The federal legislative process can be complicated and confusing. To help teachers, education support personnel, and parents follow education priorities through the legislative process, this web page will walk viewers through the labyrinth of lawmaking. We will use two “case studies” – the ESEA reauthorization, and the FY2002 budget process. Answers to some general frequently asked questions about the legislative process are also available.

A Case Study: The ESEA Reauthorization

This is a big year for federally-funded education programs. The landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) must be “re-authorized.” ESEA includes more than 40 programs. The best known is Title I, which provides supplementary reading and math instruction to economically disadvantaged children. ESEA also includes a reading initiative, professional development programs, technology assistance, and much more. Any change in ESEA programs and the funding they receive directly affects classrooms across the country.

What does reauthorization mean? Congress “authorizes” or creates new programs and “re-authorizes” or continues existing programs. ESEA was reauthorized for five years in 1994. The five-year period has now ended and Congress must act to continue the programs contained in ESEA. This reauthorization process will set the ground rules for the ESEA programs for the next five years.

The ESEA reauthorization will specify the maximum amount of funding that can be spent on each ESEA program in any one year. This “permission to spend” is called the “authorization level.” (The authorization level is not the same thing as the “appropriation” level. The appropriation level, which is the actual amount Congress decides to spend on the program in a specific year, can be any amount up to the authorization level. The process for deciding specific program funding is described in the FY2002 budget “case study”).

Who will make the decisions about ESEA programs? Members of Congress have differences of opinion about the future structure and rules of ESEA programs. Committees will make the first decisions. Then the full House or Senate will vote.

In 1999-2000, the House passed a series of bills that would have reauthorized or otherwise impacted on ESEA programs. The Senate did not pass any ESEA bill. Because work was not completed, the bills passed by the House do not carry over into the new Congress. Both the House and Senate need to start over from the beginning.

The process will once again be much the same as in state legislatures. First, an ESEA bill(s) will be assigned to a committee. In the House, ESEA is in the jurisdiction of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. In the Senate, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions has responsibility for ESEA. The committee chair may then assign the bill(s) to a subcommittee. In the House, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families has worked on ESEA reauthorization. The Senate full committee will probably continue to do all the ESEA reauthorization work itself without referring bills to a subcommittee.

The committee or subcommittee will hold hearings and hear testimony from individuals and organizations interested in ESEA programs. The committee or subcommittee will then hold a “mark-up” where members will debate the bill(s) and discuss possible amendments.

Once each chamber passes the ESEA bill(s), the bill(s) will be forwarded to a conference committee, which will be made up of members of both the House and the Senate. The conference committee will work out differences between the two versions of the bill(s) and then forward the “conference report” back to the House and Senate for final passage. The House and Senate must agree to the same language before the ESEA bill(s) will become law.

What about ESEA funding? One could say that with reauthorization, ESEA programs will simply live to fight another day. The ESEA reauthorization will make the ESEA programs eligible for funding within the “permission to spend” limit, or authorization level, set forth in the bill. The reauthorization will not, however, provide actual funds for any ESEA program. Funding for ESEA programs -- like for all education programs -- will be decided through the FY2002 budget and appropriations process.

Education Insider and the NEA Legislative Action Center will provide updates as the ESEA Reauthorization debate progresses.

A Case Study: The FY2002 Budget

This year, as in every year, Congress must put together a spending plan for the coming Fiscal Year. Our government’s budget year or “Fiscal Year” (FY) runs from October 1st through September 30th of each year. Fiscal Year 2001 began on October 1, 2000 and will end on September 30, 2001.

Education programs are “discretionary” which means they depend on the budget and appropriations process each year for their survival. Congress can fund them at any level up to their maximum authorization level. Congress could even decide to provide no funding at all for some programs. The ultimate fate of education and children’s programs -- including ESEA in whatever form Congress reauthorizes it, Pell Grants, Head Start, and many more -- rests with the FY 2002 Budget.

This is different from the process for some programs like Social Security and Medicare, which are “mandatory.” Congress can reduce spending for mandatory programs like Social Security only by changing the ground rules to make fewer people eligible, not by reducing the funding for the Social Security program.

The funding process consists of two parts: the budget resolution, and the individual appropriations bills. Congress has a deadline of April 15th to finish the budget resolution. Once that is complete, Congress will turn to the 13 appropriations bills.

Step 1: The Budget Resolution. Each spring, Congress must develop the Budget Resolution -- a spending plan for the next Fiscal Year. The Budget Resolution does not fund any individual program. It simply provides a blueprint for spending.

Step 2: The Powerful Appropriations Committees. Once the House and Senate have finished work on the FY 2002 Budget Resolution, the appropriations process moves into full swing. The House and the Senate each have appropriations committees that will recommend FY 2002 funding for individual programs. The appropriations committees are divided into subcommittees, with each assigned specific areas of the budget. Education funding falls under the House Labor, HHS (Health and Human Services), and Education Subcommittee, and the Senate Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

The appropriations subcommittees will take the broad funding guidelines in the FY 2002 Budget Resolution and divide that funding up among the specific programs under their control. Each subcommittee will “mark-up” a spending bill for programs in its assigned budget areas. Department of Education programs – including all the ESEA programs – as well as Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Labor programs, will be funded out of one pool. The subcommittees will each move their bills through the full Appropriations Committee to the full House and Senate where each bill will be voted on separately. The final Fiscal Year 2002 budget will be, therefore, a quilt made up of thirteen separate bills.

How will the President fit into the mix? The President will submit his FY 2002 budget proposal to Congress in early February. It is a statement of the President’s priorities. While the ultimate budget authority rests with Congress, the President holds veto power over the appropriations bills approved by Congress.

Education Insider and the NEA Legislative Action Center will provide updates as the FY2002 budget debate progresses.