- support an increased national investment in education
- demand action on the Johnson-Rangel School Modernization bill;
- oppose block grant funding that eliminates critical programs, such as class size reduction and professional development;
- put the safety of America’s children first and pass sensible gun safety legislation.
- support an increased national investment in education;
- demand action on the Johnson-Rangel School Modernization bill;
- oppose block grant funding that eliminates critical programs, such as class size reduction and professional development;
- put the safety of America’s children first and pass sensible gun safety legislation.
- Modernizing 6,000 schools and repairing 25,000 more;
- Meeting our commitment to hire 100,000 quality teachers to reduce class size;
- Funding teacher training to put qualified teachers in every classroom;
- Turning around troubled schools;
- Increasing after school opportunities, and
- Preparing at-risk youth for college success.
- Congress has failed to act on equity for public employee retirees.
- Social Security offset repeal and retirement portability remains undone.
- Congress has failed to protect our children.
- Sensible gun safety legislation has languished in Congress for over a year
- Oppose block grant funding that eliminates critical programs, such as class size reduction and professional development;
- Support an increased national investment in education;
- Demand action on the Johnson-Rangel School Modernization bill;
- Support S.1608, the Forest County Schools bill, without amendment; and
- Put the safety of America’s children first and pass sensible gun safety legislation.
- Modernizing 6,000 schools and repairing 25,000 more;
- Meeting our commitment to hire 100,000 quality teachers to reduce class size;
- Funding teacher training to put qualified teachers in every classroom;
- Turning around troubled schools;
- Increasing after school opportunities, and
- Preparing at-risk youth for college success.
- Congress has failed to act on equity for public employee retirees.
- Social Security offset repeal and retirement portability remains undone.
- Congress has failed to protect our children.
- Sensible gun safety legislation has languished in Congress for over a year
- Oppose block grant funding that eliminates critical programs, such as class size reduction and professional development;
- Support an increased national investment in education;
- Demand action on the Johnson-Rangel School Modernization bill;
- Support S.1608, the Forest County Schools bill, without amendment; and
- Put the safety of America’s children first and pass sensible gun safety legislation.
Federal Legislative Update Archives
September 2000
Federal Legislative Update Archives
September 2000
Federal Legislative Update Archives
September 2000
September 29,
2000
September 22,
2000
September 15,
2000
September 8,
2000
09/29/00
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News from Capitol Hill...
CONGRESS DECLARES OVERTIME!
NO legislative days remain to approve spending bills before
the start of the new fiscal year, October 1.
Congress approved a
“Continuing Resolution” (CR) allowing government services to continue
through October 6, while their leaders try to reach agreement on
spending for government services and programs.
CONGRESS IS "GETTING IT"...
NEA Cyber-Lobbyists Make a Difference!
Congress responded
to thousands of cyber-lobbyists’ messages telling their stories, and
children enjoyed two recent victories -- small steps on a long road that
Congress must travel before going home.
Rural Schools:
The Senate unanimously passed S.1608, the
bill that brings relief to rural districts dependent upon federal forest
revenues, and to the more than 4 million children in 40 different states
who attend schools in cash-poor forest county districts. The legislation
ensures a steady stream of revenue to forest county school districts
that is not dependent upon the amount of trees cut on federal land. Next
step: Reconciling the House and Senate bills. http://www.nea.org/schools/rural/
Smaller Classes and Safe Schools:
The House instructed its
budget conferees to support class size reduction and urgent school
repairs and to vote against rolling the funding into block grants. The
non-binding resolution is important to budget negotiations. www.nea.org/lac/size;
www.nea.org/lac/modern
“Many politicians talk tough about holding students and teachers accountable. But while they have zero-tolerance for underachieving kids, they have abundant tolerance for underfunded schools. These evasions are not acceptable.” NEA President Bob Chase
SCHOOL MODERNIZATION -- GET THE JOB DONE!
09/22/00
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News from Capitol Hill...
