As Congress works to prepare legislation that will allocate funds throughout the government, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is making the rounds on Capitol Hill to defend President Obama's FY2015 education budget request. Yesterday, Secretary Duncan appeared before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Republican members of the Committee urged Duncan to work actively with Congress to reauthorize the Early and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)—also known as NCLB—rather than focusing on waivers for states. Meanwhile, Democrats encouraged the Department to increase its focus on student equity throughout the waiver process. Both parties advocated for increased funding and better prioritization for special education. Secretary Duncan told members that he is eager to work on bipartisan, meaningful efforts to reauthorize ESEA but suggested such plans have not surfaced. He also said the Department remains focused on equity and argued that President Obama requested an increase in special education funding. Today, the Secretary headed back to the Capitol to testify before a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Topics of discussion again included increased funding for special education and undesirable aspects of the Secretary's waiver process. In addition, Senators touched on funding for Pre-K and charter schools. Check out this blog post for additional insight on today's hearing. Earlier this month, the Secretary appeared before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations.