Federal Legislative Update
January 2005

January 28, 2005

January 28, 2005

News from Capitol Hill...

Social Security Takes Center Stage  

Proposed Private Accounts Threaten Benefits  

Congress reconvened this week, and both parties released legislative agendas that include items centered on public education. But the topic generating the most energy is the Administration's all-out blitz to strip money from the Social Security Trust Fund to create private stock market accounts.

While President Bush has promised to unveil his proposal for private accounts at his State of the Union address Wednesday, February 2, the details shared so far would reduce the benefits of millions of retirees, including those children and women who receive survivor benefits, and would erode -- not strengthen -- the Social Security Trust Fund's solvency.

Because Social Security is the cornerstone of our nation's safety net for retirees, protecting and strengthening the program is critical for those NEA members who will rely on Social Security to help maintain a decent standard of living when they retire. NEA's three priorities for any Social Security legislation remain the same:

• Oppose any efforts to privatize Social Security;
• Ensure that public employees who are enrolled in and have paid into other retirement security plans are not mandated to participate in Social Security; and
• Repeal unfair offsets -- the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision -- that deny earned Social Security benefits to many public employees.

As for the repeal of the offsets, there is good news. Thanks to the continuous hard work of NEA members and others, more than 30 Members of Congress signed on this week as cosponsors on H.R. 147 -- the full GPO/WEP repeal bill. The cosponsor total is 156.

Action Needed

• Tell your Member of Congress to oppose any effort to privatize Social Security.
• Find out if your Member of Congress has signed on to H.R. 147. If not, urge  him or her to do so.

Make Your Voice Heard at 'No Child Left Behind' Hearings

Here's your chance to make your voice heard on what's needed to make NCLB work for the benefit of students and schools.

The U.S. Department of Education is hosting 10 regional advisory committee hearings to gather feedback about challenges faced by schools and states in meeting the law's requirements. The hearings are a golden opportunity to help make the case for much-needed change.

The advisory committees are accepting input in two ways: on their web site  and at the hearings. Here's the information  from the Department.

You might find NEA's 10 changes needed to improve NCLB  helpful in drafting your comments.

You Can Help Shape New Special Ed Regulations

The U.S. Department of Education will hold regional public hearings to get input about the Department's regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. The Department will use the input to formulate an initial set of draft regulations.

NEA has information that might be useful in helping you prepare. Make sure you arrive 30 minutes before the hearings start to sign up, as speaking time slots are limited. The details for the remaining hearings are: