2005 Campaign Congressional Visits
From LiteracyTentWiki
To: aaace-nla@lists.literacytent.org
From: dwyoho@earthlink.net
Date: 3/22/2005
Dear Friends,
This morning, for the first time in my life, I met face to face with my Congressman, Joe Wilson (R-SC).
In the lobby before I walked in I picked up a bumper sticker ("Save our bases") to cheer on our military installations in our area and put it in my pocket.
The first thing we dicussed was not adult ed. I welcomed the Congressman home and he mentioned how good it is to see his son, who just got back from Iraq. I told him that my father, brother and husband have all been career military and each one had been stationed at one of our local bases, and that my husband is a Desert Storm vet. Then I pulled the bumper sticker out of my pocket and waved it at him, and thanked him for his work to fight to keep the bases open. He really blinked at the coincidence that I had picked up the sticker and I could see I had connected with him. (Later in the meeting, I met his son and he mentioned that he will be taking a job soon connected with one of our courts. I asked his son if the courts were seeing an upsurge of cases involving Hispanics with little English. He said yes, and I explained that we teach adults to speak English, too.)
I count it as evidence of the efforts of many when I saw my colleague, Mary Collins, the adult ed director in Lexington County District 2, coming out of Joe's office as I went in. That was happenstance and fortuitous. I told Joe I would not repeat what I am sure Mary had already told him about our dismay with the President's budget proposal of a 70% cut for adult ed in SC, but that I wanted him to know that non-profits also receive this funding. I asked him if he had any doubts that adult ed is necessary and effective, and reminded him that his former district director, Mary Howard, was once a GED teacher. He quickly and I believe very sincerely told me he did not have to be convinced that we are doing a good job. I said I was "here to listen, as much as to share my concerns", and told him of my confusion that the President would send a budget with these cuts in view of his family's support for literacy. I said a 70% cut would put us out of business, me and others out of a job, and thousands of learners without services. He said he agreed that the cut was "way too much" but felt that more and more money is being spent. I said yes, we spend more to serve more, and reviewed the growth of our literacy program over 10 years, despite no growth in staff, and how we used computers to do this. He said he thought a 1% cut might be reasonable, and I said that 1% would at least leave us in business. He also mentioned faith-based services, saying that in many ways churches can "hold people accountable" in ways that others cannot. I said I agree, mentioned that I teach Sunday School at Shandon Baptist, and that we have 110 learners there learning English as a new language, taught by church volunteers that our literacy program equips and guides. I also explained how volunteer literacy programs have their origins in the faith community via Frank Laubach. Then again I asked how the President's proposal could happen. He said "well, we tend to go by what the Department of Ed tells us" and he did not think "the problem is the President." He checked with his staff to make sure they had received the briefing I emailed two weeks ago, and asked me to contact his LA in DC, giving me the LA's card. I gave him a brochure, we talked of several other things related to k-12 education, and then his staff took my picture with him and I left.
I may be wrong, but I honestly believe the Congressman was a bit rattled on this whole subject to see such concern which he basically left on the table as legitimate. All in all I was pleasantly surprised, did not feel "handled", and have some hope that a continued dialog with him may be fruitful, after all, despite his solid party-faithful track record.
I also offer the observation that my programs' connections to the community, in this case the faith-based and military communities, surely helped today when meeting with this conservative leader. I submit this as testimony of the vital importance of CBO involvement in adult education, and one reason why "government programs" and private non-profits need each other.
Here's a brief summary of the latest on federal legislation:
WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT:
H.R. 27, the Job Training Improvement Act of 2005, passed the House of Representatives on March 2, 2005. S. 9, the Lifetime of Education Opportunities Act of 2005 was introduced on January 24, 2005. According to Committee staff, hearings are expected during the month of April, followed by markup, with the hope that a bill will be reported by the Committee in early May.
BUDGET
The Budget process sets the overall spending caps that are used by the Appropriations Committee in developing legislation setting forth spending levels for individual programs. The House and Senate both considered and passed their separate versions of the 2006 budget prior the current Congressional recess. Congressman Obey offered an amendment to the House Budget resolution to restore education funding, but it was defeated. However, in the Senate, both Senator Kennedy and Senator Specter offered amendments restoring funds to the budget and both were adopted. The two bodies must now meet in conference to reconcile the differences between their two bills. This could prove extremely difficult since the Senate restored many of the funding cuts requested by the Administration and the House did not.
APPROPRIATIONS
The President released his budget on February 7, 2007, proposing to cut adult education funds by $369.71 million.
The House Committee on Appropriations has begun hearings on the FY 2006 Budget. On March 10, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings testified before the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. Further hearings will be held in the upcoming weeks, with witnesses representing the education community.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations has also begun hearings on the FY 2006 Budget. On March 2, Secretary Spellings testified before the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. Further hearings will be held in the upcoming weeks with witnesses from the education community.
