WHAT KI ND OF P RE S I DE NT

WOUL D MI T T ROMNE Y B E ON E DUCAT I ON?

OMAR LOP E Z , CHAR L E S B AR ONE & L I AM K E R R
May 4, 2O12
Rick Sanlorum vas oul of lhe residenliaI race for bareIy lvo veeks vhen Mill Romney began lo, as
il is oIileIy caIIed, ivol on some of lhe far-righl educalion osilions he slaked oul in lhe rimary.
n educalion, as vilh many olher issues, Romney has laken dierenl osilions al dierenl limes,
making il hard lo gIean vhelher or nol lhis is an imorlanl issue al aII for lhe candidale, Iel aIone
vhal his roosed oIicies mighl be.
Romney's vebsile, vhich did nol have educalion Iisled on lhe Issues age unliI recenlIy, says very
IillIe in lerms of vhal oIicies he secihcaIIy suorls. Ior lhose reaIIy inleresled in vhal a Romney
Adminislralion vouId mean lo educalion in lhe Iniled Slales, his osilions have lo be arsed oul of
camaign seeches, debales and inlervievs. There's a Iong vay lo go belveen such slalemenls and
a coherenl sel of roosed oIicies (hinl: boId does
nol seem lo be a valchvord). NeverlheIess, Romney
has senl some signaIs on federaI educalion issues lhal
rovide imorlanl cIues.
S t u d e n t L o a n s
Romney recenlIy made headIines vhen he reIeased
a slalemenl in vhich he, in aarenl hoe of shifling
some youlh suorl in his direclion, echoed Iresidenl
bama's caII lo kee federaI sludenl inleresl Ioans
I don'l lhink lhal lheir nominee
is going lo be abIe lo suddenIy say,
'Lverylhing I've said for lhe Iasl six
monlhs, I didn'l mean.'
- Iresidenl arack bama
from doubIing (3.4/ lo 6.8/).
1
Romney has secihcaIIy marked lhe sludenl Ioan hx he nov suorls
as a lemorary measure. Was lhe move oorlunislic oIilicaI osilioning` r a change of hearl`
lher slalemenls by Romney cIearIy oinl lo lhe former.
n Iebruary 29lh, Romney said, in resonse lo a queslion from a Iav sludenl aboul high inleresl
rales:
1nc rigni ccursc jcr Amcricc is jcr |usincsscs cn! unitcrsiiics cn! cc||cgcs ic ccmpcic, cn! jcr us
ic mc|c surc inci uc prcti!c |ccns ic inc cxicni uc pcssi||q ccn ci cn inicrcsi rcic inci doesnt hate
the taxaers hatlng to subsldl:e eoIe uho uant to go to schooI."
2
jcmpncsis c!!c!}
Ierhas more indicalive of Romney's vaciIIaling slance on sludenl Ioans is lhe facl lhal Romney
suorls Wisconsin Congressman IauI Ryan's IY 2O13 budgel, enlilIed A Roadma for America's
Iulure, vhich ro|ecls Iong-lerm sending, caIIs for Slaord Ioan inleresl rales lo doubIe lo 6.8/.
- 2 -
In vhal may be a more honesl rendering of his reaI
viev, Romney said Ialer in lhe veek afler he'd backed
bama's Ioan hx: We've aIvays encouraged young
eoIe, lake a shol, go for il, lake a risk, gel lhe edu-
calion, borrov money if you have lo from your ar-
enls.
3
|emhasis addedj. Too bad nol many slu-
denls have arenls vilh lhousands of doIIars under
lheir mallresses vailing for such an occasion.
F u n d i n g f o r E d u c a t i o n
HOW WOUL D R OMNE Y S CUT S AF F E CT T HE MOS T VUL NE R AB L E ?
5-Year Olds:
200,000 students eliminated from
Head Start
Middle Schoolers:
One in ten students would see ser-
vices eliminated or reduced due to
Title I cuts
College Students:
Pell Grants would fall by more than
$1,000 per student by 2014
ne lhing ve knov for sure is lhal
Romney vouId cul educalion fund-
ing. The culs he suorls vouId have
severeIy delrimenlaI eecls on lhose
on lhe Iover rungs of lhe economic
Iadder.
Desile Romney's conslanl vahing, one lhing ve knov for sure is lhal Mill Romney vouId dramali-
caIIy cul educalion funding.
4
And lhe eecls vouId exlend veII beyond sludenl Ioans. The Romney-
Ryan budgel indiscriminaleIy culs aImosl 2O/ from lhe federaI educalion budgel. As Secrelary of
Lducalion Arne Duncan said: We couId see disaslrous consequences for America's chiIdren over
lhe nexl couIe of years. |lhalj vouId roeI lhe educalionaI success of lhis counlry backvards for
years lo come and lhal is a risk ve cannol aord lo lake.
