Federal Legislative Update Archives
February 2000


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February 25, 2000
February 18, 2000
February 11, 2000
February 4, 2000


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02/25/00
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News from Capitol Hill...

The House and Senate are in session this week working on bills important to children and public education. Friends of children and public education need to be busy too.

URGENT! – VOTE ON EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS LOOMS

The full Senate is set to vote next Tuesday on the Education Savings Account scheme inserted by Senator Coverdell of Georgia into S.1134, the Affordable Education Act of 1999. The bill allows families that send their children to private and religious schools to pay for the tuition using federal tax subsidies.

The bill is flawed. It diverts revenue away from public schools, helps only those families that can already afford private school tuition, and does nothing for the problems facing our public schools: overcrowding, difficulties in recruiting and retaining quality educators, and the lack of resources to meet high standards.

Contact your Senators now before it is too late. Urge them to vote against invoking cloture on the bill and against passage. Send them the Message that:

• Education Savings Accounts are a bad idea.
• They do nothing to alleviate the problems facing our public schools.
• They only help those already attending private schools.
• Every child and family deserves a quality education.
• Visit our Legislative Action Center at http://www.nea.org/lac



THE GREAT ESEA DEBATE

What “The Great Debate” is all about. - No single education bill has a broader impact on schools than ESEA. It not only includes the landmark Title I program, but also the Eisenhower Professional Development Program, class size reduction, reading initiatives, Safe and Drug-Free Schools, and more – some 42 programs in all. These programs work together to support more effective schools. www.nea.org/lac/esea

Money or Principle? - Every year, Congress decides whether to and at what level to fund each program. This year, Congress will also reauthorize ESEA – and decide whether ESEA programs will be continued, amended, abolished, or rolled into block grants. The policy and funding debates converge as ESEA is debated.

ESEA in the Senate. – The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) is scheduled to take up the Senate ESEA bill beginning on March 1. The draft before the committee includes good provisions for programs such as Title I and bilingual education. However, it jeopardizes key programs that help students achieve high standards.

The committee proposal eliminates the class size reduction program and guaranteed funding for Eisenhower Professional Development grants. These programs would be rolled into a block grant with no guarantee that any of the funds would be spent to reduce class size by hiring additional teachers or for professional development.

The so-called "Straight A's" plan -- now included in the committee draft -- would allow Governors to block grant virtually all federal education programs in their states. The result: states could abandon targeting resources to high-need schools and, instead, direct federal funds to voucher programs.

Through your U.S. Senators, urge the Senate HELP committee to:

• oppose the Straight A's provisions and any voucher amendments;
• support the Murray amendment (Patty Murray-WA) to maintain and expand the class size reduction program (the goal - 100,000 high-quality new teachers);
• support the Kennedy proposal (Edward Kennedy-MA) to provide additional resources targeted to high quality professional development;
• support the Harkin amendment (Tom Harkin-IA) to provide school modernization loans and grants for emergency school repairs.

MINIMUM WAGE

The House expects a vote on a bill introduced by Reps. Lazio of New York and Shimkus of Illinois to increase the minimum wage by 33 cents a year for the next three years (H.R. 3081). The wage increase is offset by substantial tax cuts to small businesses. NEA supports a compromise bill to be offered by Rep. Bonior of Michigan that accelerates the increase to 50 cents a year for the next two years and targets the tax package to businesses affected by the wage increase. Please contact your members of Congress in support of the Bonior amendment via NEA’s Legislative Action Center at http://www.nea.org/lac

GOVERNMENT PENSION OFFSET

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to complete action on the "Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act" (H.R. 5), a bill that would repeal the Social Security "earnings limit", whereby individuals age 65-69 would be allowed to work without receiving reduced Social Security benefits. Final committee action could occur by the end of February and the full House of Representatives may vote on the bill as early as March 2. Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) is the author of a bill supported by NEA (H.R.1217) which would modify the existing Social Security "pension offset" (that offsets Social Security benefits by two-thirds of any government pension), and he is seeking support from the leadership to offer this bill as an amendment to H.R. 5. Again, we need your help. THIS MAY BE THE ONLY ACTIVE SOCIAL SECURITY BILL IN THIS CONGRESS, AND OUR ONLY CHANCE TO FIX THE PENSION OFFSET PROVISIONS. Please contact your representatives and ask them to urge the leadership to include Rep. Jefferson's bill as a favorable amendment to H.R. 5.

