NEA EdAction April 24th 2023

MAGA Republicans are trying to engineer a devil’s choice: the first default in the U.S. government’s 246-year history vs. devastating cuts of 22 percent or more that hurt students and worsen educator shortages. 

Since January, the U.S. government been taking extraordinary measures to meet its financial obligations and avoid breaching the debt ceiling. Analysts now predict those measures could be exhausted by June. Even a near-default can have lasting consequences, like the 2011 budget crisis that shook confidence in America’s stability—political and financial.

We cannot allow the United States become a deadbeat nation. In the event of a default, everything from education funding to children’s healthcare to Social Security and Medicare could be on the chopping block. 

In another effort to bring the culture wars to the national stage, the House passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 734). The bill would target and stigmatize transgender students. 

“Speaker McCarthy and his allies continue to push hatred and division into our classrooms instead of addressing the real issues our students face, including gun violence and a shortage of educators,” said NEA President Becky Pringle. “No one should be denied the experience to play in sports simply because of who they are.”  

Let Congress know where you stand!

Sincerely,

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association