Federal Legislative Update Archives
    July 2000

      July 31, 2000
      July 21, 2000
      July 14, 2000

      07/31/00
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      News from Capitol Hill...

      FIFTEEN MINUTE ACTIVIST --

      • Congress is on recess, but not activists! During the August recess, urge your members of Congress to oppose block grant funding that eliminates critical programs, such as class size reduction, professional development and school modernization.

      • The most effective messages tell how smaller classes, professional growth opportunities, increased resources for such programs as Title I and Reading Excellence, and a learning-friendly school building would help students in your school. Just tell your story. www.nea.org/lac

      TO RECESS WITH AN UNFINISHED AGENDA

      Congress recessed in the evening hours on Thursday, July 27, with unfinished business. When Congress returns after Labor Day, only some four legislative weeks remain.

      • Education Funding - An Historic Increase and Bad Policy -- By week's end, the House-Senate Conference Committee -- charged with reconciling differences in the House and Senate-passed education spending bills -- agreed to the greatest overall increase ever for education programs -- above the original House, Senate, and even the President's proposals. However, the funding is linked to policies that undermine school improvement efforts.

        • Ignoring the Research - For example, contrary to the new Rand study on what works for student learning, class size reduction would be eliminated by block granting the funds, and funds would not be targeted to schools with the greatest needs. Dollars for school repair and renovation would also be block-granted, with no guarantee that the dollars would be used to make needed repairs.

        • The ‘End-Game’ - Spending bills are the only bills Congress MUST pass before adjourning. The House-Senate Conference Committee bill did not come before the full House and Senate for a vote before the recess. But the scene was set for “the end game” -- the Congress/Administration bargaining on education funding -- when Congress returns. www.nea.org/lac/funding

      • School Modernization – Stalled - A bipartisan House majority supports the school modernization tax-credit legislation (H.R. 4094) introduced by Representative Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY). No matter. The Leadership refuses to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. www.nea.org/lac/modern

      • Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - Stalled - NEA opposes the House-passed reauthorization bills and the Senate bill. The Senate bill (S.2) passed committee, but then faded from sight without a Senate vote. The bills allow governors to block grant most education programs and to turn Title I into a voucher program. http://www.nea.org/lac/esea

      • Rural Education - Stalled - NEA-supported legislation (S. 1608) addressing education funding in timber-dependent areas has been pending in the Senate for weeks. The House passed a companion bill (H.R. 2389) last year.

      • School Safety - Stalled - House and Senate-passed juvenile justice bills hare remain stalled in Conference Committee since last year. NEA supports critical gun safety provisions contained in the Senate bill.

      • Social Security Reform - Stalled - Congress repealed the earnings limit for persons over 65 years of age. The House voted to peel back a portion of the tax on Social Security benefits. But no action is expected on major Social Security reform. NEA supports reform that protects the economic security of families and the expansion of survivor benefits. NEA opposes mandatory coverage for public employees.

        • Offset - NEA and a broad coalition of public employee groups are pressing for elimination of the government pension offset to an unresponsive Congress. The House has failed -- throughout this Congress -- to allow even a committee vote on the Jefferson bill that would limit the offset’s economic hardship on public employees.

        • Portability - NEA-supported public pension portability legislation passed the House by an overwhelming margin (H.R.1102). The Senate, however, has yet to act.

      BUILDING BETTER SCHOOLS WEEK
      INVITE CONGRESS! -- AUGUST 21 - 26

      • U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley will kick off a week of events from August 21-26, drawing attention to the need for school repair, renovation and construction. The Secretary encourages educators, parents, and advocates to take advantage of the first Building Better Schools Week to educate their communities about local school needs and to celebrate community successes in building and modernizing schools.

      • Invite Congress! Congress is in recess and most members will be in their home districts. Invite them to come to school and see for themselves why Building Better Schools should be on their agenda!

      NEW EXPANDED FLEXIBILITY FOR FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE!

      Beginning August 14th, a new Department of Labor (DOL) regulation will allow states to use their unemployment compensation systems to offer parents paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child. State implementation, however, is completely voluntary and states will have substantial flexibility in designing their programs. Several states have already seen a flurry of legislative activity to implement the new family-friendly regulation. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has already attacked the regulation and is seeking to block its implementation in federal court.

      NEA encourages state affiliates to voice their support for the expanded flexibility that benefits parents and children and to work with state legislators on enabling legislation to implement the DOL regulation. The regulation and its model legislation are available online at http://www.access.gpo.gov/

      This will be the last update until Congress
      returns from recess in early September.

      07/21/00
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      News from Capitol Hill...

      EDUCATION FUNDING

      The bargaining has begun!
      House and Senate leaders hope to reach agreement and bring a Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education spending bill (H.R. 4577/ S. 2553) to a vote this week, before Congress recesses for the party conventions and August break. NEA opposed both the House and Senate bills. The President threatens a veto. In short, the scene is being set for “the end game” - the Congress/Administration bargaining on education funding.

      The Scenario --

      • The House bill uses IDEA needs to freeze funding for programs that help all children, including special needs children.
      • The Senate bill provides a bipartisan overall education funding increase, including increased funding for special education.
      • Both bills, however, eliminate critical programs such as class size reduction through block grant funding.


