Friends:
Below is an update from Jane Clarenbach, the NAGC lobbyist. Sen. Wyden was
a signatory of the letter she mentions (from Sen. Grassley); Sen. Smith was
not. As I will be out of town soon, if you would like updates, you should
be able to find them on the NAGC website at
Margaret DeLacy
As you know, the House of Representatives did not fund the Javits program
for fiscal year 2006. Because of an objection, the House did not have the
opportunity to vote on an amendment to restore funding for the Javits
program. However, if the Senate provides funding, a conference committee
will work out the differences between the House and Senate-passed bills.
As a result, it is necessary to secure funding the Senate to keep the
program alive in 2006.
The next steps in the 2006 appropriations process are as follows: (1) The
Senate appropriations subcommittee that handles education is scheduled to
meet on July 12 to adopt a 2006 spending bill. It is vital that the Javits
program be included in the subcommittee’s bill because Senators generally
defer to subcommittee decisions. (2) The subcommittee-passed bill goes to
the full Senate appropriations committee for a vote, which could happen in
July. (3) The full Senate will consider the bill, which most likely won’t
occur until late August at the earliest. (4) A conference committee (made
up of appropriations committee members from both the House and Senate) will
work out the differences between the two bills. Assuming that there is
funding for the Javits program, we will have to re-contact everyone on the
conference committee urging them to retain the funding from the Senate. (5)
A final Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill for 2006 must be approved
by both the House and Senate before it can go to the White House for the
President’s signature. This will likely happen in September or early October.
As you can tell, the Senate Labor/HHS/Education subcommittee is the most
critical step.
Below are the steps we need to take before July 11 to generate support for
the Javits program in the appropriations subcommittee. The message depends
on whether your Senator is a member of the subcommittee and whether he/she
has co-signed Senator Grassley’s letter earlier this year requesting $12
million for the Javits program (see attached).
For everyone: if you have examples of how your state / district / school is
benefiting from a Javits grant (or has benefited in the past), or how you
utilize information from the National Research Center on the Gifted &
Talented, please be sure to include them in your communication with the Senate.
See the attached listing for states and universities that have benefited
from Javits grants in the past 10 years.
The best way to reach your Senators is by faxing a letter to the DC office.
The next best means is via email. Fax numbers and email addresses can be
found at www.senate.gov In both cases, include “Education Appropriations”
as the subject line so that the message can be routed to the correct staff
person.
· If your Senator is a member of the appropriations subcommittee on
Labor/HHS/Education, he/she is in the most critical position to support the
Javits program. The message to these Senators is:
Please support gifted and talented learners in this country by providing
$12 million for the Javits gifted education program in 2006. [Insert
examples on how your school / district / state have benefited from the
Javits program. Your state or university may be involved in one of the
Javits grants, or your child may have benefited because his/her school
improved their gifted education services with the support of research from
the National Research Center.]
· If your Senator co-signed Senator Grassley’s letter to the appropriations
subcommittee requesting $12 million for the Javits program, the message is:
Thank you for co-signing Senator Grassley’s letter requesting $12 million
for the Javits gifted and talented program in 2006. With limited funding
available for education programs, I urge you to speak with the subcommittee
leaders, reminding them of the importance of this program.
· For all other Senators, the goal is to get Senators to speak with the
subcommittee Chairman (Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania) in support of
Javits funding. The message is:
This country relies on a single federal program, the Javits program, to
conduct research on how to identify and serve the educational needs of
gifted and talented learners. The program funds the National Research
Center on the Gifted and Talented and makes awards to states. These federal
grants are especially important as state education funds are stretched to
the limit. [If your state received a grant, be sure to include that fact in
the message. Also include any other story of how your school / district /
university participated in a grant, or how you benefited from the Nat’l
Research Center]. Please show your support for high-ability learners by
asking the appropriations subcommittee chairman to include $12 million for
the Javits program in 2006.
Thank you for your efforts to gather support for the Javits program. Your
Senators need to hear from you, so please send your emails, and fax letters
before July 11.
If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Jane Clarenbach
Director, Public Education & Affiliate Relations
National Association for Gifted Children
1707 L St., NW, Suite 550
Washington, DC 20036
202-785-4268
202-784-4248 (f)
www.nagc.org
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2005 08:15:12 EDT
From: GTAdvocate@...
To: ohiogift@...
Subject: GTA: Javits floor colloquy
From Jane Clarenbach of NAGC. This is kind of an interesting lesson in
federal floor etiquette.
Ann
Greetings,
As you know, Representative Mark Kirk (IL-10) was not able to get a House
floor vote on an amendment to restore funding for the Javits progarm. But
gosh knows, he tried. His staff worked long hours trying to ensure that the
amendment would get support. NAGC will send a letter thanking him for his
work; I suggest that IAGC should recognize his efforts in some way -- it
looks like we have a new friend!
After the amendment was derailed, Mr. Kirk and Rep. Ralph Regula (OH-16),
the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that handles education, did
a "colloquy" on the House floor -- colloquies are scripted exchanges that
allow Representatives to clarify points, or to pin others down on their
intentions. Attached is the colloquy between the two Reps on the need for
Javits funding. Importantly, Mr. Regula agreed that Javits should be
funded, and that he would work in the conference committee to see that it
is. (note: the promise to work in the conference committee is very
important, because it means that Regula will now support the program (and,
as subcommittee chairman, he does have some influence in the conference
committee). But, of course, we first have to get funding in the Senate
before we deal with a conference.)
ne 24, 2005 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD p. H5149
Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I now yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Kirk) for the purposes of a colloquy.
Mr. KIRK. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
Mr. Chairman, I rise today urging the conference, when it meets, to restore
funding to the Javits gifted and talented program, which was unfortunately
zeroed out in this bill. Javits reaches a critical group of diverse gifted
children who are not high income. In fact, they are low income, but have
extraordinary abilities.
In my home State of Illinois, education for gifted kids has been cut
completely out of the State's budget. In response I developed my own Tenth
District laureates program as a way to challenge gifted students in my own
district. The program has become a huge success, providing these students
with behind-the-scenes access to top academic and cultural institutions in
Chicago and surrounding suburbs. And these gifted children were motivated
by this unique opportunity.
I think we must fund gifted education on a national level to allow millions
of children across the country to have the same types of challenges our
Tenth District laureates enjoy. As the only federally funded national
gifted program, grants provided through Javits have provided 125 State and
local education districts since its inception in 1989, reaching 2 million
gifted students nationwide. Last year the program was funded at $11.1
million. It is a program particularly needed, given the low scores of
Americans on standard international math and science tests.
Positions in the field of science and engineering are growing at a rapid
rate, yet the United States is facing a critical shortage in these areas.
Just one demonstration program funded by this grant, the project creating
urban excellence in the Bronx, resulted in a 20 percent improvement in math and science scores for all students of the entire school.
I think we must invest in the future of our children, and I urge the
conferees to restore funding for the Javits gifted and talented program.
Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for his
comments. And I do agree that funding gifted and talented education in this
country is an important mission. We must continue to provide support for
our brightest students to succeed, especially in the areas of math and
science.
I hope the gentleman understands that with such a tough budget allocation,
we did not have the resources to support everything we would have liked to
have done, including some important and successful programs like the Javits
program for gifted and talented students.
I will work with the gentleman from Illinois to address this issue in
conference.
