Education Standing Committee

December 5, 2007

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
H-232, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable John Boehner
House Republican Leader
H-204, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

Re: Mandates on state spending in H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, (Sec. 132)

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner:

Buried in the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 is a provision (Sec. 132) that would punish states for not maintaining or increasing higher education funding appropriations.

If enacted by the full House and agreed upon by the Senate, this maintenance of effort (MOE) provision would have negligible impact on its intended target, postsecondary tuitions. However, a MOE would set a dangerous precedent for federal intrusion into state policy and appropriations authority. It could have the unintended effect of reducing state support for higher education, while endorsing a blatant power grab by the junior fiscal partner in higher education policy. All of this is built on the shaky premise that federal price controls would hold tuition costs in check.

It is ironic that Congress is attempting to compel state funding of higher education while consistently failing to fund the grossly under-funded federal mandates in IDEA (between $12 billion and $30 billion per year) or No Child Left Behind (also in the tens of billions of dollars each year).

We urge you to strike this provision from H.R. 4137.

For further information please call David Shreve at 202-624-8187 or Robert Strange at 202-624-8698.

Sincerely,

Representative Donna Stone
President, NCSL
Delaware House of Representatives

Representative Rae Ann Kelsch
Chair, NCSL Education Standing Committee;
Chair, North Dakota House of Representatives Education Committee