5
Culs of lhis magnilude vouId have negalive eecls lhroughoul every IeveI of sociely and severeIy
delrimenlaI eecls on lhose on lhe Iover rungs of lhe economic Iadder, an area in vhich Romney is
aIready oIilicaIIy vuInerabIe. IeII Granls, for examIe, vouId face massive culs by such means as
making arl-lime sludenls e.g., lhose vho bolh allend schooI and hoId |obs ineIigibIe lo quaIify
for lhem.
6
F e d e r a l R o l e i n E d u c a t i o n
Wilhin lhe ReubIican Iarly, lhere exisls a Dr. }ekyII and Mr. Hyde henomenon vhen il comes lo
lheir viev of lhe federaI governmenl's roIe in educalion. ReubIican Dr. }ekyIIs are harshIy crilicaI of
lhe educalion oIicies being carried oul by slale and IocaI governmenls. In his book, ironicaIIy en-
lilIed No AoIogy Ior American Grealness, Romney vriles:
1nc ccnictcmcni gcp" ncs |ccn |cmcnic! jcr !ccc!cs |ui !isircssing|q |iii|c ncs |ccn !cnc ic ccm-
|ci ii. A|cui nc|j cj Ajriccn-Amcriccn cn! Hispcnic-Amcriccn siu!cnis !rcp cui |cjcrc rccciting c
nign scncc| !cgrcc. 1nc rcsu|i is inci uc crc tiriuc||q cssuring inc crcciicn cj c pcrmcncni un!crc|css.
|i is cn incxp|icc||c numcn ircgc!q uncn mi||icns cj Amcriccn cni|!rcn |crc|q ciicin c inir!-ucr|!
c!ucciicn in c nciicn inci c[crs c|| iis ciiizcns ccccss ic jrcc pu||ic scncc|ing."
7
ReubIican Mr. Hydes, hovever, vanl lo lurn even more over over educalion oIicy lo lhe same
slale and IocaI governmenls lhey lhink are doing such a IamenlabIe |ob. LIiminaling lhe I.S. Dearl-
menl of Lducalion has been arl of lhe ReubIican Iarly Ialform for a Iong lime, and vas Romney's
osilion lhrough lhe mid 199O's. LarIier lhis year, in an inlerviev vilh lhe conservalive WeekIy Slan-
dard, Romney indicaled lhal he did nol vanl lo go on record in favor of eIiminaling lhe Dearlmenl
of Lducalion because il vouId be inlerreled as his nol caring aboul educalion.
- 3 -
Il's ossibIe Romney cares aboul
educalion. Il's equaIIy ossibIe vhal
he mainIy cares aboul is hiding his
indierence.
Whal Romney does suorl comes from slalemenls Romney made recenlIy, unavare lhal lhe micro-
hone vas on: The Dearlmenl of Lducalion: I viII eilher consoIidale vilh anolher agency, or er-
has make il a heck of a Iol smaIIer. I'm nol going lo gel rid of il enlireIy.
8
Thus, reading across lhese commenls, lhere are lvo ossibIe inlerrelalions: 1. Romney cares aboul
educalion, even lhough he vanls lo cul il, and vanls lo be carefuI aboul lhe signaIs he sends, or 2.
Romney does nol care aboul educalion and is rimariIy concerned aboul saying anylhing lhal reveaIs
his indierence.
Po l i t i c a l Co u r a g e
In resonse lo his Iean educalion oIicy agenda, Romney viII oflen oinl lo his lime as governor of
Massachusells as an examIe of his educalion bona hdes. Though il is lrue lhal Massachusells ranks
number one nalionaIIy on lhe NalionaI Assessmenl of Lducalion Irogress (NALI), Romney faiIs lo
nole lhal lhe oIicy changes Ieading lo lhe slale's success vere imIemenled before he became Gover-
nor.
If Romney vere eIecled, he vouId be foIIoving lvo
residenls vho look on overfuI seciaI inleresls in
lheir reseclive arlies lo enacl ma|or educalion re-
forms. ush look on lhe ReubIican righl ving and
vorked vilh key Democrals in Congress lo enacl lhe
biarlisan No ChiId Lefl ehind Acl (NCL). bama
found common ground vilh bolh Democralic and ReubIican governors vilh his inveslmenls in lhe
Race lo The To slale reform inilialive (RllT). No maller vhal one lhinks secihcaIIy of NCL or RllT,
lhe oIicies lhey sel forlh Iaunched slale and IocaI reforms lhal have suorl across lhe oIilicaI sec-
lrum and have been embraced by advocacy, business, and civiI righls grous.
If Romney vanls lo do lhe same, he'II have lo musler u lhe oIilicaI courage lo lake on ReubIican
lea arliers inside and oulside of Congress. There are no signs lhus far lhal Romney has lhal kind of
courage, and severaI signs lhal he Iacks il.