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02/18/00
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News from Capitol Hill...

NO RECESS FOR ADVOCATES!

The Senate observed a “Presidents’ Day Recess” this week and did not meet. The House recesses today for the coming week, the annual "Presidents’ Day District Work Period." Both the House and Senate are again in session the week of the 28th.

For advocates, recesses are a reminder to get moving. This is an election year. Congress is hoping to adjourn by October 6 to go home to campaign. There are a number of recesses and District work periods scheduled through September. All of this means that Congress will be in session for a VERY LIMITED number of days this year, so we must move quickly on our legislative agenda.

THE UNFINISHED AGENDA

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - No single education bill has a broader impact on schools. The landmark Title I program is only one of some 42 ESEA programs, including professional development, class size reduction, and Safe and Drug-Free Schools. These programs work together to support more effective schools. Every five years, Congress determines whether ESEA programs are continued, amended, abolished, or rolled into block grants, and at what level they are funded. The process is called “reauthorization.”

The House began action last year, reauthorizing Title I, the bilingual, rural, gifted and talented, migrant, and homeless student programs. In a controversial vote strongly opposed by NEA, the House combined professional development and class size reduction in a block grant.

Last Wednesday, February 16, the House Education and the Workforce Committee passed two elements of ESEA, Impact Aid to schools impacted by federal activity in their area and the Even Start Family Literacy Program. The version of the Even Start program does include a new provision to allow religious entities to receive federal funds to provide family literacy services. NEA is studying the effects of this provision.

Senate votes begin on March 1 in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP)!

While the HELP committee ESEA draft bill contains good provisions for many programs such as Title I and bilingual education, some proposals threaten the work underway to help students achieve high standards. These proposals include

• eliminating a guaranteed source of federal funds for the Eisenhower Professional Development Program
• eliminating the class size reduction program

The draft bill would consolidate these programs into a block grant with no guarantee that any funds would be spent to hire additional teachers or for professional development. In fact, the draft bill would allow local school districts to spend virtually all their money under this program on signing bonuses or recruitment of teachers through alternative certification.

The draft bill would not authorize funding for the President's proposed repair and renovation grants and loans to help high-need schools pay for urgent repairs.

Abandoning needy students; funding vouchers. In addition to these harmful proposals in the draft bill, harmful amendments may be offered. For example, the so-called "Straight A's" plan would allow Governors to block grant virtually all federal education programs in their states. This would mean that states could abandon targeting resources to high-need schools and could direct federal education funds to voucher programs. Other amendments would create voucher programs.

THE FIFTEEN MINUTE ACTIVIST -- ESEA

If your Senator sits on the HELP Committee, contact him or her! If your Senators do not sit on the HELP Committee, please ask them to take your message to their colleagues on the HELP committee (see list below)!!

Urge the HELP Committee to:

• oppose the Straight A's amendment and any voucher amendments;
• support the Murray amendment (Patty Murray-WA) to maintain and expand the class size reduction program to reach the goal of 100,000 high-quality new teachers;
• support the Kennedy proposal (Edward Kennedy-MA) to provide additional resources targeted to high quality professional development;
• support the Harkin amendment (Tom Harkin-OH) to provide school modernization loans and grants .

Keeping our Eye on the Goal – The challenge is to keep our eye on the goal -- winning the tools that help students achieve high standards. Your stories about class size, the need for professional development, and your school building needs are powerful messages!

HELP COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Jeffords (VT), Gregg (NH), Frist (TN), DeWine (OH), Enzi (WY), Hutchinson (AR), Collins (ME), Brownback (KS), Hagel (NE), Sessions (AL), Kennedy (MA), Dodd (CT), Harkin (IA), Mikulski (MD), Bingaman (NM), Wellstone (MN), Murray (WA), and Reed (RI).

