Early Childhood’s Slice of the SAFRA Pie

Congress is getting ready to vote on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, and our fellow bloggers here in New America’s Education Policy program have been preparing for a wild ride. The bill would eliminate the guaranteed lending program, resulting in savings that would be redirected toward other education programs and Pell grants.

Happily for early education advocates, a small slice of the savings would be spent on improving state’s systems of childcare and education for children birth to age 5.

At Ed Money Watch, our colleagues have analyzed the budget data in the bill, creating a helpful table that shows exactly how many billions will be saved and how many will be spent over the next five years. Using that data, we’ve created this chart to show you early childhood’s piece of the pie.

If the bill passes, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that $30.3 billion of the savings in the first five years would be redirected to other programs. Of that spending, $3.7 billion — 12 percent — would go toward Early Learning Challenge Grants.

Note that this chart is based on five years of outlays, not 10. (Yes, this can get confusing, since the Early Learning Challenge Fund was originally introduced as a 10-year, $10 billion program.) Also note that this is based on how much money would actually be distributed, which for technical budgeting reasons is slightly different than how much is authorized.

So far, the bill has cleared the House Education and Labor Committee. A vote on the floor of the House is slated for later this week. For everyone interested in improving the systems of early education and care in this country, the fate of this bill over the next several weeks is must-see TV. Here at Early Ed Watch, we’ll keep you apprised of what happens.