The author reports on House and Senate bills that take different stances toward funding formula-grant programs and Obama administration initiatives. Key education programs, including Title I grants for disadvantaged students and aid for special education, would get flat funding for the 2012 fiscal year under a measure approved Sept. 21 by the Democratic-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee. But the administration's prized Race to the Top program, its Investing in Innovation Fund, and the School Improvement Grant program would be extended. By contrast, the funding proposal before the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee would include big boosts for special education and Title I. But the bill would also scrap funding for 31 education programs--including the Race to the Top, i3, and the Promise Neighborhoods initiative, prominent parts of the administration's education redesign agenda. Education analysts see some political posturing behind the proposal in the House. But U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg, the author of the House legislation, said that the proposal is about "investing in people and helping create the jobs they need to take care of their loved ones." He said the aim of the bill is to fund "things like education to empower innovation" while "freeing [people] from stifling government regulations."