Federal Legislative Update
July 2004

July 26, 2004
July 15, 2004

July 26, 2004

* Congress in Recess through September 6 *

News from Capitol Hill...

Social Security offsets

Congress holds hearing on WEP Social Security offsets

The House Social Security Subcommittee held a July 20 hearing on legislation to replace the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) Social Security offset with a more equitable formula.

NEA supports this bipartisan legislation — the Public Servant Retirement Protection Act (H.R. 4391/S. 2455) — as a first step toward repeal of both the WEP and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

Terry Hickman, Nevada State Education Association president, whose state is impacted and who is personally affected, testified on behalf of NEA.  Hickman used his own story to illustrate the harsh impact of the WEP. As a young teacher, he took a second job so that he could buy a home for his family and help his wife attend college. The WEP reduces dramatically the Social Security benefits he earned.

Hickman told the subcommittee that he hears concerns daily from Nevada educators subject to the WEP and GPO and noted the impact of these Social Security offsets on teacher recruitment. He urged Congress to take immediate action to pass H.R. 4391, and to continue to work toward full repeal of both the GPO and the WEP.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Chairman Clay Shaw (R-FL) promised to do all he could to secure passage of H.R. 4391 this year.

H.R. 4391 now has 50 cosponsors. The latest additions are: Gillmor (R-OH); Hall (R-TX); Lampson (D-TX); and Porter (R-NV).

Full-repeal sponsors Representatives McKeon and Berman are also cosponsors of this new WEP bill and have been pressing for the hearing and a vote — the first since NEA began working on the issue in the 1980s.

Discharge petition

Despite its 191 House Democratic cosponsors, prospects are bleak for a "discharge petition" that would force a vote on full GPO and WEP repeal.

NEA remains totally committed to repeal. That work continues.

Perkins Act

House committee approves Perkins reauthorization (H.R. 4496)

The full House Education and Workforce Committee, on the eve of Congress' August recess, approved legislation (H.R. 4496) to reauthorize the nation's main vocational education program, the Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act.

Secondary and postsecondary programs

The Perkins Act is the main source of grants to state secondary and postsecondary vocational programs.

• Some 66 percent of all public secondary schools have one or more vocational and technical education programs, with approximately 96 percent of high school students taking at least one vocational and technical course.
• More than 2,600 community colleges, technical institutes and other public and private colleges also offer vocational and technical education.

Academics and accountability

The House bill places greater academic demands on schools receiving federal money for technical courses. The bill:

• Aligns high school programs with the so-called "No Child Left Behind" Act and allows states to sanction schools that fail to make progress;
• Requires states to develop academically rigorous sequences of courses for vocational students;
• Requires links between K-12 and postsecondary programs; and
• Combines funding for tech-prep and Perkins state grants into a single stream.

Next steps

NEA supports many provisions of the bill, but wants improvements before final passage, including the accountability language and restoration of a separate stream of funding for tech-prep.

The Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee will take up its Perkins Reauthorization Bill (S. 2686) when Congress returns after the August recess.

E-rate raid

NEA: No midnight raid on funds to wire schools

NEA's quick action stopped an apparent back-handed effort to undermine the E-rate program.

The E-rate program has been successful in wiring almost all of our nation's schools and many classrooms to the Internet. It is essential for our neediest schools — often rural schools — to access 21st century telecommunication services.

An expected amendment by Senators Lott (MS) and Smith (OR) would have highjacked $100 million of "unobligated funds" from the Universal Service Fund (USF) that supports the program. E-rate applications every year exceed available USF funds, and there is always a backlog.

NEA's quick action in objecting to a closed-door attempt to make fundamental changes to the fund surfaced the issue. The amendment was not offered. The score: 1 for schools; 0 for a raid on E-rate program dollars.

Budget brouhaha

2005 - The budget: Leaving a generation behind

High-decibel disagreements over spending and taxes echoed, but in the end, a House Committee spending bill for the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Departments leaves a generation behind.

The Senate has not yet taken up the education spending bill for fiscal year 2005. Watch for the "Battle of the Budget" to resume when Congress returns in September.

