Federal Legislative Update
January 2007
January 26, 2007
January 19, 2007
January 12, 2007
January 5, 2007
1/26/07
News from Capitol Hill...
Urge Congress To Help Fund Schools Near Federal Forest Lands
The Forest County and Schools Program, created in the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, expired at the end of 2006. Congress must act immediately to reauthorize and fund this critical program, which ensures schools in timber-dependent counties a consistent funding stream. If the program is not reauthorized soon, impacted counties will have to start implementing cuts to schools and services. In fact, a number of counties around the country have already begun sending out pink slips notifying employees of potential lay offs.
Contact Your Representatives And Senators Today
Tell Congress to continue the Forest County and Schools Program by cosponsoring and supporting the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Reauthorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 17/S. 380).
Tell Congress To Provide The Funds Necessary For Great Public Schools
President Bush will release his proposed budget for the next fiscal year (FY08) in early February and Congress will begin work right away on the congressional budget resolution, which sets out the framework for how funds will be spent. Funding increases for programs like Title I, IDEA, and Pell Grants are necessary to help states, local school districts, and postsecondary institutions meet the demands of increasing enrollments and higher levels of accountability. These programs have sustained cuts or funding freezes in recent years.
Contact Your Members Of Congress
Tell your Senators and Representative to provide the resources necessary to ensure great public schools for every child.
1/19/07
News from Capitol Hill...
You Did It Again!
Your e-mails to Congress have helped secure two more victories:
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Last week, the House passed the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007 (H.R. 4), which would require the federal government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to secure lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.
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This week, the House passed the College Student Relief Act of 2007 (H.R. 5), which would cut in half the rate on subsidized undergraduate loans. Once fully phased in, the interest rate cut is estimated to help ease the financial burden of more than 5.5 million undergraduate students.
Both issues will now go to the Senate for consideration.
Urge Congress to Listen to Educators on ESEA/NCLB Reauthorization
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is up for reauthorization this year. As Congress prepares to reexamine NCLB, educators must be at the forefront, sharing their real-life experiences with policymakers.
Contact Your Representatives and Senators Today
Support Builds for Social Security Offsets Legislation
The House version of the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), which would repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision, now boasts 140 bipartisan cosponsors.
Contact Your Members of Congress
1/12/07
News from Capitol Hill...
Urge Congress To Help Make College More Affordable!
On January 17, the House of Representatives will vote on a plan to cut in half the interest rate on subsidized student loans. With college costs on the rise, more students have to take out greater loans to cover their tuition and other college costs, while incurring record student debt. In 2003-04, the median student debt borrowed to finance a bachelor's degree was $19,300.
The College Student Relief Act of 2007 (H.R. 5) would reduce the rate on subsidized undergraduate loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent, using phased-in reductions over five years. Once fully phased in, the interest rate cut is estimated to help ease the financial burden of more than 5.5 million undergraduate students.
Contact Your Representative Today
Urge your Representative to support a cut in the interest rate for subsidized student loans.
Social Security Offsets Legislation Reintroduced! Your E-Mails Needed To Build Support.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have reintroduced legislation to repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision – two offsets that cut or eliminate the Social Security benefits of hundreds of thousands of educators and other public employees. The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82/S.206) already has over 100 cosponsors in the House of Representatives.
Contact Your Memebers of Congress
Thank Members who have already cosponsored the bill and urge all others to add their support as quickly as possible.
You Did It!
Your e-mails to Congress helped secure the first major victory of the 110th Congress – passage by the House of Representatives of a much-needed increase in the federal minimum wage. The House voted to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour on January 10 by a vote of 315-116, with all Democrats and 82 Republicans supporting the measure. Action now turns to the Senate, where the proposed increase may be considered in conjunction with tax cuts for small businesses.
1/5/07
News from Capitol Hill...
110th Congress Sworn In: Minimum Wage and Affordable Health Care on Early Agenda
The 110th Congress was sworn in on Thursday, January 4, with Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives pledging to move an ambitious agenda in the first 100 hours. Two top NEA priorities — raising the minimum wage and ensuring affordable prescription drug prices — are on the House schedule for the week of January 8.
Urge Congress to Help Working Families by Raising the Minimum Wage
The minimum wage has not been increased since 1997, leaving many working families struggling to make ends meet. Too many families simply cannot afford to provide the most basic necessities for their children. Raising the minimum wage plays a vital role in ensuring family stability and the well-being of thousands of students in our public schools. Raising it from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour would add $4,400 to the income of full-time, year-round workers — enough for a low-income family of three to afford a year of groceries, a year and a half of heat and electricity, more than nine months of rent, or the full two-year tuition for a community college degree.
Contact Your Representative Today
Urge your Representative to increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.
Tell Congress to Address Spiraling Prescription Drug Costs
Millions of seniors, many of them retired educators and education support professionals living on fixed incomes, face escalating medication costs. Too often, they must pay for medication at the expense of food or other necessities. This is, in part, due to the inability of the federal government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies, leaving individual Medicare beneficiaries with no leverage to bargain discount drug prices. Congressional leaders propose changing the law to give the Department of Health and Human Services the authority to negotiate with drug companies. This will allow the Medicare program to take advantage of the market power of 40 million beneficiaries and will allow seniors and individuals with disabilities to purchase essential prescription medications at a fair price.
Contact Your Representative Today
Urge your Representative to support allowing the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices.
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