We must move aggressively. A new Congress will be elected in November. If this Congress fails to act on school modernization legislation, for example, we are back at the starting gate. In the next Congress, we will have to start all over again, getting a bill introduced, seeking co-sponsors and supporters, moving through the committee process in both the House and the Senate, etc.

“I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And that which I can do, I will do.” Helen Keller

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02/11/00
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News from Capitol Hill...

The Budget, Standards, Accountability

"There is a right way and a wrong way to approach standards. We need to make sure that children and teachers are getting the support they need to reach for high standards and that is why the investments in this budget are so important. …This is a good news budget for parents and teachers, a budget that is investing in the future of this nation."
Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education

THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET REQUEST -- OPPORTUNITY WITH RESPONSIBILITY

The President this week proposed an historic $40.095 billion for Department of Education programs, an increase of $4.5 billion or 12.6 percent, the largest ever. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 budget would affect the 2000-2001 school year.

The President's education plan gives a high priority to wiring classrooms for the Internet, hiring more teachers, fixing crumbling schoolhouses, and making college more affordable.

How does $40 billion look? We may not be able to visualize $40 billion, but we see what these dollars, at work in our schools, could do every day -- improving Title I, reducing class size, supporting teacher professional development, modernizing schools, increasing after-school opportunities, expanding access to college…and more.

Why the President's Priorities are Important. Budget authority rests with Congress. The President, however, holds veto power over the budget approved by Congress, and so the President’s priorities play a key role in budget negotiations. For example, the President has raised the stakes in the school modernization fight by making the issue a top priority in his budget message. www.nea.org/lac/funding.

MAKING THE SENSE OF THE WEEKS AHEAD

The budget process begins when the President submits his budget requests to Congress. The action then moves to Capitol Hill.

"The Budget Resolution." Congress first adopts a spending plan, the Budget Resolution. The Budget Resolution serves as a blueprint and establishes limits within which spending must fit. That's why it sets off heated debate. This year's debate will likely revolve around Social Security and "the Caps." i.e., spending caps set in the 1997 Balanced Budget Agreement. Every subsequent budget has been achieved only after artfully circumventing them. Approving the actual funding for programs comes later.

THE UNFINISHED AGENDA

The pressure to adjourn early and hit the campaign trail is greater than ever this year, and Congress has scheduled only 70 working days before the November elections. Congress must enact a budget. But it also has a weighty unfinished agenda.

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – No single education bill has a broader impact on schools. The landmark Title I program is only one of some 42 ESEA programs. These programs work together to support more effective schools. Every five years, Congress determines whether ESEA programs are continued, amended, abolished, or rolled into block grants, and at what level they are funded. The process is called “reauthorization.”
  
  The House began action last year, reauthorizing Title I, the bilingual, rural, gifted and talented, migrant, and homeless student programs. In a controversial vote, the House combined professional development and class size reduction in a block grant. The House has yet to act on the remaining ESEA programs. The Senate will begin debate soon. Majority Leader Trent Lott, describing the reauthorization debate to come, called it "pizza with the works!" www.nea.org/lac/esea

• School Safety - The House and Senate each passed juvenile justice bills last year. The Senate bill includes sensible gun safety provisions. The bills are stalled in conference committee.

• Rural Education - Legislation addresses the school funding crisis in rural, timber-dependent counties is pending in the Senate. The House has already passed a comparable bill.

• Social Security Reform - No action is expected this year.

Note! House Speaker Dennis Hastert (IL) announced early on that passage of Education Savings Accounts (the so-called Coverdell bill) is a top Leadership priority. NEA opposes this proposal that would provide over $2 billion in federal subsidies for private and religious schools.

Watch for ongoing efforts to amend voucher and/or tuition-tax-credit language into bills, no matter the subject of the bill. The Senate-passed Bankruptcy Bill, for example, includes the so-called "Safe Schools" amendment (Hatch-UT) that would provide vouchers for private and religious school tuition to victims of school violence. The House bill does not include voucher language.

