Education Secretary Duncan: We Must Educate Our Way To A Better Economy

Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 1:23PM
Talk Radio News Service (Admin) in FDY2011 Budget, Frontpage 3, Hensling, News/Commentary, Secretary of Education Duncan, Sofia Sanchez

By Sofia Sanchez University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated Thursday that an improvement in education will help mend the U.S. economy.

“We have to educate our way to a better economy. It is the only way we can get there. We have a dropout rate of 27% in this country. We have 1.3 million young people leaving our schools and going to the streets. That is morally unacceptable and economically unsustainable," Duncan said during an appearance before the House Committee on the Budget.

Duncan's remarks came during a hearing on the Department's budget proposal for fiscal year 2011. $49.7 billion has been requested, a raise from 2010's $46.2 billion request.

Duncan said the department has done program eliminations that resulted in $123 million in savings, and also eliminated earmarks, which resulted in $217 million in savings.

A full copy of the proposed FY2011 budget for the Department of Education can be found on the Department of Education's website.

Article originally appeared on Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media (http://www.talkradionews.com/).