Congressman David Scott’s Priorities and Leadership
Congressman Scott strongly supports major investments in early education and development through higher education and job training. As a proponent of our public school system, he has fought to increase federal funding and expand initiatives targeting underserved students and students with disabilities. He has also fought to increase teacher salaries and for the creation of incentives to attract and retain quality educators. Rep. Scott firmly believes in making college more affordable and career pathways more accessible to diversify our growing workforce.
Pre-K, Elementary and Secondary Education
Rep. Scott requested $17.47 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 funding for the National Head Start to support preschool education for our most vulnerable Georgia students.
As Ranking Member of the Agriculture Committee, Rep. Scott is dedicated to providing healthy and nutritious meals to all students. He cosponsored H.R.1269, the Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn Act, which would permanently increase the federal reimbursement rates for the school lunch and breakfast programs.
Rep. Scott requested $500 million in FY 2024 for the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program. Funds support need assessment, strategic planning, family engagement, and direct services to young children across the 13th District.
In January 2024, due to the recent rise in antisemitism, Rep. Scott cosponsored H.R.603, the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act, a bill to research best practices and curriculums to teach the history of the Holocaust across the country.
Rep. Scott submitted the highest possible FY 2024 funding request for Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which provides hands-on career training for K-12 students.
Higher Education and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
Rep. Scott leads the charge in the Congress to provide scholarships to 1890s Land Grant Institutions for students pursuing agriculture-related degrees, and introduced H.R. 1436, which would make the scholarship program permanent.
In his effort to expand and diversify STEM, Rep. Scott introduced H.R. 2475, the Making Advances Kinetic Education, Research, and Skills (MAKERS) Act, which would provide grants to HBCUs, MSIs, and community colleges to expand their makerspaces.
In July 2023, Rep. Scott cosponsored H.R. 4515, the Performance, Resources, Inclusion, Matters, for Equity (PRIME) Act, to invest in athletic programs at HBCUs and MSIs.
Rep. Scott requested a FY 2024 funding level of $102.3 million for strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions (HBGI).
College Affordability
Rep. Scott requested the Pell grant program in FY 2024 be increased, so the maximum individual award could be $13,000—which is nearly double the current student award.
Rep. Scott submitted a FY 2024 request for $2.654 billion for the Student Aid Administration, which oversees the FAFSA application.
Rep. Scott requested a funding level of $1.298 billion for Federal TRIO Programs, which are designed to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds in k-12 and college.
Rep. Scott also submitted several requests to support future healthcare workers, including $738 million for Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program (CHGME).
COVID-19 Recovery
In July 2023, Rep. Scott cosponsored H.R. 5049, the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, to invest in school infrastructure and safe classrooms, while also creating millions of jobs.
To help with COVID learning gaps, Rep. Scott cosponsored H.R. 4442, the Expanding Access to High-Impact Tutoring Act of 2023.
To better prepare students to participate in today’s economy, Rep. Scott cosponsored H.R. 2943, the Student Empowerment and Financial Literacy Act.
Rep. Scott submitted a FY 2024 request to provide a funding level of $1.48 billion for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Program, which includes funding for school mental health services and new technologies in the classroom.
Students with Disabilities
To better include students with disabilities in arts courses, Rep. Scott introduced H.R. 7261, the Reimagining Inclusive Arts Education Act, which would provide grants for arts educators to gain professional development opportunities for working with disabled kids.
In September 2023, Rep. Scott cosponsored H.R.4519, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Full Funding Act, which would raise the annual federal funding contribution to support students with disabilities.
Rep. Scott submitted a FY 2024 request of $932 million for Part C Early Intervention and Part B Section 619 Preschool Special Education of the IDEA.
For college students with disabilities, getting housing should be seamless, that is why he cosponsored H.R. 2401, the Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act.
Safety and Mental Health
Rep. Scott is committed to preserving the safety of students and is a cosponsor of H.R. 6031, the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would require K-12 schools to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment.
In October 2023, Rep. Scott cosponsored H.R. 5646, the Stop Campus Hazing Act, which would require hazing incidents be included in a college’s annual crime report and require higher education institutions to establish a campus-wide, research-based program to educate students about the dangers of hazing.
Rep. Scott voted in favor of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which became law in 2022 and provides funding for school safety initiatives, out-of-school programs, and school mental health counselors, to ensure that our young people are protected from the ravages of gun violence.
