National Coalition for Literacy

—Campaign for a Fair Unemployment Insurance Extension

Congress passed the $143B payroll tax holiday compromise today, (293-132 in the House; 60-36 in the Senate), extending a tax cut for millions of Americans and jobless benefits through the end of the year.

The bill did not include education requirements which would have denied unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to any worker who lacks a high school diploma or its equivalent and is not enrolled in classes to earn one—regardless of how long the person worked or whether he or she has access to adult education.…

—Will It Include an Education Requirement?

Last night, Tuesday, February 14, Congressional leaders reached a tentative agreement to extend the payroll tax cut, including jobless benefits and reimbursement for doctors who accept Medicare. As a part of the tentative deal, Hill and media sources are reporting that the education requirement is off the table. However, the deal is not final and although leaders are pushing to finalize the year-long extension by this Friday, anything is subject to change.

According to the New York Times, “Democrats, elated after winning the Republican…

Today, February 13th, the President released his FY2013 Budget Proposal. According to the summary, adult education is proposed to be funded at $595 million, with $15 million to go towards the Workforce Innovation Fund for competitive grants. While some may see this as level-funding, others may not since the Workforce Innovation Fund is proposed to come from existing state adult education grants. These formula grants are being tapped to provide the proposed Workforce Innovation Fund, which is not a new trend (See last year’s 2012 Budget Proposal).

Additionally, 11…

—The Education Advocate’s Week in Review

By Washington Partners with Jackie Taylor

The Congress chose not to wait for the release of the President’s FY 2013 budget proposal, due out on Monday, before getting to work on their 2013 spending plan.  In spite of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) declaration that a budget resolution is unnecessary this year since spending levels were agreed to in last year’s negotiations around the debt limit increase, House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) takes a different view.  He has proposed removing any cost…

—Where Do You Stand?

Wednesday, February 1, members of the House-Senate Conference Committee met to further discuss issues and work out their differences surrounding the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, H.R. 3765. According to Roll Call, a newspaper which covers Capitol Hill, legislators “…still find themselves on shaky ground after their second meeting, with broad agreement on where to go but little agreement on how to get there.”

Legislators discussed the education requirement at great length, which was proposed by House Republicans as part of an earlier…

—Weekly Recap on Education Policy and Advocacy

State of the Union Address, Presidential Elections, Budget and Appropriations, House Adult Literacy Caucus Briefing, Unemployment Insurance (UI) Extension, ESEA Reauthorization, and Raising the Debt Ceiling

By Ellen Fern and Jackie Taylor

State of the Union Address

Both chambers of the Congress were in Washington this week following an extended recess. President Obama greeted them with a lengthy State of the Union (SOTU) address that was—not surprisingly—praised by Democrats and panned by Republicans. Now…

Thank you to everyone who got involved with the State of the Union Address for adult education and family literacy! On Tuesday, January 24, the National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) was invited to the White House to tweet live during the State of the Union (SOTU) address and participate in an interactive, open questions event with senior administration officials afterwards. We had the chance to ask questions about the speech and share questions from our followers on Facebook and [ Read More → ]

—Submit Your Questions for Senior Administration Officials During the State of the Union Address

This Tuesday, January 24, President Obama will present his 2012 State of the Union (SOTU) Address . The National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) will be at the White House tweeting live during the SOTU and participating in an interactive, open questions event with senior administration officials afterwards. We’ll have the chance to ask questions about the speech and share questions from our followers on Facebook and Twitter.

This is a unique opportunity for adult education advocates…

—A Budget and Appropriations Update

By Washington Partners

Next Tuesday evening President Obama officially kicks off the budget and appropriations season and his re-election campaign with his State of the Union Address.  In his remarks he will not only provide his assessment of where we stand as a nation, but also outline his legislative and spending priorities for the coming year.  Given the tone of his recent remarks about the Congress and the fact that their approval rating hovers at nine percent, well below his, you can expect a combative speech, critical…

Congress will soon continue its debate on the extension of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits—but it may include a provision that’s alarming Americans nationwide.

House Republicans are expected to once again push for a condition that would “…deny UI benefits to any worker who lacks a high school diploma or GED and is not enrolled in classes to get one or the other—regardless of how long the person worked or whether he or she has access to adult education,” according to a recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).…

By Ellen Fern and Jackie Taylor

In this month’s update, learn more about the status of the budget and appropriations process for FY2012 and what this means for adult education; find updates and breaking news on extending Unemployment Insurance (UI) employment benefits and how it may impact undereducated workers, new jobs legislation that includes adult education, and see more progress made on WIA reauthorization in the House.

