Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4014 - Educational Research. Development, and Dissemination Excellence Act

(House)
(Owens (D) NY and 2 others)

The Administration strongly supports reauthorization of the Department of Education's (ED) Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). The Administration is pleased that a substitute version of H.R. 4014 reportedly being offered by Rep. Owens contains significant improvements to the bill originally reported by the Education and Labor Committee. These improvements are designed to address certain of the Administration's objections to the Committee bill. They reportedly include eliminating restrictions on the use of OERI funds to support the development of content or student performance standards and curricular frameworks; enhancing the authority of the Secretary to appoint members of a proposed Board of Governors (Board); and reducing the inappropriate operational responsibilities of the Board.

The Administration continues to object to several provisions expected to be in the substitute bill, and will work to resolve its concerns in the Senate. The objectionable features in the substitute bill would:

—   Restrict the authority of the Secretary to appoint members of the Board. The substitute bill would require the Secretary to appoint seven researchers to the Board from among those nominated by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Because of the Board's remaining operational functions, these nomination provisions raise constitutional concerns under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2. The Secretary should not be limited to appointing those nominees submitted by the NAS or any other group.

—   Limit the Secretary's ability to direct and manage the research activities of the Department. The bill continues to assign inappropriately certain operational responsibilities to the Board when these responsibilities should best remain with the Secretary. The substitute bill would require the Board to approve OERI's standards for the conduct and evaluation of all research, development, and dissemination activities carried out by OERI.

—   Undermine support for a coherent long-term research agenda. H.R. 4014 would inappropriately establish multiple, separate authorizations for research institutes and activities and would prescribe research topics in excessive detail. The Secretary could not devise a rational, national research agenda or strategy.

—   Restrict development of student assessments. The bill would impose prescriptive and unworkable requirements on the use of OERI funds for research and development of student assessments.

—   Establish a poorly focused, duplicative, and unnecessary Learning Grant Institutions dissemination program. This would be costly and would duplicate OERI's support for dissemination through the National Diffusion Network and the work of the regional laboratories.

—   Authorize unnecessary categorical programs. For example, the bill would authorize several new, but unnecessary- categorical programs under the rubric of international education and do so at an excessive authorization level ($17.5 million).

—   Fail to extend the authorization of the State-bv-State National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 1994. Without this authorization, no additional State-by-State assessments can occur, rendering NAEP results useless for State educational reform efforts.

—   Allow racial and gender preferences in the selection of Board members and the award of funds that raise policy and constitutional concerns. H.R 4014 would require the Secretary to select members of the new Board based on a consideration of "gender, race, and ethnicity."

The above position is based on the Administration's understanding of Rep. Owens' substitute version, although the final text of H.R. 4014 has not been presented for consideration. Consistent with his letter of May 14, 1992, if instead H.R. 4014 as reported by the Committee were presented to the President, the Secretary of Education would recommend that the bill be vetoed.