THE 15-MINUTE ACTIVIST

Keeping our Eye on the Goal –
The budget process is often long and convoluted. The challenge is to keep our eye on the goal -- winning the tools that help students achieve high standards. www.nea.org/lac/funding

.
1. Tell the NEA Lobbying Team what your school needs to be a 21st century learning center. E-mail your thoughts to myschool@list.nea.org.

2. Then send your message to Congress: Make education funding a priority! America’s public school children are counting on us. www.nea.org/lac/funding.
   
   

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   02/11/00
   [return to top]

   News from Capitol Hill...

   The Budget, Standards, Accountability

   "There is a right way and a wrong way to approach standards. We need to make sure that children and teachers are getting the support they need to reach for high standards and that is why the investments in this budget are so important. …This is a good news budget for parents and teachers, a budget that is investing in the future of this nation."
   Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education

   THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET REQUEST -- OPPORTUNITY WITH RESPONSIBILITY

   The President this week proposed an historic $40.095 billion for Department of Education programs, an increase of $4.5 billion or 12.6 percent, the largest ever. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 budget would affect the 2000-2001 school year.

   The President's education plan gives a high priority to wiring classrooms for the Internet, hiring more teachers, fixing crumbling schoolhouses, and making college more affordable.

   How does $40 billion look? We may not be able to visualize $40 billion, but we see what these dollars, at work in our schools, could do every day -- improving Title I, reducing class size, supporting teacher professional development, modernizing schools, increasing after-school opportunities, expanding access to college…and more.

   Why the President's Priorities are Important. Budget authority rests with Congress. The President, however, holds veto power over the budget approved by Congress, and so the President’s priorities play a key role in budget negotiations. For example, the President has raised the stakes in the school modernization fight by making the issue a top priority in his budget message. www.nea.org/lac/funding.

   MAKING THE SENSE OF THE WEEKS AHEAD

   The budget process begins when the President submits his budget requests to Congress. The action then moves to Capitol Hill.

   "The Budget Resolution." Congress first adopts a spending plan, the Budget Resolution. The Budget Resolution serves as a blueprint and establishes limits within which spending must fit. That's why it sets off heated debate. This year's debate will likely revolve around Social Security and "the Caps." i.e., spending caps set in the 1997 Balanced Budget Agreement. Every subsequent budget has been achieved only after artfully circumventing them. Approving the actual funding for programs comes later.

   THE UNFINISHED AGENDA

   The pressure to adjourn early and hit the campaign trail is greater than ever this year, and Congress has scheduled only 70 working days before the November elections. Congress must enact a budget. But it also has a weighty unfinished agenda.

   • Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – No single education bill has a broader impact on schools. The landmark Title I program is only one of some 42 ESEA programs. These programs work together to support more effective schools. Every five years, Congress determines whether ESEA programs are continued, amended, abolished, or rolled into block grants, and at what level they are funded. The process is called “reauthorization.”
     
     The House began action last year, reauthorizing Title I, the bilingual, rural, gifted and talented, migrant, and homeless student programs. In a controversial vote, the House combined professional development and class size reduction in a block grant. The House has yet to act on the remaining ESEA programs. The Senate will begin debate soon. Majority Leader Trent Lott, describing the reauthorization debate to come, called it "pizza with the works!" www.nea.org/lac/esea

   • School Safety - The House and Senate each passed juvenile justice bills last year. The Senate bill includes sensible gun safety provisions. The bills are stalled in conference committee.

   • Rural Education - Legislation addresses the school funding crisis in rural, timber-dependent counties is pending in the Senate. The House has already passed a comparable bill.

   • Social Security Reform - No action is expected this year.

   Note! House Speaker Dennis Hastert (IL) announced early on that passage of Education Savings Accounts (the so-called Coverdell bill) is a top Leadership priority. NEA opposes this proposal that would provide over $2 billion in federal subsidies for private and religious schools.

   Watch for ongoing efforts to amend voucher and/or tuition-tax-credit language into bills, no matter the subject of the bill. The Senate-passed Bankruptcy Bill, for example, includes the so-called "Safe Schools" amendment (Hatch-UT) that would provide vouchers for private and religious school tuition to victims of school violence. The House bill does not include voucher language.

