In 2021 and 2022, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) had some rather troubling votes on amendments that could have helped students struggling from pandemic learning loss. Those votes are coming under scrutiny as Brown is now in a tough reelection battle.
On August 7, 2022, Brown voted against recommitting HR 5376 to Committee, a move from Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) which would have eliminated additional IRS funding. It would instead have established an individual "child opportunity tax credit" to address "learning loss" of students due to the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures. The motion failed with a 50-50 vote.
This was not the only instance in which Brown voted against the interests of schoolchildren with regards to the pandemic.
On August 10, 2021, Brown also voted against S.Amdt. 3073 to S.Con.Res. 14, an amendment from Scott that would have amended Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) bill on setting the budget for fiscal years 2023-2031.
Scott's amendment would have sent students back to school full-time, though, for in-person learning at elementary, middle, and high schools. It failed to pass on a 49-50 vote.
"To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to helping students, particularly students who are low-income or minorities or who have special needs, that suffered from school closures pushed by teacher labor organizations that ignored the science and ensuring that all schools should be open for in-person learning 5 days a week for the 2021-2022 school year," the statement of purpose for Scott's amendment read.
And, as Congress.gov explained about the amendment:
The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution, and make adjustments to the pay-as-you-go ledger, for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports relating to elementary schools and secondary schools, which may include ensuring that all elementary schools and secondary schools are open full-time for in person learning for 100 percent of students, by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2022 through 2031.
It wasn't until the end of December 2021 that nearly all schools were back to in-person learning, more than a year after students were forced online for learning.
The data that came out during the pandemic and the years since have confirmed learning loss and stunted growth assessments. Nationwide, students experienced low test scores as a result of the "appalling" setbacks due to the pandemic, which The New York Times reported in late October 2022 was the "steepest decline ever recorded" in math scores. When it comes to Brown's state of Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch published a guest column in late September 2022 warning that "An 'educational disaster' is rocking kids in Columbus, rest of Ohio, researcher says." High school teenagers also experienced mental health challenges during the pandemic.
"After shutting the country down and locking children out of their schools for years, instead of investing in their education, Sherrod Brown voted to use that money to fund an army of IRS agents to harass everyday Americans. Ohio families can’t afford another six years of Brown’s radical agenda," NRSC Spokesman Philip Letsou said in a statement for Townhall.
Brown is running in a true "Toss-Up" race against Republican challenger Bernie Moreno. Whichever party wins this race could end up controlling the Senate. Republicans currently have a 71 percent chance of winning control of the chamber, per Decision Desk HQ.