Congressional staffers hint that appropriations, oil drilling, taxes head the list of contentious issues

By Arnold F. Fege

In background conversations with Senate and House Democratic staffers, we find some hints about an ambitious legislative agenda that the Congressional and Senatorial leadership expects to pack into three September weeks, including long-stalled issues such as an energy bill and tax extenders.

But the partisanship of the elections has filled Congress with such acrimony that staffers on both sides of the aisle say it's as bad as they have experienced. Clearly, it will take more than a little cooperation from Republicans and the White House if anything is to be accomplished, and if work is to be completed by the Senate's September 26 target date for adjournment. Democratic staffers said their Number One goal was to finish the legislative work. If not, they may have to stay in session longer than anticipated. Still, Democratic staff insisted that the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) plan is to leave town by the end of September so incumbents can return home to campaign in advance of the November 4 elections.

Both Reid and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) have said they want to avoid a lame-duck session after the elections, but staffers acknowledged that Congress's ability to pass a long-term continuing budget resolution (CR) could complicate that plan.

In fact, Republicans have threatened to offer amendments to the CR that would eliminate the current moratorium on new drilling for oil off the coasts of the United States. Both Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) and House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) have consciously avoided bringing up measures that could carry the moratorium — which has been renewed every year for decades in appropriations bills — because the two chairmen would likely lose any committee vote to keep the moratorium in place.

Before the Senate left for its August break, Reid invoked the specter of a government shutdown if Republicans pressed the issue, and he indicated that he believes the GOP would shoulder the blame for any such outcome. All or part of the government could be shut down if Congress does not pass new funding or a CR by October 1. But Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) could possibly avoid a fight on the CR if they allow votes on offshore drilling in other energy measures that come up in September. One Senate staffer said his staff was reviewing an energy bill that was put together by a bipartisan group of 10 senators before Congress left town August 1.

Senate Democratic aides said the bipartisan bill -- which attempts to balance production with conservation and would open new areas off the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico to drilling -- would have to be tweaked to satisfy the concerns of more liberal Democrats before Reid would bring it up. The bipartisan group is made up of centrists and conservatives.

At the end of July, Republicans blocked an oil-markets speculation bill from passing because they said Reid would not allow them to offer myriad amendments on various other energy issues, such as offshore drilling and nuclear energy. Though Republicans eventually whittled their list of amendments from 28 to six, Reid demanded that they also drop their filibuster of a tax-extenders bill that includes several renewable energy tax breaks.

The tax-extenders bill is also on Reid's to-do list for September, but it has been repeatedly filibustered by Republicans because of a dispute over how the extension of current tax law would be offset. Though Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) made several changes to the measure in July in an attempt to draw more GOP support, the bill again failed to get the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster. Reid attempted to put the House-passed bill before the Senate for consideration on three occasions (on June 10, June 17, and July 29), but each time, a group of at least 40 Republicans blocked consideration of the bill.

The House passed its version of the extenders package on May 21 by a vote of 263-160. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) constructed a fiscally responsible bill by including $55 billion in revenue offsets that would increase taxes on hedge-fund managers and modify tax rules on corporations. The Bush administration issued a veto threat opposing the revenue offsets, even as over 300 corporations wrote the U.S. Senate leadership, making it clear that the extenders package was such a high priority that they would rather have it paid for if that would enable its passage.

Even though less than half of the proposed bill is paid for, there are a number of very popular provisions within the "extenders" tax cut package, including a $250 deduction for teachers' expenses and tax-free distributions from IRAs to charities for people older than 70 years, six months. Most notably, both the House and Senate have included an expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) by lowering the income threshold that parents must meet to qualify for the refundable portion of the tax credit, from $12,050 to $8,500.

This change would benefit over 13 million children, according to data from the Tax Policy Center. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has pointed out that many children who stand to benefit come from families with parents who work year-round, include individuals with a disability, and/or who contribute to many jobs in critical services that often pay low wages, such as caring for the elderly or teaching young children. This is a progressive change in the tax code, long sought by a wide variety of low-income, religious, direct-service, labor, child-welfare, and poverty advocates, including organizations with whom LEFs may partner.

