NSTA
Legislative Alert
February 2, 2009
Ask Your Senator to Support the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed their economic recovery bill on a party line vote of 244-188 (no Republicans voted for the measure.) The Senate is expected to take up their version of the bill sometime this week.
The Senate bill includes increased investments in education and science, including $16 billion for school modernization, $13 billion for Title I, $13 billion for IDEA, $1 billion for Education Technology, and $100 million for Higher Education Act Teacher Quality Grants. A State Fiscal Stabilization initiative would provide $79 billion to help restore state funding for secondary and higher education. In return for the funding states must meet a number of benchmarks, including “increasing the number, and improve the distribution, of effective teachers and principals in high-poverty schools and local educational agencies throughout the State,” and taking steps to improve State academic content standards and student academic achievement standards.
The Senate bill also seeks $1.4 billion for the National Science Foundation, which includes $50 million for STEM education. The House-approved economic recovery bill contains $100 million for STEM education.
In an interview with USA Today, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the economic recovery bill offers schools “’an extraordinary opportunity," not just to plug gaping state and local budget holes, but to improve education in ways that have eluded the USA for decades ... We have a chance to make education in America dramatically better—and, for a whole host of reasons, it has never been more important that we do that."
What you can do: Contact your U.S. Senator today and urge him/her to support the education and science funding provisions of the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
By fax or e-mail: Go to www.senate.gov. Go to your Senators website and you will find a link for constituents to send e-mail. (A sample message is below.)
By phone: Call your Senators office by dialing 202-224-3121 and leave a message that you support this legislation.
Dear Senator xxxxxx
I urge the Senate to act quickly to pass the proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill.
The bill contains bold investments in education and science that will help both stimulate our economy and provide for the long-term competitiveness of the American workforce, including:
Funding in the Senate bill for the National Science Foundation also includes $50 million for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. I would like to see this $50 million increased to match the House request of $100 million for STEM education at the National Science Foundation. This funding is critically needed to bolster the STEM teaching force and strengthen our nation’s STEM pipeline.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request, and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,