Here’s a quick look at the news from last week (August 29-September 2) in Washington.

The House is expected to bring the charter bill (H.R. 2218, “Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act”) to the floor next week. The bill was passed by the Education & the Workforce Committee in June, with a bipartisan vote of 34-5.

The Education & the Workforce Committee held a field hearing last Tuesday in Las Vegas to examine local solutions to strengthen Federal job training programs. The hearing was attended by Chairman Kline, Rep. Joe Heck and Rep. Buck McKeon.

Chairman Kline appeared on “On the Record with Greta Van Susren” this week, to discuss the six month anniversary of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on waste and duplication in federal programs. During the interview, Kline indicated that a vote on an education reform bill will be likely in the coming weeks.

CONGRESS

Congress will return to session next week after the August recess.

ADMINISTRATION

The president will be laying out his jobs bill next week – press reports have indicated there may be funding proposed for job training of long-term unemployed, however, it’s not clear if that will eventually get into the package.  Its likely that funding for school construction/renovation and possibly assistance to retain and hire laid off teachers will be included. The President will address a joint session of Congress on Thursday, September 8 at 7 pm ET.