WASHINGTON, D.C.– Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) released the following statement today encouraging the Obama administration and House Appropriations Committee leadershipto support Eastern Washington students with disabilities by making federal funding for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) a top priority.

“School districts in Eastern Washington are suffering as they work to provide students with special needs essential support and services. We owe it to these children to ensure they receive the attention they deserve. Parents and teachers alike are not seeking new grants or funding – but they desperately need support for our community’s most vulnerable students. I will continue to advocate for all children with disabilities, and urge the Obama administration and the House Appropriations Committee to make them a priority here at home and across the country.”

Alongside colleagues, Rep. McMorris Rodgers submitted a formal request for a $1.5 billion increase in IDEA Part B funding in the Fiscal Year 2015 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, bringing the total funding to $13 billion.

In the letter, Rep. McMorris Rodgers and fellow members state:

As our nation struggles with debt levels that have eclipsed the size of the entire U.S. economy, difficult choices must be made. We must stop wasting taxpayer dollars on new and ineffective programs and instead work toward meeting our basic obligation to ensure special needs children are prepared for success after high school. We urge you to renew Congress’s commitment to these students, their families, and their educators.

To view the entire letter, please click here. To view a chart illustrating how the requested increase in funding would help school districts, click here.

# # #