Whitman-Hanson Education Association

Before midnight on September 30th, Congress must pass a stopgap funding bill—called a continuing resolution (CR)—or the government will start shutting down. From experience, we know what that means.

The economy will take a big hit—the last shutdown, in 2019, cost $11 billion. No paychecks for millions of federal employees, including educators in Department of Defense schools represented by the Federal Education Association, an NEA affiliate. College-bound students won’t be able to get the information they need to apply for financial aid. Collection of essential data will stop—on everything from healthcare to inflation.

Every single member of Congress knows that to avoid driving the country over this cliff, Republicans and Democrats must reach an agreement similar to the bipartisan debt-limit compromise enacted in June. Yet, House GOP leadership continues to pretend otherwise, striving instead to placate far-right extremists bent on creating chaos to score political points.

Against this disturbing background, NEA leaders and staff this week participated in the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference, where a key theme was protecting our democracy, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual leadership conference.

In addition, NEA’s Board of Directors met face-to-face with lawmakers and their staffs to advocate for responsible education funding, advancing the Equality Act, and repealing the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) that deprive 2.5 million educators and other public employees of Social Security benefits they have earned.

The more of us who weigh in, the better. Email your members of Congress today!

In solidarity,

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association

Congress is no closer than it was last week to passing legislation to keep the government open and running on Oct. 1 and beyond. A shutdown is now more likely than not.

The problem is the House—specifically, the dysfunctional GOP caucus in the House. A bipartisan bill is the only path forward for a short-term funding patch. Yet Speaker Kevin McCarthy continues to pretend otherwise, amid renewed threats from the most extreme members of his caucus to remove him as speaker. 

Last week, McCarthy again abandoned plans to pass an extreme, partisan funding bill—this time, for defense. The bill would be dead on arrival in the Senate anyway, like the House GOP’s education proposal that would, among other things, decimate Title I, block meaningful student debt relief, end the English Language Learner program, and cause class sizes to rise—a proposal too extreme even to move through the Appropriations Committee.

In stark contrast to the House, the Senate has taken a bipartisan approach, adhering to funding levels in previously passed legislation while investing in targeted increases and avoiding draconian cuts. 

NEA’s Board of Directors is coming to Washington next week to lobby Congress on education funding, the Equality Act, and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) that deprive 2.5 million dedicated public servants, including educators, of Social Security benefits they have earned.

Help amplify their voices by telling Congress what you think!

In solidarity,

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association

Congress is back and facing yet another manufactured crisis. Unless it acts soon, the Department of Education and other vital government programs will shut down on Oct. 1, when funding runs out and the new fiscal year begins.

In the Senate, all 12 necessary FY2024 funding bills have advanced through committee in a big bipartisan way. In the House, disagreement within the Republican majority—and with Democrats—has led to a stalemate on education and other funding bills, as well as shutdown threats.

Far-right extremists are using the same playbook they used last spring. Then, they held the debt limit hostage and threatened a catastrophic default. Now, they are holding our government hostage and threatening a shutdown that deprives pregnant women, infants, and children of food and healthcare. 

The White House and congressional leadership—both chambers, both parties—support a short-term “continuing resolution,” though they differ on some details. That approach would maintain current funding levels and keep the government running while negotiations continue in Congress over education and other funding bills.

Time is running out. Less than a dozen legislative days remain between now and Oct. 1. Even if a shutdown is averted, Congress will wrangle for months over funding levels.

We must continue to oppose the extreme GOP House proposal—loudly—and broadcast the dire consequences, starting with how it would decimate Title I and eliminate key programs for students and educators.

In solidarity,

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association

Last week, we told you how bad the House majority’s extreme Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill is and how much damage it would do to schools. 

To recap, the bill decimates the Title I program, eliminates funding to reduce class sizes, eliminates funding for the English Language Learner (ELL) program and educator professional development, and blocks meaningful reforms to federal student debt programs. But thanks to your quick advocacy, Republican leadership was not able to bring the bill to a vote in the full Appropriations Committee before the congressional recess. 

The even better news is that the Senate is moving in a completely different, bipartisan direction. That bill strengthens investments—albeit with small increases—in families and education, and the Senate Appropriations Committee passed it last week by a 26-2 vote.

But this fight is far from over. We must keep up the pressure during the congressional recess. Keep in mind that the House bill takes a wrecking ball to education. It would eliminate nearly 248,000 educator jobs, and even cuts money that has already been appropriated for the upcoming school year. This week, we have a chart that details teacher job losses in each state and the impact of cuts to Title I, Title, II, and ELL on students.

The same MAGA-led wing of the GOP is pushing a House Agriculture appropriations bill that would kick hundreds of thousands of families out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and delay healthier guidelines for school meals. But, as with the education funding bill, it is so extreme that leadership could not bring it to the House floor for a vote.

In fact, while corporate profits have soared in the past decades, working families have lost ground—especially those earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. 

People who work hard should not live in poverty. The Raise the Wage Act of 2023, introduced this week, would increase the federal minimum wage to $17 by 2028. The bill would not only lift wages; it would give working people the respect they deserve.

Increasing the federal minimum wage would benefit many education support professionals, such as school food service workers. Aside from better pay, these dedicated workers need more training for the preparation skills that healthier meals require. The Improving Training for School Food Service Workers Act, also introduced this week, would help make training available during paid working hours.

The time is now to make our voices heard! 

In solidarity, 

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association

It is particularly cruel to take money away from school districts after it’s already been appropriated for the upcoming school year—but that’s what the education funding bill being pushed by House Republicans does. And that’s just one aspect of a bill that uses students as pawns to advance cruel MAGA priorities.
  
Rescinding money that has been included in school budgets, along with enacting extreme cuts, will trigger immediate layoffs of approximately 220,000 educators—during an unprecedented educator shortage—and draconian cuts to crucial services that students rely on. 

