Federal Legislative Update
April 2003

April 25, 2003
April 17, 2003
April 11, 2003
April 4, 2003

4/25/03

News from Capitol Hill...

Social Security offsets - May 1 hearing!

On May 1, the House Social Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The GPO and WEP reduce Social Security payments to retirees from non-Social Security public employment plans. These reductions in Social Security payments potentially affect some 6 million federal, state, and local government employees.

NEA opposes the unfair offsets and will offer testimony advocating their full repeal.

Action Alert!

If your Representative sits on the Social Security Subcommittee, send a message urging support for full repeal of the GPO/WEP. Social Security Subcommittee members include: Republicans - Shaw (FL), Chairman; Brady (TX); Collins (GA); Hayworth (AZ); Hulshof (MO); Johnson (TX); Lewis (KY); Ryan (WI); and Democrats - Matsui (CA), Ranking Minority Member; Becerra (CA); Cardin (MD); Jones (OH); Pomeroy (ND).

[Note: Representative Matsui is a co-sponsor of the House repeal bill, H.R. 594 (McKeon (R-CA)-Berman (D-CA)].

If your Representative is not a subcommittee member, send a message asking that he or she urge the subcommittee to repeal the unfair offsets.

[Note: Co-sponsors of the House repeal bill (H.R.594) merit thanks!]

IDEA on the House action calendar

As early as April 30, the House is scheduled to take up H.R. 1350 reauthorizing the special education law (IDEA).

NEA opposes voucher amendments. Representative DeMint (R-SC) is expected to offer a voucher amendment styled on the Florida McKay Special Education Voucher Program.

NEA supports amendments for mandatory full funding of the federal share of special education costs.

Action alert

Urge your Representative to oppose special education vouchers and support mandatory full funding of the federal share of special education costs.

Tax cuts and national priorities

The NEA-opposed Budget Resolution narrowly passed by Congress puts tax breaks first before the real needs of our states and our schools. A tax bill will be forthcoming next to set the foundation for the 2004 budget.

Decoding the spending plan -- A guide to anywhere

The Budget Resolution is the blueprint for the next budget year. It sets overall levels for revenue and spending to guide Congress in crafting the bills that will actually provide the program-by-program funding. This Budget Resolution is uniquely a guide to 'Anywhere.'

The House and Senate disagree on the size of the tax cut.

The "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" Syndrome: An increase in education spending over the President's proposed budget is 'assumed,' but any increases in education spending would have to be paid for by cuts in other programs.

The 'assumed' increase in education is directed largely to special education, Title I, and Impact Aid. Most other general education programs fare poorly.

Spending on 'discretionary programs' — that is, non-mandated spending, is capped. Defense spending is part of the 'discretionary mix' with education and other critical programs. Thus, increases in defense spending must come at the expense of other programs.

The 'Sense of the Senate' resolution to provide fiscal relief to states remains but is non-binding.

Bottom Line: The heat is on. The Administration's proposed tax cut jeopardizes not only critical federally funded health and education programs, but also state revenue at a time of state budget crises. It's time to push back!

Action alert!

Send a message to your Representative and Senators: In this time of deficits and uncertainty, minimize tax cuts!

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4/17/03

News from Capitol Hill...

Budget Resolution

Action alert!

Congress puts tax breaks before the real needs of our states and our schools. Send a message to your Representative and Senators: In this time of deficits and uncertainty, minimize tax cuts!

Update!

The NEA-opposed Budget Resolution passed the House by a vote of 216-211 and the Senate by a vote of 51-50, with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote. Sharp disagreement within the President's party over the size of the Administration's massive proposed tax cut drove the close votes.

Decoding the spending plan — A guide to anywhere

The Budget Resolution sets overall levels for total revenue and spending to guide Congress in crafting the bills that will actually provide the program-by-program funding. This Budget Resolution is uniquely a guide to 'Anywhere.'

The House and Senate disagree on the size of the tax cut.