Ior examIe, Romney announced suorl for Iresidenl bama's Race lo lhe To rogram al a lovn
haII meeling in Miami Iasl faII, lhen dislanced himseIf from il al a debale lhe nexl nighl. According lo
IoIilico, during lhe lovn haII:
Rcmncq prcisc! O|cmcs c!ucciicn sccrcicrq jcr inc Rccc ic inc 1cp prcgrcm inci rcucr!s sicic
c!ucciicn sqsicms jcr rcccning spccic gcc|s.
| inin| Sccrcicrq Dunccn ncs !cnc scmc gcc! inings, nc sci!. | ncpc incis nci ncrcsq in inis
rccm.
9
Romney quickIy changed his lune, hovever, vhen many educalion oIicy exerls inlerreled lhe
heresy commenl as a shol across lhe bov of uIlra-conservalives and lea arliers in lhe ReubIican
Iarly vho vanl no federaI roIe in educalion vhalsoever. And, lhe foIIoving nighl, Rick Ierry suc-
cessfuIIy Ieveraged lhal rifl lo force Romney lo reverse his osilion:
Pcrrq. j1}ncrc is cnc pcrscn cn inis sicgc inci is jcr O|cmcs Rccc ic inc 1cp cn! inci is Gctcrncr
Rcmncq.. Bcing in jctcr cj inc O|cmc Rccc ic inc 1cp.inci is nci ccnscrtciitc.
- 4 -
Mc!crcicr. Gctcrncr Rcmncq?
Rcmncq. Nicc irq. Ici mc ic|| qcu unci | inin|
| ucu|! !c. Onc, c!ucciicn ncs ic |c nc|! ci inc
|ccc| cn! sicic |ctc|, nci ci inc jc!crc| |ctc|. Wc
ncc! ic gci inc jc!crc| gctcrnmcni cui cj c!ucc-
iicn.
Romney has done lhe same lhing vilh lhe DRLAM
Acl, vhich vouId aIIov cilizenshi for quaIihed slu-
denls vho |oin lhe miIilary or allend coIIege. This nev
consideralion of lhe DRLAM Acl comes on lhe heeIs of
If Romney vere eIecled, he vouId
be foIIoving lvo residenls vho
look on overfuI seciaI inleresls in
lheir reseclive arlies lo enacl ma|or
educalion reforms. If Romney vanls
lo do lhe same, he'II have lo musler
u lhe oIilicaI courage lo lake on
ReubIican lea arliers inside and
oulside of Congress.
an ironcIad oosilion lo lhe fundamenlaI nalure of lhe roosed IegisIalion. In his ovn vords, |usl
hve monlhs ago:
1nc ucsiicn is, ij | ucrc c|ccic! cn! Ccngrcss ucrc ic pcss inc Drccm Aci, ucu|! | tcic ii, cn! inc
cnsucr is qcs.|cr incsc unc ccmc ncrc i||cgc||q, inc i!cc cj giting incm in-sicic iuiiicn crc!iis cr
cincr spccic| |cncis | n! ic |c ccnircrq ic inc i!cc cj c nciicn cj |cu."
10
Romney nov says he is oen lo some version of lhe biII, and has oened lhe door lo, bul nol em-
braced, vorking vilh key Senale ReubIicans on lhis issue.
Romney can'l have il bolh vays. Lilher he is a ragmalisl vho suorls inilialives Iike bama's Race
lo lhe To and lhe DRLAM Acl (or some version of il), and lhus sees some conslruclive roIe for lhe
federaI governmenl lo Iay in educalion, or he is an ideoIogue in aIIiance vilh lhe arly's exlreme
righl ving and ooses any federaI invoIvemenl in educalion arlicuIarIy lo heI lhose mosl in need.
A lo Romney advisor, Lric Iehrnslrom, forecasled Romney's inlended fulure i-oing by infa-
mousIy comaring his Ialform lo an elch-a-skelch. Iresidenl bama commenled on lhis in a recenl
RoIIing Slone inlerviev, saying:
| !cni inin| inci incir ncmincc is gcing ic |c c||c ic su!!cn|q scq, |tcrqining |tc sci! jcr inc |csi
six mcnins, | !i!ni mccn. |m cssuming inci nc mccni ii," jO|cmc} sci!. Wncn qcurc running jcr
prcsi!cni, pccp|c crc pcqing ciicniicn ic unci qcurc scqing."
11
The ReubIicans are counling on seIeclive amnesia on lhe arl of lhe American ubIic for lheir candi-
dale lo be eIecled. Remember vhal he accomIished as a businessman, nol hov much he en|oys hr-
ing eoIe or hov many |obs he oulsourced or shied overseas, and forgel vhal his osilions have
been on issues.