Reid also indicated that when Congress returns he would like to complete action on a Defense Department authorization bill as well as the appropriations measure funding the Pentagon. Republicans prevented the authorization bill from coming up at the end of July as part of their campaign to keep the Senate focused on energy issues.

Reid also has held out hope that the Senate will act on the military construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill as well as the Homeland Security spending bill. But Democratic staff acknowledged that those measures might get folded into the CR in the rush to leave town. Lower-priority measures for Senate Democrats include taking another run at legislation to increase funding for low-income home heating assistance programs. An attempt to bring up the bill in July failed, but Democrats are hoping for better success in September given that 13 Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors of the measure. Reid plans another package of bills that are being blocked by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). A similar omnibus was filibustered last month. Also on the list for potential action are expansions to the Americans With Disabilities Act and a Food and Drug Administration measure.

The Democratic plan to push another economic stimulus measure was not included on Reid's list, but pressure from within the Senate Democratic caucus as well as from the House could change that as the month progresses. Either way, Senate Republicans are likely to block the measure, which is intended to increase funding for all manner of Democratic priorities from highway infrastructure to food stamps.

Status of FY 2009 Federal Budget and Appropriations as of August 14, 2008

Reauthorization should interest LEFs doing teacher quality work

Before Congress left for its August break, it passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act, or HEOA, which is actually a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, by an overwhelming majority. For a full text of the bill, see the Conference Report. In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the Senate passed H.R. 4137 by a vote of 83-8, while the House passed the measure by a vote of 380-49, both on August 4. President Bush signed the bill into law on August 15, the first time the higher education law has been fully reauthorized since 1998.

This reauthorization was five years in the making, and the final bill provides substantive changes to current law. Title II of the bill, Teacher Quality Enhancement, contains many changes from current law, and PEN has prepared a very quick summary of Title II, which may affect LEFs doing teacher quality and professional development work. A side-by-side analysis of the entire act will be developed by PEN and provided in the next edition of the Federal Update. PEN thanks the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education for its assistance in the development of the Title II information. Following is a summary of the Title II changes.

Programmatic Grant Stream and Community Partnerships
The three grant streams (state, recruitment, partnership) in the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant program are consolidated into one stream -- partnership grants. Like the current partnership program, these will be partnerships between teacher preparation units at Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), high-need local educational agencies, high-need schools, arts and science departments at IHEs, and community partners. Grant funds are refocused, though, on building/enhancing one-year clinical experiences for pre-service candidates, developing induction programs for new teachers, developing teacher residency programs (for masters-degree candidates), and preparing school leaders for rural schools.

Partnership grants and eligibility criteria
The "eligible partnership evaluation" requirements for the partnership grants have been amended from current law in light of NCLB, which didn't exist in 1998, to have institutions report on the number of Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT's) teaching in high-need LEAs who teach in high-need subject areas, and high-need areas such as special education and/or ELL. Current law doesn't speak in terms of HQT and focuses more on the number of teachers who teach in core academic areas. It does not address special education or ELL. Additionally, grantees will have to report on scaled scores, as well as pass rates, on teacher certification/licensure assessments. Current law requires grantees to report on pass rates only.

Accountability provisions
The institutional reporting requirements have been amended to have institutions report the pass rates for candidates who have completed 100 percent of their non-clinical coursework. Currently, pass rates are reported for all students who take teacher certification/licensure assessments regardless of where they are in their preparation. Additionally, institutions will now report the average scaled score for those candidates taking the assessments.