The "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" Syndrome: An increase in education spending over the President's proposed budget is 'assumed,' but any increases in education spending would have to be paid for by cuts in other programs.

The 'assumed' increase in education is directed largely to special education and to Title I. All other general education programs fare poorly.

Spending on 'discretionary programs' — that is, non-mandated spending, is capped. Defense spending is part of the 'discretionary mix' with education and other critical programs. Thus, increases in defense spending must come at the expense of other programs.

The 'Sense of the Senate' resolution to provide fiscal relief to states remains, but is non-binding.

Bottom Line: The Administration has one clear priority: tax cuts. The heat is on. A tax bill will be forthcoming as the foundation of this budget plan for the next fiscal year (October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004). The Administration's proposed tax cut jeopardizes not only critical federally funded health and education programs, but also state revenue at a time of state budget crises.

Send a message to Congress. It's time to push back!

Social Security offsets

Social Security offsets - A hearing in the offing!

House Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Clay Shaw (FL) announced a hearing "in the coming weeks" on the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

NEA members' voices making a difference

In a letter to House GPO/WEP repeal bill sponsor "Buck" McKeon (CA), Shaw noted the many Members of Congress who received messages of concern from federal, state and local government employees that they are being singled out unfairly by the GPO/WEP. "[This] is why the Subcommittee is dedicated to examining all options that help ensure equitable treatment under Social Security," Shaw said.

IDEA

The IDEA Calendar: The House may take up the bill to rewrite and reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (H.R. 1350) as early as the week of April 29, when Congress returns from its April recess. The Senate may introduce a bill as early as May 1.

Action alert!

Note! Representative DeMint (R-SC) will continue to push his voucher amendment styled on the Florida McKay Special Education Voucher Program. DeMint withdrew his amendment in committee after an NEA analysis surfaced its many flaws. DeMint is expected to try when the full House takes up the bill.

Members should continue contacts to their representatives urging them to oppose special education vouchers.

Teachers Tax Relief Act of 2003

NEA supports H.R. 785 [Camp (R-MI), Price (R-OH) and Tanner (D-TN)] and S. 695 [Collins (R-ME) and Warner (R-VA)] that would build on the current $250 deduction for out-of-pocket classroom supplies expenses by increasing the deduction ($400 in the House bill and $500 in the Senate bill) and adding professional development costs as an eligible expense.

Ask your Representative and Senators to cosponsor the Teachers Tax Relief Act of 2003.

LEARN tax credit

NEA supports this bipartisan bill that seeks to help schools in low-income rural and urban areas attract and retain teachers. The "Low-Income Educator Assistance and Relief Now Act" (LEARN) would provide a $2,000 tax credit to full-time educators who work at schoolwide Title I-eligible schools, that is, schools with a 40 percent or more student population eligible for the federal lunch program.

Ask your Representative to cosponsor the LEARN Tax Credit Bill.

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4/11/03

News from Capitol Hill...

IDEA — NEA advocates make gains

Thursday, April 10, the full House Education and Workforce Committee drafted for House action H.R. 1350 to reauthorize, that is, renew and update, the landmark Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Thumbs up: Vouchers thwarted, funding increased, work in progress

Voucher amendment withdrawn!

Representative DeMint (R-SC) withdrew his voucher amendment, after acknowledging the impact of the NEA analysis provided to the committee, as he conceded that his amendment would fail.

Funding

Increase authorized. Representative Porter (R-NV) successfully won a higher ceiling for IDEA funding in the 2004 and 2005 budget years, to more than half the full federal 40 percent share of costs. [Note: The higher authorized ceiling is critical to winning increased funding when Congress draws up the actual spending bills.]

