Congressman Lowenthal Asks Senate to Save Local Education Funds

Congressman Alan Lowenthal's office on Wednesday afternoon announced that the Long Beach-area U.S. Representative asked U.S. Senate leaders to oppose cuts to a critical youth program for California's 47th District. The announcement, and the letter to the Senate, follows:

 The letter, sent to California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, asked that the Senators oppose a budget amendment proposed by Senator John McCain that would eliminate all federal funding for the STARBASE Youth Program.

 The STARBASE program is run at student academies set up on existing military bases and focuses on elementary students, primarily fifth graders. The goal of the program is to motivate these students to explore Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) as they continue their education. The academies serve students that are historically under-represented in STEM. Students who live in inner cities or rural locations, those who are socio-economically disadvantaged, low in academic performance or have a disability are in the target group.

 The cuts threaten two new STARBASE facilities currently being constructed at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) that would serve an additional 4,000 students a year.

Text of the letter:

 Dear Senator,

 I am writing to ask you to oppose Senator McCain’s Amendment #50 to HR 933, the Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act. The amendment would cut all funding for the STARBASE Youth Program, a program that provides instruction for 5th grade underrepresented and low-income students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has invested in this program because the U.S. is lagging behind in graduating students in the STEM fields. These are critical subject areas for DOD as it has more vacant positions in the STEM fields than any other entity. The National Guard was chosen to run the program because it is a community based program and 5th grade was chosen because it is the age that directly precedes the time when students begin selecting subject matter electives in middle and high school. Thus, the program encourages students to select STEM subjects when they enter high school, college and make decisions about their career trajectory. This program is critical for helping train young Americans in the sciences so they can help our country remain competitive throughout the world.

In my district we are constructing two brand new STARBASE Youth Program Facilities at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) with $1 million in state funds and $750k in DOD funds. The facility will expand the current Sacramento STARBASE program by 4 classes, serving an additional 4000 students per year. Our current Sacramento facility has graduated 50,000 students since 1993.

Furthermore, the program is aimed at minority and female students, as well as Title 1 underserved schools which provide high numbers of free or reduced lunches to low-income and at-risk youth. It would be a shame to lose this important program and for these youth to not have the opportunity to excel in the STEM fields and contribute to our economy and nation. Please oppose any efforts to eliminate funding for the STARBASE Youth Program.

Sincerely,

Alan Lowenthal