CoIumnisl }onalhan Chail recenlIy ul il lhis vay:
|i is ccricin|q rcmcr|c||c ncu |iii|c ri!icu|c cr scruiinq Rcmncq ncs ciirccic! in nis rcincr |rczcn
rctcrsc|s. |n |cgc| inccrq incrc cxisis scmcining cc||c! c |i|c|-prccj p|cinii[," unicn is c gurc cj
sucn |cu rcpuic inci nc ccnnci c|cim cnq mcncicrq !cmcgcs jcr nis rcpuiciicn |cing smccrc!, cn inc
prcmisc inci nis rcpuiciicn is icinic! |cqcn! rcpcir. 1nis sccms ic |c inc pcini Rcmncq ncs rcccnc! cn
inc ucsiicn cj ccnsisicncq."
12
- 5 -
Mo v i n g F o r wa r d
As lhe camaign conlinues, educalion is shaing u lo be an issue lhal Romney viII undoubledIy
bring u more oflen. The economy has imroved more lhan Romney vouId have hoed for, laking
lhe vind oul of lhe saiIs of his rimary oIilicaI argumenl lhal ve're on lhe vrong economic lrack.
He aIso has Iov arovaI numbers vilhin lhe bIack and Hisanic communilies, and vilh vomen, aII
of vhom rank educalion high in riorily according lo oIIslers.
Ior lhese reasons, il viII be crilicaI lo educale volers on vhal lhe IikeIy resuIl of a Romney adminis-
lralion vouId be on educalion oIicy for bolh lhe middIe cIass and our mosl economicaIIy vuIner-
abIe: nolhing shorl of an abandonmenl of lhe issue of schooI reform, a re|eclion of biarlisanshi, and
a shirking of resonsibiIily lo heI coIIege sludenls and IocaI schooIs vilh recious federaI resources
al a lime vhen lheir ovn budgels are lighler lhan al any lime in recenl hislory.
E DUCAT I ON R E P OR T CAR D
Issue Presi dent Barack Obama Mitt Romney
Federal Education Funding
A
Makes strategic cuts while maintaining
investments in effective programs
F
Romney-Ryan budget would cut 18% of
federal education spending across the
board
Race to the Top
A
Has championed and continues to
promote RttT
D
Supported RttT at a campaign town
hall, but denounced it at the debate the
next night
Head Start
B
As part of We Cant Wait, Head Start
programs now compete for federal
funds
F
Budget cuts would gut the program
ESEA/NCLB
B+
Supports the renewal of the stalemated
legislation; created waivers to ensure
progress despite gridlock
D
Supports the idea of accountability
found in NCLB, but is against funding it
College Student Aid
A
Supports increases in funding for Pell
Grants and student loans
Incomplete
Romney-Ryan budget would cut stu-
dent aid for middle and low-income
college students; came out in favor of
temporary student loan subsidies but
not for any other needed funding for
college student aid
mar Loez is a DILR IoIicy AnaIysl, CharIes arone is DILR Direclor of IederaI IoIicy, and Liam Kerr is DILR Massa-
chusells Slale Direclor.
1
MSNC, Iirsl Read, Romney's vn Hol Mic Momenl, AriI 16, 2O12.
2
AIexander urns, IoIilico, Romney's Shifl on Sludenl Loans, AriI 24, 2O12.
3
LmiIy Iriedman, AC Nevs, The Nole, Mill Romney ers Advice on IarenlaI Loans, Ma|oring in LngIish, and Slick-
ing lo lhe Iacls, AriI 27, 2O12.
4
Democrals for Lducalion Reform, ReubIican IY 2O13 udgel IroosaI: Dramalic and ReckIess Culs lo Lducalion
Sending, March 29, 2O12.
5
Lducalion Week, Duncan Iasls Ryan udgel IIan, March 22, 2O12.

6
Hunglon Iosl, IeII Granls Ior Ioor Sludenls Lose $17O iIIion In Ryan udgel, March 27, 2O12.
7
Mill Romney, No AoIogy: The Case for American Grealness, Nev York: Sl Marlin's Grin Iress, 2O11.
8
MSNC, Iirsl Read, Romney's vn Hol Mic Momenl, AriI 16, 2O12.
9
IoIilico, Mill Romney Ciles iarlisan Record, Canada in IIorida Aearance, Selember 21, 2O11.
1O
RacheI SlreilfeId, Romney WouId Velo DRLAM Acl, CNN, December 31, 2O11.
11
}ann S. Wenner, Ready for lhe Iighl: RoIIing Slone Inlerviev vilh arack bama, RoIIing Slone, AriI 25, 2O12.
12
Nev York Magazine, Romney's Llch-A-Skelch Camaign egins, AriI 24, 2O12.
Democrats for Education Reform
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Washington, D.C. 20002
(202) 290-1741
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