CFA GOES TO D.C. TO ADVOCATE FOR FEDERAL FUNDING

Last week, CFA joined in the national effort to secure increased federal funding for California to help cope with the state’s massive budget deficit.

CFA joined with both national and local allies including SEIU International, NEA and SEIU 1000 (California State Workers Union) in an effort to secure federal funding through three bills that will save and create jobs and send much-needed fiscal relief to state and local governments.

Among the bills CFA lobbied for were:

The “Keep Our Educators Working Act”
Introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; provides at least the same $23 billion already approved by the House in December 2009, in the Jobs for Main Street Act (H.R. 2847). This bill has the potential to bring in $2.8 billion in deferral funding back to California.

Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) extension

This bill provides immediate fiscal relief to states and prevent jobs-killing cuts to our economy. By extending this bill California could see an increase in federal Medicaid funds to provide both direct and indirect relief to both state and local government. This bill could bring some $2.5 billion in federal offsets to California.

Local Jobs for America Act

This bill would provide federal funding to create 1 million new jobs in cities, counties, and schools.

∙ WHAT YOU CAN DO SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FEDERAL FUNDING

The National Education Association (NEA) needs your help to get the funding necessary to save educators’ jobs and prevent students from losing good teachers and education support professionals.

To help, go to NEA’s new Education Votes website to share your story about what is happening in higher to education jobs even as the economy slowly begins to recover from the Great Recession.

It is critical to include the higher education perspective on this situation, so please go to http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/2010/04/02/share-your-story-to-help-save-educators-jobs/ to share your story, and we can build support to keep education jobs, and hire the new faculty and staff our colleges and universities need in the coming year.


The site also hosts a petition to support the “Keep Our Educators Working Act” at: http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/petition/

The key to getting the funding approved by Congress involves demonstrating to Senators—who are extremely “budget deficit” conscious these days—the huge impact not passing an education jobs funding bill would have on public schools and the economy as a whole. The more stories we can present to lawmakers from a cross-section of the country, the more successful we will be.

LINKS OF THE WEEK

New York Times: Student Protests Tie Up Campuses in Puerto Rico
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/us/21students.html

Middlesex finalizes elimination of philosophy
http://thethirdestate.net/2010/04/middlesex-university-shamefully-cuts-philosophy-department/

San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed: Sacrificing educated workforce won't help
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/20/ED6T1DI01K.DTL

Inside Higher Ed: The Power of the System
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/05/21/logue

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