[GLC] FW: ACTION ALERT FY08 FEDERAL BUDGET

[Ira Yankwitt]

Dear Colleagues:
 
The National Council of State Directors of Adult Education are seizing
upon a very favorable federal review of adult education (the PART), and
a potentially supportive Congress, to launch a national campaign to
increase federal adult education funding from $580 million to $750
million dollars.  The email below from Art Ellison is fairly
self-explanatory.  Please contact me if you have any questions.
 
All the Best,
Ira

Ira Yankwitt, Director
NYC Regional Adult Education Network
Literacy Assistance Center
32 Broadway, 10th Floor
NY, NY 10004
212-803-3356


 

________________________________


From:  Art Ellison, Co-Chair, Policy Committee, National Council of
State Directors of Adult Education

 

Re:      ACTION ALERT  FY08  FEDERAL BUDGET

 

The President's budget proposal for FY 08 level funds adult education at
$579.8 million. In response, the national adult education community has
set a goal for this budget cycle of increasing the federal appropriation
to $750 million, an increase of approximately $170 million. While there
are multiple reasons why funding at this higher level is needed there
are three major justifications for the increase:

  

Inflation:  Level funding of adult education over four years means that
we now need $79 million just to provide the same services to the same
numbers of people in our systems three years ago.

 

Waiting Lists: Based upon the recent survey by the National Council of
State Directors of Adult Education for the last program year it would
take at least $89 million to clear the waiting lists established in most
of the states.  

 

PART Review: The Program Assessment Review conducted by the Office of
Management and Budget gave an Effective Rating to only four programs in
the entire US Department of Education. Adult Education is one of the
four.  

 

 

 We will need a massive effort on the part of our field to convince the
members of the US House and Senate that the additional funding is
critical to meeting the needs of our clients. The impact of our work
needs to equal that of two years ago when we convinced Congress to
restore funding our programs.

 

In order for our to be effective we will pursue two strategies: (1) an
overall campaign to contact every member of the House and Senate and (2)
a targeted campaign to members of the House and Senate Appropriations
Subcommittees that determine funding for education programs. We need to
move as quickly as possible to start the advocacy process for additional
funding. 

 

The goals for the first campaign are a minimum of 500 contacts per
Congressional Districts and 1000 for every member of the Senate. This is
obviously a very low number of Senate contacts for the large states but
hopefully is manageable for those of us in the small states. The
contacts should be made by staff, students and friends of adult
education by letter to the Washington offices of Senators and
Representatives. Letters, handwritten or typed on the computer, can be
faxed to the Washington offices or the email system set up by the
individual members can be utilized. Instructions on using the web based
system for contacting members of Congress can be found on each
individual member's website. All letters should be one page and should
ask for "increased federal funding for adult education". Student letters
should include the reason that the student went back to school and what
they would like to do in the future.  Letters from staff can address the
waiting list and inflation issues as they relate to the local situation.


 

The focus of the targeted campaign will be on the members of the House
and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees listed below. THEY ARE THE KEY
PLAYERS IN THE APPROPRIATONS PROCESS. We must insure that each of them
understands the critical need for additional funding for adult
education. 

 

House Appropriations Subcommittee Labor, Health, and Human Services,
Education and Related Agencies

 

Democrats
Republicans

 

Chair-David Obey-Wisconsin                                  Ranking
Member-James Walsh-New York

 

Rosa DeLauro-Connecticut                                     Ralph
Regula-Ohio

 

Jesse Jackson-Illinois                                             John
Peterson-Pennsylvania

 

Patrick Kennedy-Rhode Island                        Dave Weldon-Florida

 

Lucille Roybal-Allard-California                               Michael
Simpson-Idaho

 

Barbara Lee-California                                            Dennis
Rehberg-Montana

 

Tom Udall-New Mexico

 

Michael Honda-California

 

Betty McCollum-Minnesota

 

Tim Ryan-Ohio

 

 

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education and Related Agencies

 

Democrats
Republicans

 

Chair-Tom Harkin -Iowa                                          Ranking
Member-Arlen Specter-Pennsylvania

 

Daniel Inouye-Hawaii                                              Thad
Cochran-Mississippi

 

Herbert  Kohl-Wisconsin                                       Judd
Gregg-New Hampshire

 

Patty Murray-Washington                                  Larry
Craig-Idaho

 

Mary landrieu-Louisiana                              Kay Bailey
Hutchinson-Texas

 

Richard Durbin-Illinois                                             Ted
Stevens-Alaska

 

Jack Reed-Rhode Island                                  Richard
Shelby-Alabama

 

Frank Launtenberg-New Jersey

 

In order to be successful with the members of these two subcommittees we
should have a single adult educator in each congressional district/
state who is responsible for communication between the adult education
community and the Washington office of the Representative/Senator.
This adult education contact should have a good working relationship
with the education staff person in the Washington office and be in a
position to manage the advocacy campaign focused on the specific House
member or Senator.  

 

Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss
any of the information contained in this Alert. I know that many of you
are heavily involved at this time in state advocacy campaigns for
additional funding. I appreciate your commitment and the commitment of
your staff and students to increasing the educational opportunities for
adults across the country. This is the beginning of another massive
example of democracy at work. Thank you for your continued passion for
this work.    Art Ellison                                     

 

 

 

 

      

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