Obama says GOP wants to 'cut education by 20 percent' [View All]

[kpete]

Source: The Hill


Obama says GOP wants to 'cut education by 20 percent'
By Bridget Johnson - 10/09/10 06:00 AM ET

President Obama pitched education initiatives and funding as key to preparing kids for the jobs of the future, and accused congressional Republicans of standing in the way of goals to graduate more students from college.

In his weekly address, Obama began by saying he was fighting to create jobs and rebuild the economy as American families are struggling. But he said that kids need to be better prepared for the jobs of the future in a global economy. "China and India aren’t playing for second," he said. "South Korea and Germany aren’t playing for second. They’re playing for first – and so should America."


He touted the Skills for America's Future initiative introduced earlier in the week intended to connect students with employers, and the Race to the Top program that aims to graduate more students from college per capita than any other country by 2020.

"And yet, if Republicans in Congress had their way, we’d have a harder time meeting that goal," Obama said. "We’d have a harder time offering our kids the best education possible. Because they’d have us cut education by 20 percent – cuts that would reduce financial aid for eight million students; cuts that would leave our great and undervalued community colleges without the resources they need to prepare our graduates for the jobs of the future."

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/123489-obama-accuses-gop-of-wanting-to-cut-education-by-20-percent