Only four legislative days remain to approve spending bills before the start of the new fiscal year
“It is time to end the haphazard, on-the-cheap implementation of standards reform.” NEA President Bob Chase
MEASURING UP
Smaller Classes for Greater Learning -- House Supports Class Size Reduction, School Modernization over Block Grants
The House on Wednesday instructed its conferees, i.e., its representatives on the Conference Committee on education funding, to disagree with proposals that substitute block grants for class size reduction and school construction funding. The motion - submitted by Representatives David Obey (WI) - passed by a vote of 220-201. All Democrats except Representative Hall (TX) and Traficant (OH) supported the resolution. They were joined by 18 Republicans including: Aderholt (AL), Fletcher (KY), Foley (FL), Gallegly (CA), Gilman (NY), Johnson (CT), Kelly (NY), LoBiondo (NJ), McInnis (CO), Morella (MD), Ney (OH), Quinn (NY), Ramstad (MN), Salmon (AZ), Shaw (FL), Sherwood (PA), Smith (NJ), and Upton (MI).
Resolutions instructing conferees are non-binding, but passage of the Obey Resolution puts the House on record against the block granting of class size and school construction funds and should help significantly in negotiations on the education funding bill.
NEA Cyber-Lobbyists Make a Difference
Representatives responded to the hundreds of messages from NEA cyber-lobbyists telling their stories and urging them to support smaller classes for improved learning. In the 1999-2000 school year, a total of 23,000 schools, representing almost one-third of the nation’s elementary schools, added teachers to create smaller classes. In the first year, the Class Size Reduction Program reduced first to third grade classes in 90,000 classrooms from an average of 23 to 18. “Small classes give teachers the opportunity to provide individual attention to their students, and that is the right thing to do,” U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley said. www.nea.org/lac/size
School Modernization – Get the job done!
Bipartisan school modernization legislation (H.R. 4094) -- sponsored by Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Charles Rangel (D-NY) -- would help modernize 6,000 schools nationwide. A bipartisan House majority -- 228 strong! -- supports the proposal. “The richest, most powerful country there has ever been should not be educating its children in closets,'' Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers said. www.nea.org/lac/modern
Investing in our Children
The President has stayed the course, demanding important investments in education: modernizing 6,000 schools and repairing 25,000 more; meeting our commitment to hire 100,000 quality teachers to reduce class size; funding teacher training for quality teaching; turning around troubled schools; increasing after school opportunities; and preparing at-risk youth for college success. Congress needs to move forward on funding that measures up for children and public education.
Senate Committee Approves Money for IDEA -- But Don’t Count the Dollars Yet!
A Senate panel on Wednesday approved by voice vote a bill that would earmark $160 billion for special education costs between now and 2010. The bill, S. 2341, would authorize $7 billion for 2001 and increase that authorization each year by $2 billion. Congress committed to covering 40 percent of those costs when it passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (PL 94-142) -- now called IDEA -- in 1975, but it has never contributed more than 12.6 percent. The House passed a similar bill (H.R. 4055) in May.
The rub Authorizing funding doesn’t actually provide increased funding. To increase IDEA funding, no further authorization is needed. Dollars are needed.
Senator Tom Harkin (IA) plans to introduce an amendment that would fully finance IDEA programs in fiscal 2001. “Ten years is way too long," he said of the time frame in the bill.
Ranking minority member Senator Edward M. Kennedy (MA) wants to make IDEA funding mandatory. This would actually fully fund IDEA as opposed to simply saying Congress wants to do so. Senator Kennedy would also change the bill to include also as priorities for increased funding class size reduction, school construction, teacher quality, and general school improvement.
Fifteen Minute Activist
A new fiscal year begins on October 1. Time is short! Urge your members of Congress to:
Your Story: 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, relieving school overcrowding, and a safe, healthy school building would help your students.
09/15/00
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News from Capitol Hill...
SENATE VOTES ON RURAL SCHOOLS. ACTION NEEDED NOW!
More than 4 million children in 40 different states attend schools in cash-poor forest county districts. The NEA-supported bipartisan bill, S. 1608 - Craig (R-ID) and Wyden (D-OR) - brings financial relief to these districts.
The House passed the forest county schools bill last year. A Senate committee approved the bill unanimously in April. After months of no action, a full Senate vote is scheduled next week. The potential exists for politically motivated election year mischief during consideration of the bill.
Action Required Now --
The education of 4
million children in rural America is at stake. Don’t let politics get in
the way of providing them a quality education. Urge your Senators to
pass S. 1608, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination
Act now, without amendments. E-mail your Senators from the NEA
Legislative Action Center at: http://www.nea.org/lac. Click on the
“E-mail Congress” link.
