National Coalition for Literacy

Thank You Adult Literacy Advocates!

—By Washington Partners with Jackie Taylor

On Thursday, June 7, the House Education and the Workforce Committee met to mark up and amend the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012, H.R. 4297.  Overall, this bill consolidates 25 workforce training programs that have been identified as duplicative and ineffective into a single Workforce Investment Fund that provides flexibility for states to determine the best use of funds.

On the flip side, Democrats John Tierney (D-MA), George Miller (D-CA), and Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX) proposed H.R. 4227, an alternative version…

—A Weekly Education and Advocacy Update

By Washington Partners With Jackie Taylor

Grassroots Advocacy Actions Needed This Week:

WIA Reauthorization: Adult education advocates who are constituents of House Education and the Workforce Committee Members should act immediately to preserve funding for adult education in WIA reauthorization. The National Coalition for Literacy learned last Friday that markup is to be scheduled for this Thursday, June 7. If your House Member is on this Committee, please call your U.S. Representative’s D.C. office with this message: “Do not consolidate adult education funding (Title II) in WIA reauthorization.”

…

Issue: This Thursday, June 7, the Education and the Workforce Committee will likely markup The Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 (HR 4297) as the next step in reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Created in 1998 through a bipartisan process, WIA is the legislation which authorizes funding for adult education programs.

If this bill were to become law, it would allow states to consolidate adult education funding together with a newly-created fund that provides for a broad set of general workforce activities, including job seeking services, without requiring states to…

Issue: On March 29th, Members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee introduced The Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 (HR 4297). As early as next week, the full Committee may meet to markup the bill as the next step in reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

Created in 1998 through a bipartisan process, WIA—the legislation which provides for adult education programs—has not been updated since then. Now, House Republicans are moving their legislation forward to markup.

The National Coalition for Literacy has several concerns…

—By Washington Partners with Jackie Taylor

Budget and Appropriations

The Congress has an uncanny way of exhausting itself and every advocate in town just before a district or state work period.  Last week was no exception.  Capitol Hill was crawling with citizens deeply committed to either keeping or tossing the Affordable Healthcare Act.  They surrounded the Supreme Court building that was hosting an unprecedented three-day proceeding at which the Justices were hearing arguments both for and against the constitutionality of certain provisions of the law.  There were also crowds protesting the tragic death of…

—By Washington Partners with Jackie Taylor

URGENT ACTION NEEDED

Adult education advocates now push for Senators to sign the Webb Dear Colleague letter in support of adult education funding. (This letter is the Senate counterpart to the Roe-Hinojosa Letter circulated in the House.) However, time is of the essence, as Senators have only 2 1/2 days to sign on. Advocates who already have a relationship with their Senators’ offices should place calls immediately, requesting that their Senators sign on. Details can be found here.

Last…

—A Weekly Education Update

By Washington Partners with Jackie Taylor

Congress returned to Washington last week after a rare recess during which Members of both the Senate and House were in their home states and districts.  Education policy was prominent throughout the week.

On Tuesday, House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) led his colleagues in a day-long markup of the last two bills of his piecemeal approach to rewriting the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)—H.R. 3989, the Student Success Act, and…

—By Washington Partners with Jackie Taylor

The President sent his fiscal year 2013 budget to Capitol Hill last week to mixed reviews.  Republican Members were quick to criticize the proposal as too costly at a time that requires fiscal restraint.  Democratic Members offered muted praise and caution regarding the deficit and pending sequestration if the government doesn’t get its fiscal house in order.

For education advocates, the top line news was good.  The President has proposed a modest increase for education—a 2.5 percent bump, or $1.7 billion over FY2012.  As with past Obama budgets,…

—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.…

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 → ]

The National Coalition for Literacy is hosting its Quarterly Meeting on December 8, 2011, at the Phoenix Park Hotel (Georgian Room) in Washington, DC. We’re thrilled to welcome several presenters as well as legislative staffs joining us for a Hot Topics Legislative Panel.

The Meeting fee is $30.00 to help cover the cost of the meeting space.

RSVP Here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NCLMtg-LegPanel

Please RSVP by November 28 to reserve your seat, after which we will open the legislative panel up to others who would like to attend.

NCL Quarterly Meeting…

—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…

The National Coalition for Literacy will be presenting several interactive public policy advocacy sessions at the US Conference on Adult Literacy (USCAL) in Houston, Texas, November 2-5, 2011. We hope you will join us! Come share your experiences and recommendations in advocating for adult and family literacy and have a voice in strengthening NCL’s advocacy nationwide. Leave armed with resources for strategically developing your advocacy campaigns.

Add a preconference to your schedule: Register today for our day long preconference on Effective Advocacy Strategies. Early registration has been extended until October 21. Register here.

