Two education news outlets recently asked Penn Hill Group Principal Vic Klatt to weigh in on the retirement of California Congressman George Miller, the senior Democratic member on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce:

In a January 14 Education Week article:

“Miller’s embrace of policies such as merit pay have landed him in hot water with traditional Democratic constituencies, recalled Vic Klatt, a longtime aide to Republicans on the House education committee. For instance, back in 2007, Miller released a draft bill reauthorizing the NCLB law that would have required states to take student outcomes into account when determining which teachers would be eligible for bonus pay. That sparked vigorous opposition from the California Teachers Association, an affiliate of the National Education Association.

“He really went out a limb to support the right policy on teacher issues, even if it was not in his political interest to do so,” said Klatt, who is now a principal at Penn Hill Group, a government relations firm in Washington. “He took on a key constituency and paid a price for it.”

And in a January 14 Inside Higher Ed piece:

“Victor Klatt, a former Republican staff director on the committee who is principal of Penn Hill Group, said that Miller’s departure for Congress leaves “a huge void” of institutional knowledge of education issues on Capitol Hill.

“For probably two decades now, George Miller has been the go-to person on education issues for Democrats,” Klatt said. “He knows how to get things done and has connections that are unmatched on the Democratic side.”

“This is a sea change for education policy makers and for anyone who follows education policy at the federal level,” Klatt said.”