For the Cause! Debbie
Deborah W. Yoho
Executive Director, Greater Columbia Literacy Council
Past President, SC Adult Literacy Educators
2728 Devine Street, Columbia, SC 29205
803-765-2555 Fax 803-799-8417
dwyoho@earthlink.net
To: aaace-nla@lists.literacytent.org
From: dwyoho@earthlink.net
Date: 3/23/05
I just wanted to go on record that BOTH SC senators, both Republicans,
voted FOR the Kennedy Amendment. I am sending big thank yous! My
goodness, there is hope for this state yet! If this can happen here, it can
happen anywhere.
For the Cause! Debbie
Deborah W. Yoho
From: AEllison@ed.state.nh.us Subject: RE: [AAACE-NLA] Republican senatators votes for us Date: March 24, 2005 8:57:59 AM EST To: aaace-nla@lists.literacytent.org
Deborah,
I wish that you were correct but the voting record on that amendment indicates that both Senator Graham and DeMint voted in the negative.
Art Ellison
Co-chair, Policy Committee
National Council of State Directors of Adult Education
To:aaace-nla@lists.literacytent.org
From: barguedas@sfccnm.edu
Date: 3/23/2005
Thank you for this opportunity to report on our recent visits -- Two weeks ago a group of us from Santa Fe Community College Adult Basic Education visited the office of Congressman Udall. His staff person was very impressed with our information and our commitment to ABE and assured us support. We also hand-delivered a packet of letters written by our students.
And just this past Monday, Senator Jeff Bingaman visited our program. We only had about 25 minutes to make an impression (although he already knew about the need to support us in congress) so we had our students give testimonials. About 14 students spoke about their need to learn English, get the GED, improve their basic skills, and how ABE had helped them to move on to college and to better jobs.
We have all had a great lesson in civics engagement!
Barbara Arguedas
ABE Director
Santa Fe Community College
Santa Fe, NM
To:DJRosen@theworld.com (which he then posted with permission from the sender, to the AAACE-NLA list)
From:norenehp@bresnan.net
Date: April 27, 2005
Dear MAACE members:
It is our belief that with the proper follow-up, this will have been the most beneficial MAACE activity we have ever been involved with. Thank you, and the board, for agreeing to support this effort and for the opportunity to represent this organization. What follows is a breakdown of our visits to each office.
Senator Max Baucus:
We started our day with coffee and a photo opportunity with Max. This was a busy time, as there were many folks there to see him. We did get a chance to speak with him directly about our cause and thank him for his support of the Kennedy amendment. He indicated that he would continue to support our efforts and "all things educational."
Later, we met one-on-one with Erin Nugent, Baucus' Education Legislative Assistant. She indicated we have the office's full support of the reinstatement of ABLE funding, and that they will be watching the Kennedy amendment closely. She indicated there is a chance it may become a moot point. She said she is doubtful they (the Senate and House) will come to a budget resolution this session. If they do not, she said ABE would automatically be refunded at last year's levels. More important, Erin indicated they would be very willing to help us seek an increase next year. She provided some useful feedback about how and when to start that process. We told her we were in search of a champion for our cause, and she stated Max might be willing to fill the role. She strongly suggested we begin the process of requesting additional funds in November or December of this year. We will begin discussions with MAACE upon our return to try to develop a plan of action.
Senator Conrad Burns:
Burns was the only congressional representative we did not get to talk directly with, but we spent some quality time with Melanie Benning, his Education Legislative Assistant. As expected, Burns' office was supportive of our efforts, and Melanie indicated ABLE was in a strong place on Burns' list of priorities. This is largely due to the number of letters and phone calls the office has received. These contacts paved the way for our visit and made our meeting more successful. We were very pleased to hear Melanie say that ABLE has been perhaps the second largest education lobby this session, second only to TRIO! It is very important we keep the letters flowing to ALL of the congressional offices. Melanie stated they would track the Kennedy amendment closely, and she indicated a strong willingness to work with us in the pursuit of an increase next year. She also indicated Burns may be willing to champion our cause in the future.
Congressmen Denny Rehberg:
While waiting for Amy Astin, Rehberg’s legislative assistant for education, we were able to speak with Rehberg directly. He said cutting ABLE was not an option, and he felt it was the President's plan all along to force Congress to reinstate the funding. He stated he would do his part in appropriations to see the Kennedy Amendment made it through the House. When we met with Amy, she appeared supportive, had numerous questions, and requested by far the most information from us. She did not want to make any promises, but she seemed to embrace our message of how important our programs are to Montana. She questioned each of us about who we were and what we did, and seemed impressed that we were not lobbyists but were each directly involved in providing services in our programs. She stated she is overwhelmed with e-mails, and requested we contact her by phone for any follow-up.
Miscellaneous:
On our orientation day, when we were staking-out the locations for our meetings, we ran into Senator Kerry in the hallway of the Dirksen Senate Building. He was busy with a reporter, but he gave us a nice smile and a kind greeting! We also ran into Linda McCulloch in both of the senate offices we visited. We spoke with her briefly and let her know what we were up to.
All in all, it was a great trip, and we will all have more details, observations, and advice to share with you when we get back. We feel we are in a great place with this year's funding and that we have paved the way for even better things next year!
Steve, Dixie, and Jake
