Legislation and Education Committee

May 18-19, 2007
Phoenix, Arizona

Committee Chair: Stephen Domingues

Committee Members: Rita Escher, Bertha Felix-Mata, Jake Lindsay, Heinrich Palik, and Ken Songco (SoCal representative pending)

Brief Committee Description: The Legislation and Education Committee provides critical support to the Board's efforts to meet strategic goals 1 and 4.  The Committee is responsible for coordinating WESTOP's participation in the annual COE Policy Seminar.

Committee Charges: To specifically address itself to the concerns mentioned in Sections 2.2 (d-g) of the WESTOP Bylaws and to educate the membership on pertinent legislative issues and the legislative process.

Committee Updates:

1. Budget Resolution (Strategic Goal 1: Develop and manage effective responses to re-authorization of the Higher Education Act and other legislative priorities).   The Senate passed S. Con. Res. 21 on March 23, 2007, by a vote of 52-47, and the House of Representatives similarly passed H. Con. Res. 99, by a vote of 216-210 on March 29, 2007.  As of the time of this writing (May 9, 2007), it is expected that the Conference Committee will issue its report during the week of May 14, 2007.  The WESTOP Leg-Ed Committee anticipates that the conference report will recommend a $2.9 trillion budget which will include approximately $20 billion more in domestic discretionary spending than the President’s request.  If passed, this will be the most promising budget resolution in recent years.

1. Reauthorization (Strategic Goal 1: Develop and manage effective responses to re-authorization of the Higher Education Act and other legislative priorities).   Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (1998) remains a relatively low priority in Congress.  The Senate likely will move before the House on this issue.  Senator Kennedy, Chair of the HELP Committee, is the key figure here.  The House leaders have stated that they too intend to pass a reauthorization bill this year, but there are serious obstacles, including higher priorities, e.g., Iraq and the Justice Department scandals, and, even within education, reauthorization of No Child Left Behind is a politically charged issue.  Also, Congress has been demonstrating a tendency to strip out the explosive aspects of the Higher Education Act and make changes through the amendment process (student loan rates, lender subsidies, etc.).

1. FY 2008 Federal TRIO Appropriations (Strategic Goal 1: Develop and manage effective responses to re-authorization of the Higher Education Act and other legislative priorities, and Strategic Goal 4: Strengthen WESTOP's communications and advocacy capacity among its members, other educational equity organizations, and governmental entities).  The FY 2008 appropriation process is moving very slowly, due, in large part, to the controversy surrounding the FY 2007 Defense Department supplemental.  The Committee is supporting vigorously WESTOP's and COE's efforts to secure a $100 million increase in the national TRIO appropriations for FY 2008.  This very modest request is in the context of five years of essentially flat funding – a 16% decrease over the period using a very conservative 3% cost of living increase each year.  One bright note: 108 Representatives signed a “Dear Colleague” letter supporting this very specific increase. 

Action Items:

1. Work with Chapter Presidents and Chapter Legislation and Education Chairs to offer a workshop at selected Professional Development Seminars focusing on national, regional, and state-specific issues.
2. Disseminate relevant information to the Association concerning pending legislative issues via the WESTOP web site and other appropriate communication vehicles.
3. Continue to provide strategic guidance to the WESTOP Board in its “blueprint” to advocate for TRIO

Respectfully submitted by: Stephen Domingues, Chair, on May 9, 200

 

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