Public education was a winner up and down the ballot in mid-term elections in which Democrats held the Senate and Republicans captured the House. Margins will remain historically narrow in both chambers.
In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD), and Majority Whip James Clyburn (SC) are stepping aside for a new generation of Democratic leadership: Hakeem Jeffries (NY), Katherine Clark (MA), and Pete Aguilar (CA). Kevin McCarthy (CA), Republicans’ nominee for Speaker of the House, will need the support of nearly every member of his caucus to get the necessary 218 votes when the 118th Congress convenes on Jan. 3.
Hakeem Jeffries will be the first Black member of Congress to lead either party or chamber.
In the Senate, Chuck Schumer (NY) will remain Majority Leader and Mitch McConnell (KY) Minority Leader despite opposition from about one-fifth of his caucus.
After Thanksgiving, Congress will have a busy lame duck session with must-pass legislation that includes final FY2023 funding bills. Due to years of budget caps, education programs receive $7 billion less in annual appropriations than they received a decade ago (after adjusting for inflation), so we’re pushing for the largest possible increase.
We’re also pushing for action on other priorities for NEA members: the Respect for Marriage Act (which passed a huge procedural hurdle in the Senate this week), the enhanced Child Tax Credit that cut the child poverty rate nearly in half last year, the Electoral Count Reform Act, and more.
Email your senators and representative today!
Sincerely,
Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association
The 117th 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.
Restore the enhanced Child Tax Credit that cut child poverty nearly in half last year, make it fully refundable, and provide monthly payments to help working families make ends meet.
This bill would ensure that the electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect the people’s vote and clarify that the vice president’s role is strictly ministerial: presiding over the counting of ballots in his or her capacity as president of the Senate.
CHEER: Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Rob Portman (OH), Thom Tillis (NC), Roy Blunt (MO), Richard Burr (NC), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Mitt Romney (UT), Dan Sullivan (AK), Todd Young (IN), and Joni Ernst (IA) voted with Democrats to advance the Respect for Marriage Act.
JEER: Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) introduced the No Federal Funding for Teachers’ Unions Act, which would prohibit the federal government from giving financial support to teachers’ unions because they are “corrupt.”
