Call your Senators and Representative to Save Education Funding!

ACA ALERT: Call your Senators and Representative to Save Education Funding!

ACTION NEEDED: The spending bills now pending in the House and Senate would together cut education funding by more than $1 billion. Call your Senators and Representative and urge them to keep their commitment to provide at least $7 billion more than the President’s FY 2007 budget for education and related programs in the final FY 2007 spending agreement. When our students succeed, our nation succeeds! 

TARGET:  All U.S. Representatives and Senators. It’s easy to call!  Call 1-800-459-1887 to be connected toll-free to the Capitol Switchboard.  Ask to speak to your Senators/Representative. To find the names of your members of Congress, go to ACA’s Legislative Action Center at: http://capwiz.com/counseling/home/, and enter your zip code under “Elected Officials.”  

Yu can also e-mail your Senators and Representative by following this link:

http://capwiz.com/npta2/issues/alert/?alertid=9027806&type=CO.  Just fill out your personal information, add any additional comments you have to the stock letter, and hit send!

SUGGESTED MESSAGE: “I’m calling to ask the Senator/Representative to restore cuts and provide at least $7 billion more than the President’s FY 2007 budget for education and related programs in the final FY 2007 spending agreement. Increased education investment should be the Senator’s/Representative’s top funding priority so that America’s students obtain knowledge and skills for success. When our students succeed, our nation succeeds!” 

Feel free to add any other personal anecdotes or information about how these drastic cuts will affect you and your community, and don’t forget to leave your name and address so someone can follow up with you!

BACKGROUND: The spending bills now pending in the House and Senate would together cut education by more than $1 billion. The Committee for Education Funding (CEF) – a coalition of over 100 education groups representing pre-K through graduate education and life-long learning – is sponsoring “Contact Washington Week” during the week of September 18-22. ACA is an active member of CEF and we urge counselors to participate by calling your Senators and Representative to urge them to keep their promise to provide at least $7 billion more than the President’s FY 2007 budget for education and related programs for the success of our nation’s student in the global economy.

Additional Talking Points:

• The spending bills now pending in Congress would under fund No Child Left Behind by more than $12 billion, hindering efforts to close the achievement gap for poor and minority students.

• Over 4.5 million eligible disadvantaged students would lose services, as expectations for student performances grow.
• The federal share of funding for students with disabilities would decline to 17%, far short of the promised 40% share of costs.
• Low-income and minority students would be hit hardest with loan debt also, as college costs continue to rise and federal student aid does not keep pace.
• In fact, funding for many essential education programs at all levels would be stretched thin by growing enrollments, inflation costs and funding cuts or freezes for the third and fourth year in a row.

For more information, contact Chris Campbell in ACA's Office of Public Policy and Legislation at (800) 347-6647 x-241, or e-mail ccampbell@counseling.org.