Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

A perennial advocate for education, Congressman Towns has fought side by side with his colleagues to further his constituents' needs for a stronger education system within Brooklyn. As a student, social worker, parent and grandparent he personally understands the needs and struggles that the Brooklyn education system faces. For his entire tenure in congress, Congressman Towns has understood that education fails without constant support for students, educators and administrators.

In the 112th congress Congressman Towns has introduced the following:

H.R.1106: Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act

Social Workers are the under appreciated social safety net of our society. Without reinvestment into this noble profession, our social framework will continue to erode

* Establishes the Social Work Reinvestment Commission to provide independent counsel to Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on policy issues associated with recruitment, retention, research, and reinvestment in the profession of social work, and for other purposes

Also In the 112th congress Congressman Towns has co-sponsored the following bills:

H.R. 1419: Every Student Counts Act

* Improves the calculation of, the reporting of, and the accountability for, secondary school graduation rates

H.R. 2028: New Employee Verification Act of 2009

* Amends title 11 of the United States Code to modify the dischargeability of debts for certain educational payments and loans. This bill classifies private student loan debt in the same category as credit card debt, and other similar debt, and provides that private student loans may be discharged in bankruptcy.

H.R.820: Prescribe A Book Act

* Creates a Pediatric Early Literacy program under which the Secretary of Education awards matching grants to nonprofit organizations for the implementation of three-part models through which: health care providers encourage parents to read aloud to their children and offer them recommendations and strategies for doing so; health care providers give each visiting child between the ages of six months and five-years a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and keep; and volunteers reading to children in health care facility waiting areas show parents the techniques and pleasures of reading aloud to children; Also requires that the books provided to children under the program be obtained at a discount

In the 111th Congress, the following measures, supported by Congressman Towns, were signed into law:

* The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA): With this law, Rep. Towns supported the investments made in modernizing schools in the 10th Congressional District , helped New York avoid teacher layoffs and other education cutbacks, and made college more affordable.
* The Health Care & Education Affordability Reconciliation Act: This law provided substantial investments into affordable, quality education opportunities by investing in Pell grants, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and community colleges, while saving taxpayers $61 billion over ten years by switching to the Direct Loan program.

Rep. Towns supported the following bills that passed in the House of Representatives:

* 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act: This Act provided the most underserved schools with access to funding for energy-efficient modernization, renovation, and repair projects.
* Student Internet Safety Act of 2009: This Bill required school programs to educate students about proper online behavior, protect students from online predators, and promote parental involvement in the use of Internet by their children.
* Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009:This Act ensured teen safety with new national standards for residential programs focused on teens with behavioral, emotional or mental health, or substance abuse problems.

Congressman Towns was the lead sponsor of the following education bills:

* HR 1361, The Increased Student Achievement Through Increased Student Support Act: Provided grants to underserved schools to increase the number of school social workers, school psychologists and school counselors.
* HR 5055, The College Debt Swap Act of 2010:This Bill provided students who did not take out the maximum level of federal loans in college to swap private loans for flexible federal loans.
* HR 397, The EarlyLearning Innovation Act: Provided funding for innovative early learning education programs that target high-need students.

Congressman Towns has recognized the importance of education and the support thereof during his entire tenure as a Member of Congress due to his experiences as a student, a coach, a social worker, and as both a parent and a grandparent. He understands that education cannot be fully addressed without significant and consistent support for students, educators and administrators.

In the 111th Congress, Rep. Towns has introduced:

H.R. 795, the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young Jr. Social Work Reinvestment, seeks to expand support for the social work profession through a number of tools: 1. Create a Social Work Reinvestment Commission that would analyze current trends in the profession, as well as make recommendations to improve the profession for workers and 2. Allocation of funds to schools to promote social work and provide more grants to students majoring in the field.

H.R. 1361, the Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act, would direct the Secretary of Education to provide grants for partnerships between low-income local education agencies and schools that offer graduate programs in school counseling, social work, and psychology. The goal is for the bill to increase the amount of student support in low-income schools in order to perpetuate student achievement.

Congressman Towns co-sponsored the following legislation:

H.R. 1615, the Medical Economic Deferment for Students Act. (MEDS), would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in regards to the definition of economic hardship. The new definition would affect borrowers under the Federal Family Education Loan, Perkins Loan, and other related loan insurance programs who may not currently be considered as under "economic hardship."

H.R. 1751, the American Dream Act, seeks to amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 in order to permit States to determine State residency. The bill would allow the Secretary of Homeland Security to cancel the removal of any alien who has been accepted to an institution of higher education, or has graduated high school.

Updated July 26, 2011

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