education funding.
* Supporter of increased federal funding of education programs that benefit local students, such as Title I grants to schools in areas of poverty.

Crowley Working to Make College More Affordable and Accessible:

* Supported enactment of The College Cost Reduction and Access Act -- the largest increase in college aid since the GI Bill in 1944, providing over $2 billion in aid to New York alone.
* Voted to increase maximum Pell Grant level and cut interest rates on need-based student loans.
* Supported enactment of The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, which encourages colleges to rein in price increases and simplifies the federal student aid application process.
* Introduced the Supporting Mentors, Supporting Our Youth Act to provide $10 of loan forgiveness for every hour a college student mentors an at-risk child.
* Working on the Ways and Means Committee to raise awareness of higher education tax benefits for families.
* Voted to ensure that affordable low-interest student loans remain available during times of financial instability.

Crowley Helping to Keep Our Children Safe and Healthy:

* Created the Physical Education for Progress (PEP) program to improve physical education programs for K--12 students, which was passed into law as part of the original "No Child Left Behind" Act.
* Worked with Congressional leadership to ensure increased funding for physical education programs and healthy food programs.
* Secured funding for after-school programs and youth centers to keep young people safe in the after-school hours.
* Introducing legislation to protect our children from dangerous PCB chemicals in school building materials and to provide federal assistance to schools facing heavy cleanup costs.
* Ensured that funding accessed by schools to improve energy efficiency and remove asbestos and lead could also be used to clean up PCB chemicals.

Crowley on Improving Education Quality:

* Ensured Federal funding for an innovative teacher training program at LaGuardia Community College.
* Successfully persuaded Congress to adopt legislation to bring additional funding to Queens schools for the Magnet School Assistance Program.
* Original cosponsor of the America's Better Classrooms Act to modernize America's schools and construct new classrooms.
* Supporter of proposals to improve access to preschool education for all children.
* Committed to ensuring that the No Child Left Behind Act is improved, not just renewed, and that its programs are fully funded.

Crowley Believes in Training a New Generation of Innovators:

* Passed into law language to create a grant program at the National Science Foundation for colleges and universities to attract more Hispanics to the science and technology fields.
* Voted to place more qualified math and science teachers in schools by offering tuition assistance to talented undergraduates majoring in these fields.

Crowley Wants to Protect Head Start:

* Strong supporter of Head Start, which prepares nearly 2,000 pre-kindergarten, economically disadvantaged children in New York's 7th District for school.
* Voted to extend the program for five years and improve teacher and classroom quality of Head Start centers, provisions which became law in December 2007.

Crowley Supports Preserving Local History:

* Urged Queens Library officials to preserve original architecture of Elmhurst Library.
* Working with state and federal officials to preserve and protect historic places such as Huntington Free Library in the Bronx, architecture within Bronx Community College, and the Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead in Queens.
* Supports returning the historic Flushing Remonstrance to its home of Queens for display to the public.

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