Federal Legislative Update
November 2003

November 14, 2003
November 7, 2003

11/14/03

News from Capitol Hill...

News Note! NEA member voices are being heard

Representative Rob Simmons (R-CT) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) have each voiced a litany of concerns about ESEA/"No Child Left Behind" in letters to Secretary of Education Rod Paige.

The week in Congress - More was said than done…

November 21 is the target date for Congress to adjourn. But the House simply scratched the week and recessed. In the Senate, more was said than done.

Vouchers - Down to the wire

Administration strategy: attach a District of Columbia voucher program to a "must pass" bill.

NEA strategy: Remove this onerous provision!

Tell Congress: Don't allow an end-run on a voucher plan that can not pass on its own.

NEA won sweeping votes of support last week when the House instructed its negotiators to insist on the higher funding levels for special education approved by the Senate but not originally by the House, and to secure the highest possible funding levels for ESEA/"No Child Left Behind."

Tell Congress: Demands are growing, while sagging state revenues are forcing funding cuts. State and local taxpayers cannot afford to subsidize federal funding shortfalls. Support the Senate-approved funding for IDEA and the highest possible funding levels for ESEA/"No Child Left Behind."

Tell the Senate: Fix the "highly qualified" teacher language; add the Hagel (NE)-Harkin (IA) guaranteed funding amendment; and move IDEA reauthorization now.

H.R. 743 - NOTE! - With encouragement from NEA, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson has put a "hold" on Senate action until she can amend and improve the Sec. 418 language that affects school employees who move to a Social Security district immediately before retiring.

Support for repeal continues to grow. The House repeal bill (H.R. 594) now has 277 co-sponsors; the Senate bill (S. 349), has 29 co-sponsors.

Tell the Senate: Repeal these unfair offsets.

Tell Congress: "Please do not make it legally impractical for my school district to continue its retiree medical plan. Include Sec. 631 of S.1 in any final Medicare prescription drug bill."

NEA President Reg Weaver, in a letter to House and Senate negotiators, urged them to protect seniors from paying more than they already do.

Common sense and public safety

The latest word - It now appears that Congress will not take up gun safety legislation until 2004. The issue is safety, not gun control. NEA continues to work for renewal of the assault weapons ban (S. 1034), closing the gun show loophole (S. 1807), and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System Improvement Act (NICS) (S. 1706, H.R. 3237).

News from Capitol Hill...

The clock ticks on…

November 21 is the target date for Congress to adjourn. Will they or won't they? And on what will Congress vote before going home until January 2004?

Vouchers - Down to the wire

The Administration continues to press for the first federally funded private school voucher program. Their strategy: attach a District of Columbia voucher program to a "must-pass" bill. NEA strategy: Remove this onerous provision!

Tell Congress: Don't allow an end-run on a voucher plan that can not pass on its own.

Education funding - NEA wins sweeping votes of support!

Negotiations on the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations (spending) bill continue, more than a month into the fiscal year that began October 1. This week, NEA - working for key dollar increases - won sweeping votes of support in the House.

By a vote of 310 to 101, the House instructed its negotiators to insist on the higher funding levels for special education (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]), included in the Senate bill, but not the original House bill.

The House earlier instructed its negotiators to secure the highest possible funding levels for ESEA/"No Child Left Behind." The original House and Senate bills (H.R.2660, S.1356) shortchange schools. Underfunding for Title I, a key to closing the achievement gap, would leave some 2 million children without the math and reading help they need.

Tell Congress: Support the highest possible funding levels for ESEA/"No Child Left Behind," the Senate-approved funding for IDEA. State and local taxpayers cannot afford to subsidize federal funding shortfalls.

IDEA reauthorization

The Senate's IDEA reauthorization bill (S. 1248) has been stalled for months. Teachers and education support professionals are in limbo about what qualifications they must meet to be considered "highly qualified" under the reauthorized IDEA. Help for both special and general education students remains in limbo without guaranteed special education funding.

Tell the Senate: Take up S.1248 before adjournment. Fix the "highly qualified" teacher language and add the Hagel (NE) - Harkin (IA) guaranteed funding amendment.

Common sense and public safety

NEA calls on the Senate to approve renewal of the current assault weapons ban (S. 1034) and the McCain (AZ)-Reed (RI)-DeWine (OH) "instant background checks" bill (S. 1807).

The issue is safety, not gun control. Educators across the country are deeply concerned about the impact of gun crime on children, families and communities.

Assault weapons - If the Senate does nothing, the ban will expire and our communities will once again see an increase in needless violence.

President Bush endorses renewal of the ban. The prohibited weapons are not suitable for hunting or self-defense, but their light triggers and rapid-fire capability make them weapons of choice for criminals. Hundreds of firearms used for hunting and other recreational purposes are not affected.

The "gun show loophole" - Minors and criminals in 32 states can now buy guns at gun shows with no questions asked. The McCain-Reed-DeWine bill (S. 1807) requires sellers at gun shows to do "instant checks" that identify illegal buyers, a requirement already in effect for authorized gun dealers.

Tell the Senate: Our children, our families and our communities need sensible legislation that protects them, while respecting the rights of lawful gun owners. The assault weapons ban and gun show "instant checks" do this. Insist upon them. Accept nothing less.

Social Security offsets

H.R. 743 - NOTE! - With encouragement from NEA, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson has put a "hold" on Senate action until she can amend and improve the NEA-opposed Sec. 418 language that affects school employees who move to a Social Security district immediately before retiring.

Tell the Senate: Repeal these unfair offsets. Support for repeal continues to grow. The House repeal bill (H.R. 594) now has 277 sponsors; the Senate bill (S. 349), 29. New: Senator Bill Nelson (FL).

Early retirement incentive plans

NEA-supported Sec. 631 of the Senate Prescriptions and Medicare bill (S.1) clarifies that the coordination of employer-provided retiree medical benefits with Medicare (or a counterpart state plan) does not violate age discrimination prohibitions. The bill is caught up in tense and ongoing negotiations.

Tell Congress: "Please do not make it legally impractical for my school district to continue its retiree medical plan. Include Sec. 631 of S.1 in any final Medicare prescription drug bill."