Weekly Legislative Highlights: October 1 through October 5, 2007
Updated October 5, 2007
*Rep. Terry Everett co-sponsors H.R. 648 – An update on the co-sponsors campaign
*NCLB Reauthorization update
*Medicaid Update – SCHIP Legislation Vetoed
*Federal Funding Update
*Audio conference on Political Advocacy by Tax-Exempt Organizations
Rep. Terry Everett Co-Sponsors H.R. 648 – An update on the co-sponsors campaign
This week, Rep. Terry Everett (R-AL-2) signed on to co-sponsor H.R. 648, No Child Left Behind Improvements Act of 2007, which includes the more than 40 recommendations NSBA put forth to improve NCLB. To date, 529 school boards have passed resolutions in support of H.R. 648. Congressional staffs from states with many resolutions have taken note and report that the large number of board resolutions in support of H.R. 648 is not insignificant. View a copy of the resolution at www.nsba.org/nclbcampaign. Thank you for your effort in our NCLB co-sponsorship campaign!
NCLB Reauthorization Update
We expect the Senate HELP committee to share a working draft over the next few weeks with possible markup to follow. A new NCLB resource is now available to help you compare the current law with NSBA’s recommendations for reauthorization and the House committee discussion draft. View a copy of the comparison chart.
Medicaid Update – SCHIP Legislation Vetoed
President Bush carried through on his promise to veto legislation reauthorizing and expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) this week. The bill would expand the SCHIP program to provide health insurance to millions of children so that they receive the health services they need. In addition, the bill contains a 6-month moratorium on CMS from taking any action on a newly proposed rule (CMS-2287-P) that would restrict school districts’ ability to seek federal reimbursement for enrolling children in the Medicaid program and providing students—mostly low-income students with disabilities—with certain types of services. View NSBA’s letter endorsing the bill.
Given these recent developments, NSBA’s first priority is to urge Congress, particularly House members, to override the President’s veto. House leaders have indicated that this effort may not come for a couple of weeks as they try to round up the votes. The House's 265-159 vote in favor of the legislation last week is short of the 2/3 margin needed to override a veto. To see how members of Congress voted, view the roll call vote. The Senate passed the bill 67-29.
Federal Funding Update
The Senate is slated to vote on its proposed spending bill for education funding (S. 1710) the week of October 15. Although the Senate Appropriations Committee reported S.1710 in June, the measure has been pending with all other appropriations bills amid the President’s intent to veto any spending bill that exceeds his FY08 budget request to Congress. Even though the Senate’s bill would provide increases for Title I grants for disadvantaged students and for the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), it would not provide the level of funding proposed for these and other K-12 programs comparable to the House-passed spending bill (H.R. 3043) for education. For details, visit http://www.nsba.org/site/docs/40500/40499.pdf.
Initial negotiations between the House and Senate are already underway to reconcile the differences between H.R. 3043 and S.1710. Leaders remain hopeful that a final bill will encompass the higher funding levels of the House-passed bill, which would provide a $2.6 billion increase for Title I, School Improvement grants, IDEA, English Language Acquisition, and other K-12 programs.
House and Senate leaders are trying to finalize each fiscal year 2008 spending separately, rather than passing a consolidated spending bill (or omnibus measure) with proposed funding levels for other domestic programs at the end of the year. As with previous omnibus appropriations bills, it is possible that the progress made in advocating increases for Title I, IDEA, Title I School Improvement grants, and other programs could be compromised in an omnibus spending package.