Weekly Legislative Highlights: October 15 through October 19, 2007
*Updated October 19, 2007
*NCLB Reauthorization - Committee Released Draft of Selected Titles
*Federal Funding - No Vote Yet, Please Continue to Contact Senators
*SCHIP /Medicaid Reimbursement - House Vote Failed - Stay Tuned for Future Action
NCLB Reauthorization - Committee Released Draft of Selected Titles
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee released its draft of selected titles of the committee’s No Child Left Behind reauthorization bill. NSBA is currently reviewing the draft, as more controversial components of the bill have not yet been disclosed. We will provide you with further details as additional titles are released by the committee.
For additional updates on NCLB, please visit NSBA’s advocacy website at www.nsba.org/advocacy.
Federal Funding - No Vote Yet, Please Continue to Contact Senators
The Senate is continuing its debate on the FY2008 Labor-Health & Human Services-Education Appropriations bill today and we expect a vote to occur on Tuesday, October 23.
SCHIP /Medicaid Reimbursement - House Vote Failed - Stay Tuned for Future Action
In a 273-156 vote, the House failed to obtain the two-thirds majority needed to override the President’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill.
The bill would have expanded the SCHIP program to provide health insurance to millions of children so that they would receive necessary health services. In addition, the bill contained a 6-month moratorium on CMS from taking any action on a newly proposed rule (CMS-2287-P) that restricts school districts’ ability seek federal reimbursement for Medicaid services.
By voting 273-156, lawmakers fell 13 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to overturn the veto. No Republicans who opposed the initial bill voted for the SCHIP override. Forty-four Republicans who backed the original bill also backed the override. Six of the eight House Democrats who voted against the original bill switched their position and backed the override. They included Representatives Dan Boren (D-OK-2), Kathy Castor (D-FL-11), Bob Etheridge (D-NC-2), Baron Hill (D-IN-9), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH-10), and Mike McIntyre (D-NC-7).
To read previous editions of NSBA's Weekly Legislative Highlights, please visit our Weekly Legislative Highlights Archive.