For more information on rural county schools, visit the NEA Rural Schools page at http://www.nea.org/schools/rural/
THE HOME STRETCH
Only 13 legislative days remain to approve spending bills before the start of the new fiscal year
Congress has failed to act on the nation’s #1 priority:
Investing in our Children!
The voting public has said it again.
NEA’s bipartisan poll confirms what partisan and independent
media polls reveal: the American public views education as the nation’s
highest priority.
Congress needs to move forward on important investments in education like:
The House and Senate funding bills – now in Conference Committee – don’t measure up for children and public education.
School Modernization -- Get the job done!
The
bipartisan school modernization legislation (H.R. 4094), introduced by
Representatives Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Charles Rangel (D-NY), would
help modernize 6,000 schools nationwide. A bipartisan House majority –
226 strong! – supports the proposal. No matter. Congressional leaders
have failed to act. www.nea.org/lac/modern
NEXT STEPS
Congress’ “exit exam” -- The one responsibility they must complete before adjournment is action on the 13 spending bills that together fund government services. The fiscal year expires on September 30 -- three calendar weeks. Congress’ target date for adjournment comes one week later -- October 6. To date, 11 of the 13 bills -- including education spending -- have yet to be acted on.
Let the Bargaining Begin! In the coming week, the President will call together Congressional leaders from both parties. He will attempt to produce an agreement on education spending that includes moving ahead on class size reduction, modernizing our schools, and expanding after-school extended learning opportunities to provide a ladder for students to reach the higher standards.
Fifteen Minute Activist --
The last round of
bargaining is beginning! Urge your members of Congress to:
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, relieving school overcrowding, and a safe, healthy school building would help your students.
09/8/00
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News from Capitol Hill...
SENATE VOTES ON RURAL SCHOOLS. ACTION NEEDED NOW!
More than 4 million children in 40 different states attend schools in cash-poor forest county districts. The NEA-supported bipartisan bill, S. 1608 - Craig (R-ID) and Wyden (D-OR) - brings financial relief to these districts.
The House passed the forest county schools bill last year. A Senate committee approved the bill unanimously in April. After months of no action, a full Senate vote is scheduled next week. The potential exists for politically motivated election year mischief during consideration of the bill.
Action Required Now --
The education of 4
million children in rural America is at stake. Don’t let politics get in
the way of providing them a quality education. Urge your Senators to
pass S. 1608, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination
Act now, without amendments. E-mail your Senators from the NEA
Legislative Action Center at: http://www.nea.org/lac. Click on the
“E-mail Congress” link.
For more information on rural county schools, visit the NEA Rural Schools page at http://www.nea.org/schools/rural/
THE HOME STRETCH
Only 13 legislative days remain to approve spending bills before the start of the new fiscal year
Congress has failed to act on the nation’s #1 priority:
Investing in our Children!
The voting public has said it again.
NEA’s bipartisan poll confirms what partisan and independent
media polls reveal: the American public views education as the nation’s
highest priority.
Congress needs to move forward on important investments in education like:
The House and Senate funding bills – now in Conference Committee – don’t measure up for children and public education.
School Modernization -- Get the job done!
The
bipartisan school modernization legislation (H.R. 4094), introduced by
Representatives Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Charles Rangel (D-NY), would
help modernize 6,000 schools nationwide. A bipartisan House majority –
226 strong! – supports the proposal. No matter. Congressional leaders
have failed to act. www.nea.org/lac/modern
NEXT STEPS
Congress’ “exit exam” -- The one responsibility they must complete before adjournment is action on the 13 spending bills that together fund government services. The fiscal year expires on September 30 -- three calendar weeks. Congress’ target date for adjournment comes one week later -- October 6. To date, 11 of the 13 bills -- including education spending -- have yet to be acted on.
Let the Bargaining Begin! In the coming week, the President will call together Congressional leaders from both parties. He will attempt to produce an agreement on education spending that includes moving ahead on class size reduction, modernizing our schools, and expanding after-school extended learning opportunities to provide a ladder for students to reach the higher standards.
Fifteen Minute Activist --
The last round of
bargaining is beginning! Urge your members of Congress to:
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, relieving school overcrowding, and a safe, healthy school building would help your students.
