Strategies for Providing Impact Information Regarding the President’s 2006 Budget
Timeframe
What can be done now?
What can be done during the home office district breaks?
Telephone call script
Letter writing suggestions
New York State representatives and how to contact them
Other federal developments
Timeframe
We need immediate action and sustained effort, probably through April.
Right now
There is need for immediate action because the President’s budget also severely cuts other services and programs, and there will be a huge outcry from those advocates. The goal would be to act immediately and in great numbers so that our voice is not lost. The proposed cuts will shut down literacy, English language and GED preparation programs for our students. Our goal is to generate 750 telephone calls, letters, or faxes to each of our Congressional representatives in the House, and 7,500 telephone calls, letters or faxes to each of our two U.S. Senators.
Similar to the reauthorization advocacy last year, an effective strategy is to package student letters with a program letter visibly showing the effects to students and programs. The program letter can be more sophisticated in discussing problems and solutions, including preferred wording.
Extended effort
We are only at the beginning of the appropriations cycle. The appropriations or budget committees of the House and Senate will handle cuts in program funds. Decision on the WIA Plus Grant Consolidation program would likely require concurrence by appropriation/budget committees and the program committees.
What can be done now?
- Fax or email circumvents anthrax screening that is now in place for letters and packages.
- As a public service, you may send letters for Senate or House representatives to the NYSED Washington Office for hand-delivery to our delegation. The address is:
Carrie Johnson-Akridge
New York State Education Department
Office of Intergovernmental Relations
1730 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W.
Suite 702
Washington, DC 20036What can be done during the home office district breaks?
There are two breaks scheduled in which representatives are supposed to be in their home offices. These are excellent times to try to meet or visit at least with top staff. The two breaks are: President’s Day District Work (February 21-25) and Spring District Work (March 25-April 1). It is not too early to schedule appointments.
Telephone call script
- When you call, you will likely talk to either an aide or someone answering the telephone that is keeping a tally of the calls they receive on the issue. You may only have time to identify yourself and state your position against the cuts and the proposed WIA Plus consolidation grant, so be sure to do that first.
- Give your name and address
- Say you are a constituent and a registered voter. (Elected officials pay more attention to the opinion of registered voters.)
- Say you are calling because you are against the President’s proposed cuts in adult education, and the proposed block granting of adult education with job training in the 2006 budget. It will not help if the funding is restored but the program focus is completely abolished.
- If you have time, say why adult education is important to you.
- Student stories are very persuasive. This includes stories from students who are program alumni and now meeting adult responsibilities. They can talk about how adult education has made a difference in their lives, e.g., helped them get and keep a job or better job, become a taxpayer, become a citizen, obtain a high school credential, obtain health insurance for themselves and their family, help their children succeed in school. They can talk about how long they had to wait for services because of the long waiting lists.
- Teachers can talk about individual student success stories or their own commitment and passion for adult education and why it’s important to the community, the state and the country.
- Administrators can talk about how many individuals are served annually by the program, the gals that students achieve, how the federal funds leverage state and local funds, and the importance of adult education.
- Volunteers can talk about why adult education is important to them, and why they donate their valuable time to teach someone else in their community.
- Business leaders can talk about their literacy and English language proficiency needs and the impact of adult education on business success. This includes those running workplace literacy programs. They can talk about the escalating skill needs of their jobs. Employers at the Brooklyn one-stop say that a high school diploma or the equivalent is a minimum.
- Health care partners involved in health literacy programs can talk about the medical savings and the direct impact on keeping families healthy.
Letter writing suggestions
- Follow the suggested telephone script outline above.
- Whenever possible, mail your letter to the NYSED office but also fax your letter. The fax will get there immediately, and mailing your letter will increase the volume of letters that your Representative receives.
- Write “Increase funding for adult education and oppose the block grant” in the subject line of your letter. In the body of the letter, be sure to state first that you are against the proposed cut and want the adult education funding restored to the current level. State that you are against the WIA Plus block grant proposal and want to keep literacy funds for adult literacy.
- Keep the letter to one page. Be clear and avoid jargon.
- Remember to sign it and provide your address.
New York State representatives and how to contact them
Senators
Senator Hillary Clinton
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202 224-4451
Senator Charles Schumer
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Representatives
New York State has 29 Congressional representatives in the 109th Congress.
Members on the Appropriations Committee from New York are:
- James Walsh—R
- Nita M. Lowey—D
- Jose Serrano—D
- Maurice D. Hinchey—D
Members of the SubCommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness that will be considering the House WIA reauthorization and would probably have jurisdiction over any consolidation proposal are:
- John R. “Randy” Kuhl—R
- Carolyn McCarthy—D
- Timothy Bishop—D
- Major Owens-D
It is important to reach all representatives of our delegation.
If you do not know who your representative is or how to contact him/or her, go to www.house.gov This is an excellent, comprehensive site. Simply plug in your zip code and you will get all of the necessary information.
Other federal developments
- WIA Reauthorization is still moving forward. The House has submitted a bill that will be marked up next week (HR 27) and the Senate has only begun its deliberations with bill S 9.
- Welfare reauthorization is also beginning. The House bill includes a superwaiver in which the Governor could consolidate welfare reform and adult education funds into a demonstration program for public assistance recipients. This is still in the early stages. We are waiting for the Senate to submit a bill.