Raising the cap on state grants - Progress and in progress. NEA argued persuasively the negative impact of denying funds to states where the percentage of children (ages 3-17) identified for IDEA services exceeds an arbitrary number. According to NEA estimates, the bill's proposed 12 percent cap would cause seven states to lose funds immediately. An additional seven might be impacted in the near future. Representatives Andrews (D-NJ) and Holt (D-NJ) first tried to eliminate the cap and then succeeded in upping the 12 percent to 13.5 percent. Raising the cap reduced the number of impacted states to two — RI and WV. NEA continues to press for total elimination.

Enhanced Professional Development

Online help - Representative Kind (D-WI) successfully amended the bill to support more online professional development resources for teachers and paraprofessionals. NEA supports additional online resources that are especially important in rural areas where distance often precludes participation in training programs and conferences.

Professional development funds for all states - NEA supports Representative Wu's (D-OR) efforts to include formula-based professional development funding for all states. The professional development provided would specifically include identification practices and techniques that ensure children are properly referred (neither over-identified nor under-identified). Representative Castle (R-DE) pledged to work with Representative Wu to incorporate expanded professional development prior to a full House vote.

Further reduction of paperwork

Representative Davis (D-CA) successfully added an NEA-supported provision whereby if the IEP team agrees unanimously that a child no longer needs services, a formal exit evaluation need not be done, reducing both meeting time and time-consuming paperwork.

Challenges unmet, but not conceded! - NEA continues to press ahead on unmet challenges, including mandatory (guaranteed) full funding, discipline and the definition of 'highly qualified teacher.'

New! Mandatory funding full funding efforts build - Representatives Bass (R-NH), Ferguson (R-NJ), and Simmons (R-CT) have agreed to offer jointly an IDEA mandatory full funding bill and are working with Senators Harkin (D-IA) and Hagel (R-NE) to craft a joint House-Senate bill. Support in the Senate has traditionally been strong.

The calendar: The House may take up H.R. 1350 as early as the week of April 29, when Congress returns from its April recess (April 14-28). The Senate may introduce a bill as early as May 1. Stay Tuned!

GPO/WEP Co-sponsor news

H.R. 594 now has 182 co-sponsors plus one non-voting. Newest Additions: Representatives Alexander (D-LA); Bartlett (R-MD); Burns (R-GA); Case (D-HI); Dicks (D-WA); Foley (R-FL); Ney (R-OH). S. 349 (Feinstein (D-CA) and Collins (R-ME) now has 17.

Budget Resolution — 11th hour debate underway; outcome uncertain

The heat is on! The Administration is pressing hard for Congress to adopt the spending plan for the next budget year (October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004) before adjourning for the April recess. The recess is scheduled to begin today.

The issue: taxes in upper or lower case? The Budget Resolution or spending blueprint is important to the size of the tax cut the Administration can realistically hope to win this year. The size of the tax cut ultimately affects all programs, including education programs, and the House and Senate disagree. Early this morning — Friday, April 11 — the House adopted a spending plan designed to accommodate the Administration's controversial tax cut proposal. The Senate begins debate today. The outcome is uncertain.

One thing is certain. The outcome will heavily impact health, education and social services.

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4/4/03

News from Capitol Hill...

State fiscal relief…education funding

House-Senate negotiations continue

House-Senate Conference Committee negotiations continue to reconcile the radically different House- and Senate-passed spending plans (Budget Resolution) for the 2004 budget year (October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004).

NEA supports the higher Senate-passed levels for education programs and the Senate-passed provision on state fiscal relief. "The Budget Resolution should reflect our nation's priorities and improving the education of our nation's children should and must be a priority," NEA told the committee. Stay tuned!

IDEA bill takes shape

The Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act (H.R.1350)

A House Subcommittee this week drafted legislation that would reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law regulating education for the nation's 6.5 million special needs students. The bill (H.R.1350) now goes to the full House Education and Workforce Committee.

NEA credits the committee "for recognizing the real-world problems many educators face, including too much paperwork, too few opportunities for professional development and too few resources." The committee, too, did not include vouchers in the bill.

