By Alyson Klein
(From Education Week, November 6th, 2012)
The U.S. House of Representatives is likely to stay in GOP hands and the Senate under Democratic control, according to the Associated Press. Over the past two years, that combination has meant a lot of sniping and not much action on big issues, including the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
So does two more years of a divided Congress mean two more years of gridlock on key issues? Lawmakers will get their first test soon. Even before the new Congress takes office, lawmakers must figure out a plan to head off “sequestration,” a series of planned, 8.2 percent trigger cuts to nearly every federal K-12 program, including special education and money for disadvantaged students.
Earlier today, U.S. Rep. John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, said that he would see a House GOP victory as an indication that voters don’t want to see tax increases, which some Democrats have called for as a way to help put the nation on firmer fiscal footing.
Read the full post here.