After months of difficult negotiations—the House set spending levels last July while Republicans stonewalled—Congress passed a budget bill that begins to turn the page on a decade of austerity for education and other domestic programs. The rush to provide aid to Ukraine, also included in the bill, helped end the stalemate.
The measure funds the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies through September—an important victory for the Biden administration. Until now, Republicans have refused to pass anything but continuing resolutions that temporarily extend funding but also freeze it.
Significant increases for programs serving the students most in need include:
• $1 billion more for Title I, the biggest increase in a decade
• $448 million more for IDEA
• $45 million more for community schools that more than doubles current funding, the biggest increase ever
• $400 increase in the maximum Pell grant, the biggest in a decade
The bill also increases support for HBCUs, other minority-serving institutions, teacher residency programs, and renews the Violence Against Women Act—a goal long sought by NEA.
My biggest disappointment is the failure to extend the USDA waiver that empowers schools to offer free meals to all students during the pandemic and its aftermath. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and other Republicans maintain an extension would cost too much and dismiss the threat of children going hungry.
Overall, however, I am encouraged. We came as close as possible to the historic increases approved by the House given that the Senate is split 50-50. Help us continue to make progress by taking action NOW on the items below.
In solidarity,
Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, will provide much-needed perspective as an exceptionally qualified jurist and the first Black woman to serve on the court.
Support the Social Security Fairness Act and the Social Security 2100 Act to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) that deprive educators of benefits they have earned.
CHEER: Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) introduced the Job Protection Act (S. 3748/H.R. 6938), the largest expansion of family and medical leave protections in nearly 30 years..
CHEER: The House passed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act (H.R. 55) by a vote of 422-3, taking long-overdue action to address the horrific mutilation and murder of thousands of people, most of whom were African American. The bill is on the way to President Biden to sign into law.
