Senate Budget Resolutions

May 15, 2012  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Letters to Congress

May 15, 2012

Dear Senator:

The Committee for Education Funding (CEF), a coalition of 95 education associations and institutions from birth to postgraduate education, is writing to express our strong opposition to several proposed Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Resolutions that will be voted on tomorrow.

H. Con. Res. 112, the House-passed Budget Resolution would severely slash funding for education programs, decimate student financial assistance and make college less affordable. It will move our nation backward in efforts to close achievement gaps, improve overall student achievement, and increase high school graduation, college access and college completion rates.

To view the full letter, click here

Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act of 2012

May 10, 2012  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Letters to Congress

May 9, 2012

Dear Representative:

The Committee for Education Funding (CEF), a coalition of 95 education associations and institutions from birth to postgraduate education, writes in strong opposition to the Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act of 2012, reported from the Budget Committee, and to the overall approach to sequestration contained in the House-passed Budget Resolution (H. Con. Res. 112).

The Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Resolution and this legislation would replace the sequester, but do so by imposing dramatically deeper cuts to education and all other nondefense discretionary programs.  First, in FY 2013 the Budget Resolution and the Sequester Replacement Act (HR 4966), which has been incorporated into this bill, cut overall FY 2013 discretionary spending by $19 billion and nondefense spending by $27 billion below the levels established on a bipartisan basis in the Budget Control Act (BCA).

To view the full letter, click here

STOP THE CUTS!

March 22, 2012  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Charts and Factsheets

    

Updated February 10, 2012

STOP THE LARGEST EDUCATION FUNDING CUTS EVER!!

  • Unless Congress acts, on January 2, 2013 all federally-funded education programs (other than Pell grants) will be subject to a 9.1% automatic across-the-board cut.D[i]D
  • These cuts (called “sequestration” in federal jargon) would chop funding for programs in the Department of Education by over $4.1 billion. In addition, Head Start would be cut by $725 million. This would be the largest cut EVER to education programs.
  • Additional cuts to education programs (including Pell grants) will likely occur in Fiscal Years 2014 through 2021 due to stringent “caps” on so-called discretionary-funded programs, which include all education programs (other than student loans) and Head Start.
  • Critical programs including Title I aid to high-poverty schools; IDEA funds for students with disabilities; Impact Aid; teacher quality grants; after-school grants; charter and magnet school aid; English Language Acquisition grants; career, technical and adult education; campus-based student aid; aid to minority-serving institutions; TRIO and GEAR UP will all be slashed. Some examples:
  • These across-the board cuts result from Congress’ failure last year to enact at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, as required by the Budget Control Act. Because Congress was unable to adopt a balanced deficit reduction plan that included both revenues and spending cuts, the entire $1.2 trillion will now be taken out of discretionary-funded programs.
  • These cuts will be on top of education cuts adopted by Congress last year. Funding for education programs (exclusive of changes to Pell grants) was cut in the aggregate by $1.25 billion (-2.7%) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, which generally provides funds to schools and colleges for the 2011-2012 school year.The FY 2012 omnibus appropriations bill cut aggregate funding for the Department of Education by an additional $233 million. Between FY 10 and FY 12 more than 50 education programs totaling $1.2 billion have had their funding completely eliminated.
  • These cuts will be particularly disruptive to schools because some of the cuts will take effect in January 2013 – the middle of the 2012-13 school year.
  • Cuts of this magnitude will be harmful to jobs and the economy. A person with a Bachelor’s degree has lifetime earnings more than twice as much as a high school dropout, benefitting not only those individuals and their families, but our society and government by paying higher taxes and relying less on social services. 
  •  What you can do to stop these cuts:
    • Prepare an analysis of the impact to your state/school district/school/college of a 9.1% cut in your federal education funds.
    • Share that result with your members of Congress and urge them to stop the largest education cuts in history and to stop reducing the deficit on the backs of students, schools and colleges. See: http://house.gov/ and http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm  for a list of Representatives and Senators.
    • Share what you send and any responses with the Committee for Education Funding: Rmendoza@cef.org

 

  • Title I would be cut by $1.3 billion, adversely affecting services to more than 1.7 million educationally disadvantaged children.
    • IDEA special education would be cut by over $1 billion affecting 536,000 students with disabilities.
    • Funding for teacher quality grants would be cut by $225 million.
    • While Pell grants is exempt from sequestration in FY 13, other student financial aid programs such as Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Work-Study would be cut by $156 million, reducing aid to            more than 2 million students.
    • TRIO and GEAR UP will cut by a combined $104 million, curtailing services to over 145,000 students.
    • Career, Technical and Adult Education would be cut by $158 million, harming more than 1.6 million students.
    • Overall, these education cuts would jeopardize almost 90,000 education jobs.

 

302b FY 2013 letter

March 19, 2012  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Letters to Congress

March 16, 2012

 

The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye                                                  The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman                                                                                                 Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations                                                       Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Senate                                                                                             U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510                                                                     Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Harold Rogers                                                      The Honorable Norm Dicks
Chairman                                                                                                 Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations                                                       Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives                                                      U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515                                                                     Washington, DC 20515

 

The 902 undersigned organizations—representing the full range of stakeholders in the programs of the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services and Labor—urge you to provide the largest possible FY 2013 302(b) allocation to the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee within the discretionary cap established by the Budget Control Act (BCA). Rebuilding our investment in these domestic programs will boost the economy and reduce the deficit through prevention of costly chronic diseases, increased earnings, and reduced expenditures for unemployment and other social service programs.

