U.S. House Passes Bill That Could Limit Syrian Refugees

Republicans wanted the money to follow the student, and it was included in the version of the education bill that narrowly passed the House in July.

The House on Monday passed a bipartisan bill to extend the authorization for federal highway and transit programs – the 36th such road-funding stopgap since 2009.

However, the bill would let states decide whether or how to use students’ performance on tests to assess teachers, students and schools – ending federal efforts to tie those scores to teacher evaluations.

The talks did not result in a merged bill, however, as the House adjourned its last session of the year before the conference committee could resolve the issue. If the current vetting process really is as exacting and thorough as the White House insists it is (I’m still perplexed as to how reliable background checks are even possible amid such total chaos), they’re doing an abysmally bad job selling it. Not just to Republicans, but to Democrats – at both the state and federal level.

Both the House and Senate have passed separate measures that would set transportation policy for the next six years.

As recently as last summer, the House and the Senate remained far apart, with the House passing a conservative version that President Barack Obama promised to veto.

The full text of the bill will be available November 30, and the House is expected to vote the first week of December, said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., chairman of the House education committee.

Congress has tried for years to update the Bush-era law.

To the extent practicable, the Secretary [of Transportation] shall encourage the use of durable, resilient, and sustainable materials and practices, including the use of geosynthetic materials and other innovative technologies, in carrying out the activities of the Federal Highway Administration. “The bill we would propose would strictly limit that”, she said after attending a classified briefing with senior administration officials Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., introduced an amendment that would allow states to cap the time students spend on standardized testing. States are required only to set “challenging” academic standards that will prepare students to enter universities or career and technical colleges. Critics have complained there is too much testing and the law is too punitive for schools deemed to be failing.

While he acknowledged that the language may be a tough pill to swallow for Senate Democrats like Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Inhofe said that the push to boost funding over a shorter period of time adds pressure to accept the NEPA provisions. “Green energy is extremely important, but I think we need to watch for the ratepayer and what is going on here, and that is probably the most hard part here”.

Democrats and Republicans generally agreed the replacement bill should shift a few power away from Washington and back to local school districts.