The Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 passed the House by a vote of 217-215 on April 26. Every Democrat present and four far-right Republicans voted “no.”
In exchange for raising the debt ceiling for about a year, the NEA-opposed bill would slash funding for essential education programs by at least 22 percent, cancel student debt relief, and reduce Pell grants. It would also impose new work requirements for Medicaid, which covers half of U.S. children, and SNAP, the nation’s leading anti-hunger program.
The cuts in Title I and IDEA are equivalent to removing 108,000 educators from classrooms, and would impact 25 million low-income students and 7.3 million students with disabilities. The elimination of student debt relief and the cuts in Pell grants would impact nearly 50 million Americans.
Overall, the bill would make everyday life more difficult and more expensive—everything from college to childcare, healthcare, and putting food on the table. President Biden announced that he would veto it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pronounced it dead on arrival.
This week, NEA’s Board of Directors will be going to Capitol Hill to lobby for robust investments in education, gun violence prevention, and confirming Julie Su as U.S. Secretary of Labor.
Let Congress know where you stand!
In solidarity,
Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association
CHEER: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) appeared virtually at the ESP conference and urged participants to tell their senators and representative to support the ESP and School Support Staff Family Leave Act. More than half the attendees sent emails urging them to do just that. Please join them and write to your senators and representative today!
CHEER: Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) introduced the SNAP Benefits Fairness Act of 2023 (H.R. 1765), which would allow more low-income families to receive their fair share of benefits by removing the arbitrary cap on housing expenses.
CHEER: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) reintroduced the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act (H.R. 2869) to allow the public and policymakers to gain a complete, accurate picture of gun violence in and around our school campuses, and provide actionable data to help prevent bloodshed at America’s places of learning.
CHEER: Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) reintroduced the Right to Read Act (S. 1307/H.R. 2889) to help address disparities in access to school library resources and help increase student literacy across America.
CHEER: Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Mike Braun (R-IN) and Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), reintroduced the bipartisan PSLF Payment Completion Fairness Act. The bill would end the requirement that to receive loan forgiveness, borrowers must be employed in a public service role when they apply for it even if they’ve made all requisite payments.
CHEER: Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) for joining Democrats in voting to ratify and add the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