• Budget and Appropriations
• UI Alert
• WIA Reauthorization
• Pathways Back to Work Act
• Adult Literacy Advocacy – What this means for you

[ Read More → ]

By Washington Partners

With the clock ticking toward December 16^th, which is when the current continuing resolution that is keeping government funds flowing is set to expire, little progress was made last week on a FY 2012 budget plan.  Appropriations Committee conferees met on Thursday, just long enough to make opening statements and make public a widely known secret, that of the nine unfinished spending bills, the troublemakers were Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHS) and Interior.

For LHHS, the issues are both funding and so-called policy riders.  The key funding issue…

By Washington Partners

Rumor has it we are going to hear a word spoken on Capitol Hill in the next few weeks that we haven’t heard in a while.  That word is yes.  It appears the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives, after months of saying no to any kind of compromise with Democrats, and Democrats similarly recalcitrant about working across the aisle, may come together to finish the pressing legislative business before the Congress in time for the holidays.  There are of course many opportunities for yes to turn into no in the world…

By Washington Partners

Budget and Appropriations

Though the House was in recess this week, Members of the Super Committee were meeting around the clock to try to reach agreement on a debt reduction proposal before the approaching November 23^rd deadline.  From outside, it appears that discussions have reached a stalemate, despite assertions that “progress is being made” from the Committee leadership.  Pressure is mounting, however, and lobbying from all sides to protect interests that, rumor has it, are on the chopping block is in full swing.

Another fast-approaching deadline is the November…

By Washington Partners, Public Policy Consultants of the National Coalition for Literacy

The separate work schedules for the House and Senate make a week when everyone is in town a rarity.  It happened last week, and finally there was progress on the FY 2012 appropriations front.  The budget is by no means decided, but the Senate did succeed in passing a so-called “minibus”—a bill that would fund several government agencies.  The bill passed on a vote of 69-30, vindicating Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) strategy to move forward.  House Republicans had questioned the minibus strategy, but…

—October 2011

By Jackie Taylor and Ellen Fern

Action items are listed first in this month’s update:

• American Jobs Act (Action)
• WIA Reauthorization (Action)
• Budget and Appropriations (Update)
• Joint Deficit Reduction Committee (Update)
• ESEA Reauthorization (Update)
• Advocacy Workshops & Tools
• 2012 House Calendar and Congressional Visits

American Jobs Act

A few weeks ago, the American Jobs Act was brought to the Senate floor where it died quickly. The only way both Democrats and Republicans…

By Washington Partners

Reauthorizing ESEA

What a week.  The scheduled October 18^th markup of a proposal to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is still on.  When asked whether the markup might really happen, one Senate staffer replied, “This is not a drill.”  As a result, many education groups and interests spent this week making the rounds with Senate HELP Committee members trying to discern the content of Chairman Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) proposal.

While a draft of the bill…

By Ellen Fern, Washington Partners LLC

On Thursday, September 29, the House Labor, Health, and Human Services and Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee released their FY2012 appropriations bill.  The legislation includes funding for programs within the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and other related agencies.  In total, the draft bill includes $153.4 billion in discretionary funding, which is $4 billion (-2.5%) below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level and $27.5 billion (-15.2%) below the President’s budget request.  The bill also contains several provisions intended to stop…

By Washington Partners

It felt like Groundhog Day all over again on Capitol Hill this week.  The House of Representatives took up a continuing resolution (CR) on Wednesday that was necessary to keep the government functioning beyond September 30th, the last day in the current fiscal year.  The bill failed when 42 Tea Party Republicans turned their backs on Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) in protest for what they considered too generous spending levels contained in the bill.  In an unusual show of unity, all but six Democrats also opposed the legislation because of…

By Washington Partners

Budget and Appropriations

The best 4th of July fireworks in Washington this year might just be under the dome of the U.S. Capitol versus on the National Mall. The inability of the Congress to come to consensus on a plan to raise the federal debt ceiling has led to fiery remarks and partisan sparks all week.

