As the 2004 presidential race shapes up, President Bush has
criticized the presumed Democratic nominee John Kerry of having
shifted stances on issues such as the war in Iraq, trade and the
Patriot Act. But the story will be different when it comes to
education. Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, has a strong and
consistent record on educational issues. He has voted almost
without fail in favor of bills that increase federal funding to
financial aid and school renovation. But on affirmative action,
Kerry may have demonstrated some of the fence-hopping Bush has
accused him of on other issues. Though Kerry says he is a strong
supporter of affirmative action, statements he made in the early
1990s about the negative effects of affirmative action may come
back to haunt him. But many still agree that education will
be one of Kerry’s powerful political weapons.
“I don’t think there’s any question about
it,” said Michael Dukakis, a visiting UCLA professor who
worked with Kerry when he was governor of Massachusetts and Kerry
was lieutenant governor in 1982.
A history of support Kerry has voted to
preserve or increase federal funding for education grant programs
and public schools all but once, according to voting records that
go back to 1992. The senator’s support for higher education
has largely been manifested in his support for financial aid,
especially the Pell Grant program, the principle form of federal
financial aid which provides billions of dollars to college
students every year. Kerry also supported six different pieces of
legislation that came through the Senate between 1992 and 2004
which sought to provide funding to other financial aid programs,
lower the fees on student loans and increase the tax deduction for
college tuition costs. He has also rejected legislation that funds
other programs at the expense of education. In fact, the only time
in that 12-year span Kerry voted against an increase in funding for
education was in 1997. Kerry voted against an amendment that would
have provided an additional $528 million to the Pell Grant program
to be offset by reduced funding for the Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program. The amendment was rejected by the Senate. The
senator’s voting record has put him eye-to-eye with many
major education institutes. The National Education Association, one
of the country’s leading education lobbying groups, has given
Kerry a rating of 100 since the year 2000, meaning Kerry has voted
along NEA policy lines nearly 100 percent of the time.
“He’s been a great friend of public education,”
said Dan Kaufman, a spokesman for the NEA. Kerry’s support
for education can be traced back to 1982, when he worked as
lieutenant governor to strengthen state research universities and
helped turn the City of Worcester, Mass., and the University of
Massachusetts’ medical school located there, into a leading
center for biotechnology research. Dukakis said Kerry has always
believed the federal government should take “an aggressive
role” in education. “You can’t be a senator in
Massachusetts and not understand the importance of the research
university,” Dukakis said. “And he’s always been
a strong supporter of federal financial aid.” It
is Kerry’s support for financial aid that attracts many
higher education associations. Education officials usually
encourage the government to fund grants over student loan programs
because grants do not need to be paid back. “With the Pell
Grants, (Kerry) has been very consistent in his support there, and
that’s a recognition that the Pell Grant program is the
backbone of federal support for higher education,” said
Richard Harpel, the director of federal relations for the
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.
A big education issue that will likely be at the forefront of
the presidential race is Bush’s No Child Left
Behind Act, which requires students in primary and
secondary schools nationwide to meet standards through proficiency
tests. Schools that receive federal funding and fail to meet
standards can face sanctions. Kerry voted for the act, which
passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. But he
has since joined many Democrats and some Republicans in saying
the act is underfunded and sets impractical standards. The Bush
administration has criticized Kerry for changing his position
and says Bush has fully funded the act. But Bush’s
criticism will probably not have a big impact on
Kerry’s record on education, said Elaine Kamarck, a
Harvard public policy professor and adviser to the Al Gore campaign
in 2000. “The Democrats did not anticipate the way it
was funded or under-implemented,” she said.
“People across the country are very angry about
what (the act’s supporters) are doing.”
Affirmative action Kerry has a solid record on
education, but his stance on affirmative action may be less clear.
Though Kerry has said he is a strong supporter of increasing
diversity at schools and the workplace, remarks he has made in the
past seem to indicate he has had reservations on this issue.
Currently, Kerry says he supports affirmative action, and he has
vigorously defended his stance against critics. When Missouri Rep.
Richard Gephardt, once a fellow candidate for the Democratic
nomination, questioned Kerry’s position on affirmative
action, Kerry responded quickly. “I have fought for civil
rights and equal opportunity for every American my whole life. …
I have worked to open the doors of opportunity for every citizen so
that we all can fully participate in the American dream,” he
said in a statement. His voting record bears him out. In 1995, he
voted against a bill that would have banned affirmative action
practices when it involved funds from the legislative branch. And
in 1998 he voted to kill an amendment that would have repealed the
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, which requires the
federal government to give at least 10 percent of its construction
projects to businesses owned by minorities or women. After the U.S.
Supreme Court voted to uphold affirmative action practices at the
University of Michigan in June, Kerry released a statement praising
the university for working “hard to create an admissions
program that recognizes diversity” and encouraging the
country to “take common sense steps to ensure that our
schools and workplaces reflect the full face of America.” But
critics have wondered whether Kerry’s position was always so
clear-cut, pointing to a speech Kerry made at Yale University in
1992. Kerry professed his support for affirmative action in the
speech, but also described a “negative side” to the
consideration of race and gender. Kerry suggested affirmative
action comes at a cost, saying: “Not only by legislation, but
by administrative order and court decree, a vast and bewildering
apparatus of affirmative action rules and guidelines has been
constructed.” “And somewhere within that vast apparatus
conjured up to fight racism there exists a reality of reverse
discrimination that actually engenders racism,” he said.
Kerry’s remarks caused concern among leaders of
national civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the
Rainbow/PUSH coalition. Some questioned whether Kerry was being
deliberately vague on the issue to pander to white voters. Since
then, Kerry has sought to clarify his remarks. And as the senator
draws closer to seizing the Democratic nomination and looks toward
minority groups who typically vote Democratic, it is less likely
people will question his stance on affirmative action. Rev. Jesse
Jackson, a national civil rights leader, said he is not concerned
about remarks Kerry has made in the past. “I am convinced, as
a Democratic nominee, (Kerry’s) support for affirmative
action and workers’ rights will be a clear one,” he
said.
A minor role for education As a senator largely
concerned with heading investigations and crafting foreign policy,
Kerry hasn’t had many opportunities to take the lead on
education legislation. But his record so far has been
“encouraging,” Harpel said. It is uncertain how
great of a part education will have in November
2004. In an election year where national security and the
economy will be the most prominent issues on voters’ minds,
education ““ especially higher education ““ will
most likely be relegated to a minor role. “If higher
education ever became a key platform from which a presidential
candidate would campaign, I would be shocked,” Harpel
said.