      Fifteen Minute Activist -- Urge your members of Congress to oppose block grant funding that eliminates critical programs, such as class size reduction, professional development and school modernization and to support the "Go the distance for education!" campaign to increase our national investment in education by at least 15 percent.

      The most effective messages tell how smaller classes, professional development opportunities, and increased resources for such programs as Title I, after-school/summer school extended learning opportunities, and Reading Excellence would help students in your school.


      PENSION PORTABILITY

      House Approves Pension Portability
      By a landslide vote of 417-25, the House this week approved the Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act, H.R. 1102. The bill's public pension portability provisions allow public employees to take all their tax favored deferred compensation and defined contribution savings with them when they change jobs.

      NEA and more than twenty public employee organizations representing mayors, legislators, town and county employees, K-12 school employees, higher education staff, police, and fire fighters are urging Congress to support the public pension provisions in H.R.1102. Delaware Senator William Roth, Joint Taxation Committee Chairman, announced plans to draft a similar Senate bill.

      07/14/00
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      News from Capitol Hill...

      BUDGET

      So Many Issues – So Little Time

      Only two legislative weeks remain before Labor Day. On July 29, Congress will recess for the Republican and Democratic conventions and remain in recess throughout August. When Congress reconvenes in September, only four weeks will remain before the target adjournment date of October 6. Members of Congress are not eager to remain in Washington during the fall of an election year. A total of 32 legislative days are all that remain.

      Last year, Congress worked nearly until Thanksgiving, and still left unfinished business, including bills affecting children and public education, such as school modernization, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization, school safety, and rural education. Congress has yet to act on Social Security offset. The comment period following the recent House hearing continued through July 13.

      The only work Congress completed last year was the Federal Budget. Without it, the Government would have shut down. On these same issues affecting children and public education, Congress still faces unfinished business. Once again, the only bill Congress must complete is next year's budget. The inimitable Yogi Berra might have said, "It's déjà vu all over again!"


      Education Funding -- The End Game

      The scene is set for “the end game” - the House/Senate and Congress/Administration bargaining on education funding. The House and Senate have each passed a bill and are in disagreement. The President threatens a veto.

      NEA opposes both the House (H.R. 4577) and Senate bills (S. 2553).

      • The House bill freezes critical programs, including Title I and Reading Excellence; eliminates class size reduction, block granting it with professional development; and fails to provide any funds for urgent school repair and renovation. While it increases IDEA funding, it does so by freezing the remainder of elementary/secondary spending.

      • The Senate bill provides an historic bipartisan overall education funding increase, including increased funding for special education. However, a number of the bill's provisions undermine quality public education for all students. The Senate bill eliminates successful programs by block funding. Proposed amendments to continue the class size reduction program, to increase resources for professional development, to enable Title I to serve a greater number of eligible students, to address the growing need for after-school/summer school extended learning opportunities, and to make other improvements to the bill, failed. [www.nea.org/lac/funding]


      Budget issues and real people

      The Class Size Reduction Program benefits about 1.7 million children in 90,000 classrooms in more than 20,000 schools. On July 1, States received $400 million, the first installment of this year’s funds ($1.3 billion) to support local communities in hiring teachers or retaining those hired last year to reduce class size in Grades 1-3. The funding is part of this current fiscal year budget approved last year. A second installment of $900 million will be distributed in October. For state-by-state class size reduction funds, visit www.nea.org/lac/size. Some myths and realities:

      • Myth: Without a “Dollars to the Classroom” mandate from Congress, the dollars don’t reach the classroom.

        • Reality: One hundred percent of the funds go to local school districts.

      • Myth: Lack of flexibility in the funding bill locks out some local districts.

        • Reality: The money may be used to directly hire teachers in grades K-3, recruit and test new teachers, or provide training opportunities to upgrade the skills of the teaching staff.

      Both the House and Senate education spending bills would force states to choose between smaller classes and such pressing and underfunded needs as professional development. “Class size reduction is so clearly beneficial to helping our children learn and helping teachers teach better,” Secretary Of Education Richard Riley said, “that I am bewildered by any effort to block it.” One teacher told her Member of Congress simply, “It’s a no-brainer.”

      Turning around low-performing schools -- In coming weeks, 31 states and the District of Columbia will share in nearly $100 million in new support to help turn around low-performing schools. The Department of Education is working with the remaining 19 states to complete their plans and become eligible for support. More myths and realities:

      • Myth: The Title I program does not demand school accountability.

        • Reality: The 1994 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I reauthorization established strong accountability criteria.

      While states and local districts must provide the leadership, they need help in providing support. These school improvement funds enable local schools to develop school improvement plans and implement research-based instruction strategies.


      SCHOOL MODERNIZATION

      The bipartisan Johnson(CT)/Rangel(NY) school modernization bill (H.R. 4094) is supported by an ever-growing bipartisan majority (221 cosponsors)! Reversing course, Republican leaders on the House Education Committee introduced a bill (H.R. 4766) to support school construction and renovation within ESEA. "There is a growing sense that we probably are going to have to do something…," a committee spokesperson said. www.nea.org/lac/modern

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