Pre-K and early childhood provisions
HEOA includes support for pre-K and early childhood programs including loan-forgiveness programs and professional development grants to early childhood educators. This comes at a time when early childhood educators are facing higher standards from both federal and state policy makers, but when the average salary of an early childhood educator is approximately $20,000 per year. Components include:

• Teacher Quality Partnership Grants for pre-service, pre-K educators who are pursuing a degree.
• Loan-forgiveness grants for educators who work in licensed/regulated child care, Head Start, and pre-K programs.
• State grants for the creation of an Early Childhood Education Professional Development and Career Task Force to improve pre-K professional development.

A special PEN report on NCLB, based on the viewpoints of House and Senate committee aides

On the condition that their observations would be for "background" only, PEN asked a number of House and Senate education aides for their up-to-the-moment projections about NCLB. These points are certain: (1) NCLB will not be reauthorized in 2008, and (2) both the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee (HELP) are using the time between now and the new Congress in 2009 to prepare draft language that they hope, but are not sure, will be on a fast track to be passed in 2009. But the education aides indicated that final reauthorization would not take place until 2010, depending on which party controls the majority in the House and Senate, and who wins the presidency.

The Senate HELP committee appears to be more solidly grounded in its focus, and is working on bipartisan committee support. Senator Kennedy's committee staff says that their reauthorization priorities are:

• Improving the instructional teams that work with low-performing schools.
• Linking parents and communities more closely with schools so schools don't have to do the work of reform alone.
• Supporting teachers and administrators through increased and improved professional development (much of which is contained in the recently passed higher education act (HEOA).
• Addressing the school dropout crisis.
• Providing greater support for schools to improve.
• Improving the accountability system to provide more sophisticated means of measurement such as the growth model, ensuring that states do not reduce standards and academic expectations, and moving away from the "one size fits all" model.

To provide a "feel" for the divisions, dynamics, and contentions surrounding NCLB, PEN has provided a facsimile of how the debates are being fought at the national level. See the next boxed section of this newsletter ("The Gadfly chimes in...").

Reclaiming Education: How to Resist the Growing Threat to Public Education

By Susan Harman and Deborah Meier (online)

In this article, the authors claim that the current reform and NCLB jargon and provisions are barriers to systemic school improvement, and that data alone will not provide higher achieving schools.

http://dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=1284

Can NCLB be fixed or do we need a new federal law?
Education moderator John Merrow brings together a panel of education experts to discuss the issue of can NCLB be fixed or do we need a whole new law?

http://newtalk.org/2008/08/do-we-need-a-basic-rewrite-of.php

Time reporters point to Rep. Castle's bill (see above) as perhaps being a sign that NCLB could move quickly next year. But, remember that the House discussion draft didn't advance last year.

The Gadfly chimes in with a view of the presumptive presidential candidates on NCLB
http://www.edexcellence.net/flypaper/index.php/2008/06/john-mccain-takes-my-advice-and-then-some/
NEA/Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) disagree on a bill that would freeze the accountability requirements of NCLB, known as the Graves/Walz bill, until a new reauthorization is passed. For the NEA position, see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121686417145279809.html

The LCCR responds in disagreement with the June 18 letter.
New York Times editorial pushes for keeping NCLB testing and supports civil rights leaders; FairTest responds http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/opinion/01fri4.html?scp=10&sq=August%201,%202008&st=cse
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/opinion/lweb11educ.html?_r=1&scp=27&sq=August%2011,%202008&st=cse&oref=slogin
And so it goes??????????????.

The Education Department has published Fiscal Year 2008 Title I allocations by school district. Under NCLB, districts with schools in "School Improvement" must spend an amount equal to 20 percent of their Title I, Part A allocation to cover public school choice-related transportation costs and pay for supplemental educational services (SES). Districts have some discretion on allocating the funds among the activities, but they must use at least one-quarter (5 percent) of the 20 percent "reservation" on each activity. What?s significant: for the 2008-09 school year is that the amount of Title I money that might be diverted from classroom services to pay for SES and school choice is almost $2.8 billion. You can get more info on ED's Web site.