[ Read More → ]

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…

By Washington Partners and Jackie Taylor

The House Adult Literacy Caucus and the National Coalition for Literacy held a Congressional briefing May 12, 2011, highlighting 21st Century Approaches to Adult Literacy. Approximately 40 were in attendance, including adult education leaders, advocates, and legislative staffs.

The briefing followed the NCL Quarterly Meeting, where Congressman Bill Goodling made a surprise visit after recovering from a serious medical condition.

Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, President of the National Coalition for Literacy, opened the…

—Week in Review on Budget and Appropriations

By Washington Partners

Events in Japan and Libya, a presidential trip to Latin America and a congressional recess period took the Fiscal Year 2011 budget debate out of the headlines this week. Regardless, it was not far from the minds of nervous education advocates who fear deep cuts in spending for the Department of Education in a final FY 2011 budget agreement. The 6th continuing resolution (CR) is now in effect and will expire on April 8th. Finding common ground between the Republican-led House of Representatives, the…

By Jackie Taylor

I have a few more policy advocacy updates for you this week:

• House Adult Literacy Caucus
• COABE Meets With Key Staff on the Hill
• Next Steps

House Adult Literacy Caucus

On Wednesday, February 9, Congressman Hinojosa (D-TX) joined Congressman Phil Roe (R-TN) to co-chair the bipartisan House Adult Literacy Caucus. National Coalition for Literacy Members were in DC to welcome Congressman Hinojosa to the Caucus and hear the Caucus co-chairs’ plans for moving forward. The Congressmen set a goal of having 100 House Members to join the Caucus this year; they plan to have…

By Jackie Taylor

We have the important task ahead of us for 2011 in educating a new Congress, protecting adult education and family literacy funding at the federal level, and advocating for the priorities we want to see included in a new WIA reauthorization bill.

Here are 11 ways you can recommit to adult education advocacy for 2011. Take our poll in the right column (scroll down) to select your top three:

1. 5 Minutes, 5 Alerts: Commit to responding to 5 alerts on adult education issues in 2011. The

…

—A Public Policy Update on Adult Education and Literacy

By Jackie Taylor

Adult education and literacy impacts a host of critical issues that face our nation: jobs and the economy, health care, immigration, poverty, families and children’s education, to name just a few. We can help change these issues for the better by advocating for more effective public policies that support adult education and literacy.

As the lame duck session nears a close, I’ll share public policy advocacy updates in parts.

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Part I of V: Jobs and

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By Jackie Taylor

Vote! Key Legislators and Midterm Elections

Several key legislators who support adult education are up for re-election. See Midterm Elections: what are they? What is at stake?. On page 10, Art Ellison, NH State Director and NCL Executive Board Member, discusses what adult education advocates should know for the coming election. He also lists key House and Senate Members running for re-election.

If you haven’t yet, see Project Vote Smart’s “Vote Easy” website. Vote Smart is a non profit, non-partisan organization helps you sort…

By Jackie Taylor

Appropriations

Members of the Senate voted 69-30 on Tuesday evening, September 28, to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep government operating until Dec. 3.

The House passed a CR  on Wednesday and Congress is on recess until after the November 2 elections. They are expected to be back the week of November 15, then on recess for the week of November 22, and return the week of November 29 until the 111^th Congress is done.

Congress passes a CR when appropriations bills are not passed by October 1,…

The National Coalition for Literacy has been asked by Hill staff, “Of the NCL WIA Reauthorization Priorities, which are most important?” The answer to that question is that they are all important.

From July 19 – August 6, the National Coalition for Literacy held a guest blog discussion on Reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act—What is a priority for you? During this period, guest bloggers from the Coalition wrote about why each NCL WIA reauthorization priority is important and invited comments from the field.

Substantive discussions resulted over multiple weeks about why these are priorities for the…

By Jackie Taylor

Appropriations

The Senate Appropriations Committee (Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies) markup for FY11 (S. 3686, Senate Report 111-243) is now available and reflects the President’s budget request for adult education. The full House committee markup is not yet available and contacts on the Hill have indicated that we may not see an appropriations bill until after December or January.

WIA Reauthorization

A Senate bipartisan team is finalizing a draft WIA reauthorization bill and anticipates that it will…

Article by Jackie Taylor

From July 19 – August 6, the National Coalition for Literacy held a guest blog discussion on Reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act – what is a priority for you? Even though these discussions are “formally” over, the conversations are continuing. (See, for example, the discussions on NRS reform, technology, the Center, and intensity and duration.)

We have thousands of users who spend…

Update: January 2011: The National Coalition is updating its WIA Reauthorization Priorities for 2011. Check back here and on the main website in early February for updates.

During July 19 – August 5, 2010, guest bloggers from the National Coalition for Literacy have shared their thoughts with you as to why each of the NCL WIA Reauthorization priorities are important. Many readers have posted timely, relevant, and thought provoking comments in response. But are all of your priorities for WIA reauthorization on the Coalition’s list?

For easy reference, here are links to all articles on…