   THE 15-MINUTE ACTIVIST

   Keeping our Eye on the Goal –
   The budget process is often long and convoluted. The challenge is to keep our eye on the goal -- winning the tools that help students achieve high standards. www.nea.org/lac/funding

   .
   1. Tell the NEA Lobbying Team what your school needs to be a 21st century learning center. E-mail your thoughts to myschool@list.nea.org.

   2. Then send your message to Congress: Make education funding a priority! America’s public school children are counting on us. www.nea.org/lac/funding.

02/4/00
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News from Capitol Hill...

Measuring the Nation's Commitment - Education Funding
"Education spending accounts for two percent of the federal budget. For a nation so blessed, that's an unacceptable commitment to children and public education. President Clinton is challenging America to do better by its children. With more than enough resources now available, it is a challenge that deserves the full support of Congress and the American people." NEA President Bob Chase

THE FY2001 BUDGET AND YOUR CLASSROOM

Next week, the reckoning begins! On February 7, the president will release his budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001, affecting classrooms in the 2000-2001 school year. Reportedly, the president will request a $4.5 billion increase in education funding, the largest increase ever. www.nea.org/lac/funding

Quality Extended Learning Programs, not a "Field of Dreams"
The president will propose tripling the number of children served in after-school and summer school programs, from 850,000 to 2.5 million. NEA President Bob Chase talks of the "Field of Dreams' delusions: If we set high standards, the students will achieve." Teachers know that setting high standards and achieving them are very different. Quality extended learning programs, such as after-school and summer school, help improve student achievement.

Entering School Ready to Learn, a "Head Start" for 950,000 Children
The president will propose expanding Head Start and Early Head Start to serve 950,000 children. The president's goal is to serve one million children in 2002. In classrooms, the gap widens between children who come to school with early childhood education and children who do not. These children can achieve a miracle of progress, but still end the school year below grade level. Head Start provides comprehensive child development and helps low-income children come to school ready to learn.

"Every School a Quality School," Responsibility with Opportunity
The president will ask Congress to double the "accountability fund," providing resources to help low-performing schools turn around and to recognize exemplary progress. Low-performing schools that fail to improve are subject to closing. Our goal is not school closings but schools that are effective for children. The "accountability fund" helps provide needed tools.

Recruiting, Training, and Rewarding Good Teachers
The president will ask Congress to fund high-quality, standards-based professional development, and incentives to attract and retain good teachers through higher standards and better pay.

The new Quality Counts report found that teachers make, on average, about $20,000 a year less than other professionals with comparable education. The more experience and the more education a teacher has, the greater the salary gap. "…ultimately, it is students who are harmed when we treat teachers as second-class citizens," NEA President Bob Chase said.

Smaller Classes in the Early Grades
The president will call on Congress to fund 49,000 teachers under the class size reduction program and bring us nearly halfway to the long-term goal of hiring 100,000 high quality teachers. New teachers hired under this program must be qualified.

Smaller classes enable teachers to spend more time on instruction and less time on discipline and to give each student greater individual attention. Research shows what teachers and parents have long known: students in smaller classes in the early grades make more rapid progress.

Safe, Healthy, Modern Classrooms - Local/State/Federal Partnership
The president will challenge Congress to partner with states and local communities to modernize school buildings. One-third of all school buildings need extensive repairs. And the "baby boom echo" is straining school facilities.

Under the president's proposal, if a local community or a state approved a bond for school repair or construction, the federal government would pay the interest. A smaller interest-free loan and grant program would help school districts with urgent repair needs, such as bringing buildings up to safety codes.

Research shows that well-maintained surroundings, acoustics, and lighting affect student learning. Imagine, if you paid no interest on your mortgage or your remodeling loan, how much farther those dollars would go!

THE 15-MINUTE ACTIVIST

Goal: Build support for legislation that supports children and public education.
What You Can Do: Tell the NEA Lobbying Team what your school or classroom needs to be a 21st century learning center? E-mail your thoughts to myschool@list.nea.org.

Be informed.
For information on the issues and lobbying tips, go to www.nea.org/lac/modern

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