Modeling his legislation after the Massachusetts 2020 initiative, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced S. 3431, the Time for Innovation Matters in Education Act (the TIME Act). Advising Senator Kennedy on the legislation was the National Center for Time and Learning created by Paul Reville, a former LEF executive director in Massachusetts who is now Massachusetts's Secretary of Education. PEN president Wendy Puriefoy is a board member of the national center.

The bill would expand the school year for high-poverty schools by at least 360 hours but allow districts the flexibility to meet the goal through extending the school year, week, and/or day. Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) has introduced the House companion bill, called the Expanded Learning Time and Demonstration Act, H.R. 3642.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada introduced the bill for the still-ailing Kennedy, who was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May. Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) signed on as cosponsors. The legislation was referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee, where it awaits markup, and where Kennedy has said the act would be incorporated as part of the NCLB reauthorization.

The TIME Act would authorize $350 million in FY 2009 for a competitive-grant project to SEAs for extended-learning time. Under the bill, the funding authorization would grow to $380 million in FY 2010, $420 million in FY 2011, $460 million in FY 2012, and $500 million in FY 2013. In the Senate, S. 3431 calls for districts to involve teachers unions from the beginning on any school redesign efforts involving teacher schedules. It also requires that the districts involve community-based organizations in the development of planning and implementation.

See http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c110:1:./temp/~c110moLBow:e19640

While state lawmakers knew that revenues would drop this year as a result of a number of dynamics, including a decrease in revenues and the housing mortgage crisis, the decline was worse than expected. In April, 23 states had projected budget gaps totaling $26 billion for fiscal 2009, which began July 1 in all but four states. By June, that number had risen to 31 states, the National Conference of State Legislators said. Led by California, which faced a deficit of more than $15.3 billion, many states have been zeroing in on cutting state aid for education -- and at a time when many school districts are facing state and national laws that are raising accountability requirements.

For a more detailed report, see
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=328252

In addition, the The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has updated their state of state budgets report.

September 16
Every Child Matters Education Fund kickoff of a non-partisan, nationwide event, "Step Up for Kids Day," at the National Press Club around 11 am (time to be confirmed). The featured speaker: Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, the pediatrician. ECM is working to organize an event on the capitol steps of all 50 states to draw public attention to issues affecting America's children -- such as poverty, health care, juvenile incarceration, early care and learning, child abuse, and after-school programs. Think: new investments in children should be a political priority in the coming election. Advocates, volunteers, and kids across the country will gather on the steps of state capitols to highlight the needs of children and families. Show your support for kids and sign up today. Visit the website, www.everychildmatters.org for regular updates on each state.

October 6-7
In Washington, DC, the U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences, is hosting a "National Math Panel Forum" to bring together various organizations and other interested parties to discuss ways to engage their members or constituents in discussions about the National Math Panel's findings and recommendations. See www.ed.gov/MathPanel.

October 15
From Brown to "Bong Hits": Assessing a Half-Century of Judicial Involvement in Education. The past 50 years have seen a striking rise in judicial supervision of education. From race to speech, religion to school funding, and discipline to special education, few realms of education policy have escaped the courtroom. Predictably, much controversy has ensued. Supporters of education litigation contend that the courts are essential to securing student (and civil) rights and needs. Critics insist that the courts distort policy and that the mere threat of litigation undermines the authority of teachers and administrators. Attend this landmark conference, where a distinguished cast of scholars and panelists will appraise the judiciary's role in K-12 education and discuss the implications for policymakers, scholars, jurists, and education reformers. The conference is cosponsored by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and will be held at the American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th Street, NW, from 9 AM to 4:30 PM on October 15. Register at: www.aei.org/event1746. Shortly after the vent concludes, a video Webcast will be available on the AEI Website: www.aei.org/eventvideos.

The Public Education Network National Office provides the Federal Legislative Update exclusively for its members, staff and board of directors. The Updates are designed to provide LEFs the most recent federal legislative developments related to public education, community engagement. Readers are encouraged to send comments to Arnold F. Fege (Director of Public Engagement) or call 202-628-7460.