The NEA Board of Directors came to Washington last week and went to Capitol Hill to lobby on these issues:
Education funding—Annual appropriations for education programs are $7 billion less than a decade ago (adjusted for inflation). We are urging Congress to make the largest possible increases in education funding—particularly Title I, IDEA, community schools, and career and technical education.
Student loan debt—The temporary Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) waiver has delivered more than $10 billion in loan forgiveness for 175,000 public-service workers—many times the 16,000 who received it before the waiver. But unless Congress acts, the waiver will end Oct. 31.
Child nutrition reauthorization—Urge Congress to expand access to free school meals; provide hands-on training for school food service staff during regular, paid working hours; and maintain the science-based nutrition standards in the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.
Marriage equality—Urge senators to support the Respect for Marriage Act. Passed by the House in July, this bill would ensure that same-sex married couples enjoy the same legal recognition and protections that other married couples have.
GPO/WEP—The Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) deprive 2.5 million educators and other public servants of Social Security benefits they have earned. Keep pushing for a vote on legislation to repeal both the GPO and WEP.
Weigh in with your members of Congress NOW!
In solidarity,
Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association
After passing a short-term funding patch, Congress must finish its work with a comprehensive FY2023 funding bill that prioritizes education to ensure equal opportunity—particularly in Black, brown, and rural communities.
In his concurrence on the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that decisions on marriage equality, contraception, and consensual relationships between LGBTQ+ people should also be overturned.
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: 14 Republicans joined House Democrats to pass the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act by a vote of 232-193, sending the measure to President Biden to sign into law. It allows couples who combined their student loans while married to separate the debt.
CHEER: Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) introduced a resolution recognizing Banned Books Week, condemning attacks on books and freedom of expression, acknowledging the central role of books in democratic and civil discourse, and urging Congress to denounce the illegitimate processes being used to ban books in K-12 classrooms, universities, prisons, and libraries.