At Issue: Mandatory full-funding of the federal share of special education costs. The Woolsey (D-CA)-Van Hollen (D-MD) amendment that would have reached the full federal 40 percent share of costs in six years and made the funding mandatory failed on a 9-11 party-line vote with all committee Democrats in support and all Republicans opposed.

Time sensitive — Action sought

The full committee can act on H.R. 1350 as early as April 9. Ask your Representative to urge the Education Committee to:

• support mandatory full funding of the federal share of special education costs;
• oppose special education vouchers that jeopardize special needs
  students' legal rights to services guaranteed under IDEA and offer no scientific research of effectiveness.

LEARN tax credit: Incentives to teach in disadvantaged schools

NEA supports this bipartisan bill that seeks to help schools in low-income rural and urban areas attract and retain teachers. The "Low-Income Educator Assistance and Relief Now Act" (LEARN tax credit) would provide a $2,000 tax credit to full-time educators who work at schoolwide Title I eligible schools, that is, schools with a 40 percent or more student population eligible for the federal lunch program.

The bill - introduced by Representatives Wilson (R-NM), Boehner (R-OH), Sandlin (D-TX) and Millender-McDonald (D-CA) - tries to level the playing field. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average salary for teachers at schools with 60 percent to 70 percent of their students on free or reduced price lunches is $37,173. The average salary for teachers at schools with less than 20 percent of students in the federal lunch program is $42,623.

NEA Vice President Dennis Van Roekel said, "The LEARN tax credit isn't going to close those gaps, but it's going to make a difference. And it's going to make a difference where it's needed most — in schools of greatest need that often have the most challenging working conditions." The authors noted, too, that teachers spend their money, providing an instant stimulus to the economy.

Action sought

Ask your Representative to help America's teachers educate the kids who need them most by becoming a cosponsor of the LEARN Tax Credit Bill.

The sponsors and these early co-sponsors merit thanks:

Social Security offsets

House Passes H.R. 743

In a disappointing vote, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 743, which prevents educators from avoiding the harsh impacts of the Government Pension Offset on widow and widower benefits by transferring to a district covered by Social Security just before they retire. Under the House-passed bill, teachers would have to work for five years in a Social Security district to avoid the GPO impact. The bill now moves to the Senate.

NEA supported a substitute offered by Representative Green (D-TX) that removed the offending GPO provision. The Green Substitute was defeated on a vote of 196-228. Ten Republicans joined all but 17 Democrats in supporting the Green substitute.

• Republicans voting in support of Green substitute: Bilirakis (FL); Bonilla (TX); Burgess (TX); Burns (GA); Carter (TX); Gillmor (OH); Granger (TX); Hefley (CO); Johnson (IL); Paul (TX).
• Democrats voting against Green substitute: Abercrombie (HI); Baird WA); Cooper (TN); Cramer (AL); Dicks (WA); Dooley (CA); Doyle (PA); Holden (PA); Kanjorski (PA); Lipinski (IL); Murtha (PA); Obey (WI); Pomeroy (ND); Sabo (MN); Smith (WA); Snyder (AR); Taylor (MS).
• Absent: Barrett (SC); Hyde (IL); Souder (IN); Combest (TX); McCarthy (MO); Walden (OR); Davis (TN); McInnis (CO); Gephardt (MO); Nethercutt (WA).

A spotlight on GPO/WEP — The good news is that the debate sharply focused attention on the underlying problem of the GPO and WEP. Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Shaw (R-FL) has promised to hold a hearing on the underlying issue after the Easter congressional recess. NEA is pressing for an early hearing.

GPO/WEP repeal bills co-sponsor news

H.R. 594 (McKeon (R-CA)-Berman (D-CA)) now has 176 cosponsors plus one non-voting. New: Kaptur (D-OH); Larson (D-CT); Matheson (D-UT); Scott (D-VA). S. 349 (Feinstein (D-CA) and Collins (R-ME) now has 17. New: Boxer (D-CA); Hollings (D-SC); Jeffords (I-VT)

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