The House majority’s extreme Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill would also:

• Cut funding for the Title I program, which helps our most-vulnerable students, by 80%;  
• Cut funding for the English Language Learner (ELL) program and for educator professional development; 
• Block President Biden from enacting meaningful reforms to federal student debt programs; and
• Eliminate funding intended to reduce class sizes.

Most of us believe that all students should have the opportunity for an education that inspires them and sets them up for success. Judging by this bill, the MAGA wing of the GOP does not. If their bill becomes law, educators will struggle to provide students with the support and services they need. It will take years for schools to recover, at a time when students continue to cope with fallout from the pandemic.

Derailing bad legislation is crucial, and it’s just as important to be able to vote for people who share our values. The Senate and House have just reintroduced the Freedom to Vote Act, which will broaden access to the polls and take important steps to protect the integrity of our elections. We must make sure that every vote is counted and all voices are heard. 

Let Congress know where you stand today! 

In solidarity, 

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association

The only thing that’s more impressive than one NEA member in action is thousands. 

When NEA delegates from across the country—elected by their local NEA affiliates—convened this month in Orlando for the NEA Representative Assembly, advocacy was top of mind. 

Delegates considered key issues confronting students and educators during days jam-packed with business, and they took action on them. 

Nearly 1,600 delegates sent more than 6,300 messages to Congress. They spoke out about commonsense gun laws, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, protections for LGBTQ+ students and educators, residency programs for aspiring educators, and other issues impacting their students, communities, and professions.

Among NEA’s top priorities is full funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Last week, the IDEA Full Funding Act was introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA). The bill would ensure Congress finally fulfills the federal government’s commitment to pay 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure for special education. That promise was made almost half a century ago, and it is way past time for Congress to honor it.

Speaking of honoring commitments, Congress must protect and strengthen Social Security—our nation’s promise that if you work hard, you’ll one day be able to retire with dignity. 

The Social Security 2100 Act, introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. John Larson (D-CT), would repeal two penalties—Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)—that deprive more than 2.5 million Americans, including many educators, of their hard-earned Social Security benefits. It would also provide an across-the-board benefit increase, and improve the annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment to reflect seniors’ true costs. 

Let Congress know where you stand!

In solidarity, 

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to advance three bills supported by NEA: the PRO Act (S. 567) to reduce barriers to union organizing in the private sector; the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 728) to close the gender wage gap, and the Healthy Families Act (S. 1664) to create a national standard for paid sick leave. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chairman of the HELP Committee, noted that NEA is a top supporter of all three bills and stressed the need for them. “At a time when this country is experiencing more income and wealth inequality than ever before, 60% of workers are living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. 

In addition, the Equality Act (S. 5/H.R. 15) was reintroduced in both the Senate and the House. The bill would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, and other federal laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics.

Congress will be in recess for the next two weeks, but work behind the scenes will continue. Weigh in and let your elected representatives know where you stand! 

In solidarity, 

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association

Last week, the Senate confirmed two more federal judges nominated by President Biden: Casey Pitts and Nusrat Choudhury. Their experiences—like those of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Nancy Abudu, recently confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit—will inform their jurisprudence. That, in turn, should help fulfill the promise above the entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court: equal justice under law. 

Casey Pitts, appointed to the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, has litigated in federal courts around the country and won major victories in cases involving workers’ rights, employment, voting and civil rights, freedom of speech, and constitutional law. 

Nusrat Choudhury, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, worked to ensure that the justice system treats all people fairly—regardless of income, education, or geographic location. 

Their presence on the bench will help further an important goal: a federal judiciary that looks more like America, composed of fair-minded people from a variety of backgrounds. 

Last week, we also celebrated the 11th anniversary of the introduction of DACA—Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—the program that has allowed more than half a million people brought here as children to work lawfully, pursue an education, and use their skills to better our communities. To mark the occasion, Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) reintroduced the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act. 

In solidarity, 

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association

NEA was among the first to recognize Pride Month. According to the Library of Congress, the tradition began in 1994 when “a coalition of education-based organizations designated October as LGBT History Month. In 1995, a resolution passed by the General Assembly of the National Education Association included LGBT History Month within a list of commemorative months.” 

Pride Month is more important than ever, as MAGA Republicans seek to bring book bans and culture wars to our classrooms and the national stage. 

Educators strive to uplift ALL students, regardless of gender or identity. As NEA President Becky Pringle tweeted, “We must stand ever more resolute in that commitment while extremists attack and deny students’ rights and try to curtail students’ freedom to learn.” 
 
In solidarity, 

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association

The product of divided government—like the U.S. Congress since January—the bill is replete with compromises. 

The debt ceiling is suspended until January 2025, preventing another MAGA-manufactured default crisis before the next election. Education and other nondefense discretionary funding will be close to flat for two years, which was a likely outcome in this Congress anyway given the sharp differences among the majorities in each chamber. The pause in student loan payments will end in September, as the administration planned. While unspent COVID funds are being rescinded, the impact on public schools will be minimal—99 percent of education funding has already been obligated.

The bill also tightens work requirements for some SNAP beneficiaries—a disturbing change—but loosens them for others, including veterans. The nonpartisan CBO estimates that in their entirety, the changes will add 78,000 beneficiaries and increase spending by $2 billion. 

Overall, CBO estimates, the bill will lower the national debt by $1.5 trillion over a decade. That’s half the savings produced by President Biden’s proposed budget, which called for corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes. 

Meanwhile, President Biden prepared to veto a Congressional Review Act resolution that would block his plan to cancel student loan debt for people of modest means—90 percent of those who would benefit earn less than $75,000 a year. 

In solidarity, 

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association