 

To read full letter, please click here

House and Senate ESEA program Bills

January 12, 2012  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Charts and Factsheets

 

Click here to view PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED IN ESEA BILLS INTRODUCED BY EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN KLINE

Click here to view PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED IN ESEA BILL AS REPORTED BY SENATE HELP COMMITTEE

 

 

PASS the FIX AMERICA’S SCHOOLS ACT, S. 1597

December 2, 2011  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Letters to Congress

December 2, 2011

PASS the FIX AMERICA’S SCHOOLS ACT, S. 1597

 Dear Senator:

 The following 173 organizations are writing to support the Fix America’s Schools Today (FAST) Act, S.1597.  Modernizing schools and community colleges in local communities will create better learning environments for students and generate much needed jobs.  The FAST Act will invest resources to repair, renovate and modernize America’s schools and community colleges while stimulating and creating some 300,000 jobs. Much needed local jobs will be generated in the construction industry among suppliers, ranging from architects and engineers to electrical, plumbing and roofing contractors and other construction workers who modernize, renovate and repair schools.

View full letter, click here

CHF-CEF-CIAW 302b Letter

November 8, 2011  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Letters to Congress

November 4, 2011

Dear Chairmen and Ranking Members:

The Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce, the Coalition for Health Funding and the Committee for Education Funding, representing the workforce investment, health and education communities, are jointly writing to urge you to recognize health, education, job training, children’s and social services programs as critical national priorities by providing the largest possible 302(b) conference allocation for the Fiscal Year 2012 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. The allocation should be consistent with the aggregate discretionary appropriation level of $1.043 trillion included in the Budget Control Act (BCA).

Additional investment in these domestic programs will boost the economy and reduce the deficit through prevention of costly chronic diseases, increased earnings, and reduced expenditures for unemployment and other social service programs.

The FY 2012 bill as approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee has a discretionary allocation (including cap adjustments) of $158.027 billion. The draft House proposal released by
Chairmen Rogers and Rehberg, by contrast has a comparable allocation of $153.414 billion, a level that is $4.613 billion below the Senate.

To view the full letter, click here

Joint Committee

October 21, 2011  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Letters to Congress

October 20, 2011

The Honorable Patty Murray
The Honorable Jeb Hensarling
Co-Chairs
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
Congress of the United States
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Senator Murray and Representative Hensarling:

The Committee for Education Funding (CEF), a coalition of 90 education associations and institutions from preschool to postgraduate education, is writing to express our views to the Joint Select Committee on the importance of federal funding for education

As highlighted below, education is the key to economic growth and nearly every economist has indicated that growing the economy is part of the solution to our nation’s budgetary crisis. Thus, we urge you to do the following three things. First, reject any further cuts to education programs. Second, include in your recommendations two key education provisions that will create jobs and improve the economy in the short term. Third, support increased investments for education to foster long-term economic growth and improve our nation’s global competitiveness

To read the full letter, click here

S 1723 Letter

October 19, 2011  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Letters to Congress

October 18, 2011

Dear Senator:

The Committee for Education Funding (CEF), a coalition of 90 education associations and institutions from preschool to postgraduate education, is writing to express our strong support for S. 1723, The Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act.

This bill would provide $30 billion to create or save almost 400,000 education jobs for teachers and other school employees, including school counselors, school social workers, school nurses, librarians, paraprofessionals, custodians and other school personnel. Without these funds students will be shortchanged by reductions in school weeks, program eliminations, and unreasonable class sizes.

S. 1723 appropriately responds to the layoff crisis in our schools. Students, schools and colleges are struggling with significant state and local budget cuts that have resulted in large numbers of educator layoffs and major cuts to and elimination of a range of critical education programs.

In the past two years local governments have slashed over 250,000 education jobs, with 24,000 educator jobs lost just last month. Not only do those individuals who are laid off and their families suffer, but these reductions in force are also extremely harmful to local communities and the overall economy.

To read full letter, click here

1.5% CR Cut House

October 19, 2011  |  No Comments  |  by Broddy  |  Letters to Congress

October 14, 2011

Representative Denny Rehberg
Chairman
House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee
2358-B Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Rehberg:

The Committee for Education Funding (CEF), a coalition of 90 education associations and institutions from preschool to postgraduate education, is writing to seek your assistance in restoring a $329 million cut to key education programs in the 2011-12 school year.

The current Fiscal Year 2012 Continuing Resolution (P.L. 112-36), which expires on November 18, 2011, contains a 1.503 percent across-the board cut for all programs (unless otherwise exempted). Since most education programs are forward funded, and thus states and school districts won’t receive their FY 12 allocation of funds until July 2012, this 1.5 percent cut appeared to have little impact on education programs at this time.

To read the full letter, click here

  • When Our Students Succeed, Our Nation Succeeds.

    Founded in 1969, the Committee for Education Funding (CEF) and its 80 member organizations have worked toward the common goal of achieving adequate federal support for our nation's education system.

    Nonpartisan and nonprofit, CEF is America's largest education coalition, reflecting the broad spectrum of the education community.

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