In his first news conference in months, President Obama compared the slow progress on negotiations to kids unable to finish their homework. He soundly criticized Republicans for drawing a line in the sand…

By Jackie Taylor with Ellen Fern and Heidi Silver-Pacuilla

WIA Reauthorization

On June 17, 2011, the National Coalition for Literacy and several adult education and family literacy organizations submitted their recommendations for the Senate Discussion Draft of the Workforce Investment Act of 2011. Many adult education advocacy groups, such as the Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD), Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE),…

By Jackie Taylor with Ellen Fern and Heidi Silver-Pacuilla

Advocacy Groups Meet Deadline to Comment on the Senate’s Discussion Draft of the Workforce Investment Act of 2011

Last week, the National Coalition for Literacy met the Senate’s June 17 deadline to submit feedback on the Senate Discussion Draft of the Workforce Investment Act of 2011. The Coalition’s feedback, as well as feedback submitted by several Coalition Member organizations, is available here on the NCL Advocacy Blog. …

By Washington Partners and Jackie Taylor

Advocacy Updates

WIA Reauthorization

On Thursday, June 9, the Senate released a discussion draft of Title I of the proposed Workforce Investment Act reauthorization for stakeholder comment. Titles II – VI are being released separately over the next several days. The National Coalition for Literacy is analyzing the draft and preparing recommendations to submit to the HELP Committee staff by this Friday, June 17. To ensure you receive a copy of NCL’s recommendations, subscribe to our blog’s RSS feed or follow us on…

By Jackie Taylor and Ellen Fern

On Thursday, June 9, the Senate released a discussion draft of Title I of the proposed Workforce Investment Act reauthorization for stakeholder comment. Titles II – VI will be released separately over the next several days.

The National Coalition for Literacy is scheduling calls to organize a strong response from NCL Members and to prioritize our top recommendations. We believe the draft bill will be introduced next Wednesday, June 15, and the deadline for comments back to staff is Friday, June 17. While the Senate HELP Committee has…

Adult Education’s Latest on the Hill

By Washington Partners and Jackie Taylor

FY2012 Appropriations

On May 20, the House reached its deadline to submit its programmatic funding priorities to Chairman Rehberg (R-MT), as reported in NCL’s May 22 Update. This was a quick turnaround for signatures, and advocates did well in calling attention to this opportunity to their House Members. Final Copy of Roe-Hinojosa Letter

Several of you received commitments from your House Member to sign on, but given the time constraints…

—Education Advocates Stay Vigilant, Engaged

By Washington Partners and Jackie Taylor

ESEA Reauthorization

With the House of Representatives in recess, Capitol Hill was relatively quiet last week. Before leaving town for a district work period, House Education and the Workforce Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Chair Duncan Hunter (R-CA) introduced the first installment for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which would make good on one of the first Republican promises regarding reform of this law—making it smaller and less costly. The bill repeals the authorizations…

—Budget and Appropriations Update and Action Alert

By Ellin Nolan and Jackie Taylor

Friday the 13th. It always has an ominous ring and, for education advocates, given last week’s events, this day was no exception. On Wednesday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) announced…

By Washington Partners

Six and a half months into the new fiscal year, the President received from the Congress the FY2011 budget. After months of partisan wrangling and the passage of no fewer than 7 continuing resolutions (CR), the House and Senate adopted a budget plan this week that cuts spending by $37.6 billion below FY2010. The majority of those cuts for the Department of Education (ED) came from small programs that direct funds to specific entities which are now considered earmarks. An across the board cut of 0.2 percent, however, means that even the Individuals…

—A Budget, Appropriations, and Advocacy Update

By Jackie Taylor and Ellen Fern

FY2011 Appropriations

Congressional leaders agreed late Friday to a compromise that will keep the federal government funded for the remainder of the fiscal year—averting a government shutdown less than an hour before it was set to start. They also passed a short-term resolution that would fund the federal government through Friday, April 15.

By passing  a new, one-week extension, both chambers were given the time to work out the legislative language for a final agreement to cut an…

By Jackie Taylor and Ellen Fern

FY2011 Appropriations Update—Is it Over Yet?

The 6th short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) will expire on April 8th.  Early reports indicated that talks between the House and Senate were not going well and that a government shutdown was more likely. However, today’s new development reveals a tentative agreement on a package that cuts an additional $23 billion compared to current funding, $33 billion compared to FY2010, or a total of $73 billion compared to President Obama’s FY2011 budget proposal.

Speaker Boehner had directed the Appropriations staff to…