Last week, millions of people descended on the nation's capital to take part in the historic inauguration festivities surrounding the swearing-in of Barack Obama as our 44th president. Beyond the pomp and circumstance, parties and traffic jams, it was a moving and memorable experience for those who braved the cold and endless security lines to watch history in the making.

The new president announced intentions to instill a new spirit of bi-partisanship. It seemed to work pretty well until the members of the House and Senate started talking about money. On that topic all bets are off. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, weighing in at a whopping $825 billion, was the major source of partisan strain. Several committees in the House held mark-ups on the measure, and although the bill is moving through the process, it is doing so absent any Republican support. In the Senate, a bill was anticipated for review last Friday; however, it has yet to see the light of day. Again, the job of getting enough consensuses about size and solutions to move forward appears to be at issue.

In an effort to bridge this divide, Obama has met with Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate to talk about the economy, why he believes the stimulus package is vital and to hear the minority party's views. In short, Republicans feel the bill is short on taxes and long on spending and, in their view, is not likely to spur job creation. Congress has set Feb. 13 as the date the bill must reach the president. If Congress fails to meet this deadline there will be no recess the following week. It is a tactic that generally gets results.

If enacted, the stimulus package would bring welcome relief to just about everyone. For education programs alone it offers $150 billion in new aid. These funds include $13 billion for the Title I program, $13 billion for special education, $15.6 billion for increased Pell Grants, $20 billion for K-12 and higher education modernization and construction projects and $79 billion for a governor stabilization fund that can be used to prevent program and job losses in education and other priority areas. And this is just on the spending side. Many tax provisions under consideration are also beneficial to education and educators.

Building enough bi-partisan support for the stimulus legislation to succeed is a tremendous first challenge for Obama. If he succeeds, it will serve as a good omen for the many other difficult struggles he will face in the months ahead, both at home and abroad.

On Jan. 20, after the congressional luncheon held for the inauguration of President Obama, a number of Cabinet appointees were confirmed, including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Duncan was unanimously confirmed by members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. There was enthusiasm for the nomination on both sides of the aisle, and his confirmation was smooth, as predicted.

At his confirmation hearing on Jan. 13, Duncan outlined his three major goals if confirmed as secretary of Education: 1) improving access to high-quality early childhood programs, 2) raising standards for K-12 schools and improving teacher quality and 3) improving access to and affordability of post-secondary education. He also urged a lengthening of the school day and the school year. Duncan pledged to expand opportunities for the extraordinary teachers across the country to become better leaders and to shine a bright light on the "pockets of excellence" that do exist. He shared that his experience has taught him that if better opportunities are offered, innovation is supported and excellence is rewarded, schools can be transformed. During the seven years he served as Chicag Public School's CEO he saw positive improvements among all indicators of success.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, congratulated Duncan on his confirmation. Miller stated, "As President Obama said yesterday, transforming our schools and colleges will be one of the most important things we can do to rebuild our economy and our country. This swift confirmation will allow Secretary Duncan to get started on this mission right away."

Duncan has yet to announce permanent appointments for the top positions within the Department of Education, and until these appointments are made, several career ED employees have been filling these positions. Philip Link is currently serving as the acting deputy secretary; Joe Conaty is serving as the acting assistant secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; and Vickie Schray is serving as the ating under secretary and acting assistant secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education.

The Senate confirmed six members of President Obama's cabinet on Jan. 20, including Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

During the Senate Agriculture Committee confirmation hearing of former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), committee chair, said Vilsack's confirmation will lead to a new focus on nutrition, conservation, energy and promoting the rural economy for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, was confirmed as the new secretary of Energy by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. As the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) at the University of California, Berkley, Chu has been a strong advocate for research and development in the area of clean, efficient energy technologies. Former Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) repeatedly emphasized during his confirmation hearing the importance of putting science first in the decision-making process of the Department of the Interior, pledging to pursue research in new energy technologies and resources.

On Jan. 21, the Senate confirmed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state in a 94-2 vote. Senators voting against Clinton's nomination were Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and David Vitter (R-La.).

The confirmation of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) as secretary of health and human services has been delayed while the Senate Finance Committee examines his tax records. Daschle's aides view this simply as a bottleneck and are confident he will be confirmed in the near future. Several cabinet members are still awaiting Senate confirmation including: Timothy Geithner (Treasury), Eric Holder (Justice), Jane Lubchenco (Commerce), Hilda Solis (Labor), Tom Daschle (Health and Human Services), Shaun Donovan (Housing and Urban Development) and Ray LaHood (Transportation).

ED Releases Report on NCLB Implementation: Recently, the Department of Education released a new report on the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The new report, State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, Volume VI - Targeting and Uses of Federal Education Funds, presents findings on the targeting and uses of federal education funds for six federal education programs, based on data from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) of NCLB. The six programs studied include: Title I, Part A; Reading First; Comprehensive School Reform (CSR); Title II, Part A; Title III, Part A; and Perkins Vocational Education State Grants. According to the department, the report describes how well federal funds are targeted to economically disadvantaged students, how Title I targeting has changed over the past seven years, how districts have spent federal funds and the base of state and local resources to which federal funds are added. The findings show that federal funds were more targeted to high-poverty districts than state and local funds but did not close the funding gap between high- and low-poverty districts. Read the full report.

Miller Announces Ed and Labor Subcommittee Chairs: On Jan. 20, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, announced the subcommittee chairs for the committee in the 111th Congress. The committee also held its official organizing meeting. Miller congratulated the subcommittee chairs for the committee's five panels: Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.), chair, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education; Rob Andrews (D-N.J.), chair, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions; Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), chair, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections; Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), chair, Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness; and Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), chair, Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities. Miller said, "With so many challenges ahead, their fresh ideas, energy and diverse views will be crucial as we work to jumpstart our economy and improve the lives of America's students, families and workers. I look forward to working with all our members and welcome them to the committee."