K-12 Champion Sets Departure From Congress

The pending departure of the top lawmaker overseeing education spending in the U.S. House of Representatives—a stalwart backer of expansive federal K-12 funding—is drawing sharply divided responses from various sides of the policy landscape.

Rep. David R. Obey, D-Wis., who serves as the chairman of both the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, said May 5 that he is retiring from Congress after nearly 42 years.

“He’s definitely one of the most tenacious and aggressive advocates” for K-12 funding, said Joel Packer, the executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a lobbying coalition based in Washington. “He is going to...