July 15, 2004
[return to top]

News from Capitol Hill...

Social Security offsets

GPO/WEP repeal in the Democrat National Platform

NEA delegates to the Platform Committee won Democrat National Committee (DNC) support for repeal of the unfair Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

NEA put the issue squarely before the policy staff and as a result, the platform now reads:

"We oppose reducing the benefits earned by workers just because they have also earned a benefit from certain public retirement plans. Therefore, we will repeal discriminatory laws that penalize some retired workers and their families while allowing others to receive full benefits."

The platform will be ratified later this month at the Democrat National Convention in Boston.

WEP bill - Nevada president will testify at July 20 hearing

House Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Clay Shaw has announced a July 20 hearing on the Public Servant Retirement Protection Act (H.R. 4391/S. 2455), which would replace the WEP with a more equitable formula. Terry Hickman, Nevada State Education Association President, whose state is impacted and who is personally affected, will testify on behalf of NEA. 

H.R. 4391 now has 46 cosponsors. The latest additions are:

Full-repeal sponsors Representatives McKeon and Berman are also cosponsors of this new WEP bill and have been pressing for a hearing and a vote — the first since NEA began working on the issue in the 1980s. NEA supports the legislation as a first step to help members 

The Discharge Petition
Despite its 191 House Democratic cosponsors, prospects are bleak for a "discharge petition" that would force a vote on full GPO and WEP repeal. 

NEA remains totally committed to repeal. That work continues. 

The DNC platform and an ESP first

NEA delegates to the DNC Platform Committee were successful also in ensuring that the platform language is inclusive of education support professionals (ESP) as well as teachers and principals — a first-time achievement. 

Patriot Act - Freedom to Read Amendment defeated in a tie vote

The House Republican leadership — under strong pressure from the White House — defeated the Freedom to Read Amendment in a tie vote (210-210). 

Protecting First Amendment Rights — The NEA-supported amendment would simply restore library and bookstore patrons' First Amendment rights, in place before the USA Patriot Act. Section 215 of the Act currently permits federal agents, without showing any probable cause, to obtain patrons' library and bookstore records that include personal information. The amendment would simply require a traditional search warrant or grand jury subpoena.

Holding the Board Open — The Amendment to the Justice Department's funding bill failed only after the 15-minute vote dragged on for 38 minutes — long after the tally had reached 219-200 in favor of the amendment — while the leadership changed enough votes to bring the tally the 210-210 tie. 

The outcome was reminiscent of last November's Medicare marathon when House leaders held the roll call open for nearly three hours while they worked to change votes. 

2005 - The budget: Leaving a generation behind

Amidst high-decibel disagreements over spending and taxes, a House Committee spending bill for the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education departments leaves a generation behind.

Reality Budgeting — When More Is Less

Title I: The $1 billion increase (8.1 percent) — the level requested by President Bush — sounds hefty. The reality: A wider gap between services needed and services funded. The total proposed for Title I falls $7.2 billion short of the level in the ESEA/"No Child Left Behind" Act. More than 4 million low-income children are left without the help they need for academic success.

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act): The $1 billion increase (9.9 percent) — the level requested by President Bush — sounds hefty. The reality: The total proposed for IDEA would bring the federal share to 19.7 percent of the costs of educating students with disabilities, less than half the promised 40 percent. Further, at this rate of increase, the federal shortfall will continue for decades.

Reallocating Funds = eliminating 23 programs, including dropout prevention and school counseling, so critical to increasing graduation rates. Other programs are frozen at last year's levels. 

Higher Education: The Pell Grant maximum award would be frozen at $4,050 for the third year, further reducing the purchasing power of the grants, which has fallen by more than half in the last 30 years. In the 1970s, the grants paid some 85 percent of college tuition costs. They now pay about 30 percent, a precipitous decline. 

Real Funding for Real Needs
The NEA-supported Representative Obey (WI) amendment provided substantial support for critical programs. To offset the additional spending, he proposed rolling back tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 for those with annual incomes in excess of $1 million. The amendment failed on a party-line vote. 

The battle is engaged. Stay tuned.