Tell Congress to Fund the American Graduation Initiative

IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED

According to a number of sources, Congress will include SAFRA with health-care legislation in a reconciliation bill. Inside Higher Ed this morning stated that "the odds of that happening are better than not," although "it is far from certain."

ACCT urges you to contact your Members of Congress NOW and encourage them to fund the American Graduation Initiative.

Congressional leaders and the Administration continue to deliberate on a final bill, but there are major concerns that the funding the American Graduation Initiative (AGI) will be stripped in a final bill. AGI is the three-tiered program focused on providing around $10 billion for community college modernization and community college programs. AGI is vital to ensuring that community colleges are able to deal with increasing enrollments and meet the goals of increasing higher education attainment.

You still have time to tell your federal legislators how important the American Graduation Initiative is to your community, your students, and your college. But you must act NOW and CALL TODAY.

Contact information for U.S. Senators can be found at: http://www.acct.org/senators_phone_list.pdf

Contact information for members of the U.S. House of Representatives can be found at: http://www.acct.org/House%20Phone%20List%201-5.pdf

Members of Congress can also be reached through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

You can also write to your Senators and Representatives via the ACCT Policy Center at http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=acct.

For more information, contact Jee Hang Lee at jhlee@acct.org or (202) 775-4450.
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Tell Your Senators to Support the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA)

With the White House calling on Congress to pass health-care reform legislation by March 18th, the timing for the Senate's consideration of H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), is fast approaching. This is significant because Congress had also considered using the reconciliation process to pass SAFRA; however, the reconciliation process can only be used once per year. SAFRA has been on hold while health-care reform legislation worked its way through Congress.

We need each trustee, president, and community college leader to voice support for the bill immediately. As part of the National Legislative Summit next week, hundreds of community college leaders will descend upon Washington and urge their Members of Congress to support SAFRA. But we need your immediate assistance to ensure that Senators know how important this legislation is for community colleges.

Community colleges are now part of the national discussion and now is our time to seize the moment and ACT on behalf of our students and institutions. SAFRA contains the largest federal investment aimed at community colleges. Please act NOW to ensure continued support of your intuition.

Under SAFRA, the Federal Family Education Loan Program would be eliminated and all new federal student loans would be Direct Loans. Most importantly, SAFRA contains the American Graduation Initiative (AGI), which provides almost $10 billion for community colleges. We need you to urge your Senators to keep AGI funding at $12 billion, the level requested by President Obama. If the Senate decides to accommodate the March 18th timeframe, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will need to introduce and pass their version of SAFRA soon.

ACCT has prepared a draft letter for your use. The letter can be sent directly to your representatives through ACCT's Policy Center online at: http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=acct. Additionally, you should also make phone calls to your Senators in support of H.R. 3221. Senators may be reached utilizing the Capitol Switchboard, 202-224-3121.


ACCT's House-passed H.R. 3221 summary of community college-related items within the bill can be found at: http://www.acct.org/HR3221-Summary.pdf.

For more information, contact Jee Hang Lee at jhlee@acct.org or (202) 775-4450. Read more!

Jill Biden Blogs about Visit to HVCC with President Obama

As part of her ongoing community college public advocacy activities, Dr. Jill Biden has written articles for the official White House blog as well as the Washington Post's education blog detailing her visit to Hudson Valley Community College in New York with President Obama.

On the White House blog, Biden writes that "I wanted to share some photos and thoughts about my day yesterday; I was able to spend time on two areas I care very deeply about: community colleges and military families."

For the Washington Post's blog, she writes, "People often ask me why I choose to teach at a community college. Well—the answer is simple: It’s my students.

"Every day in my classroom," she continues, "I am inspired by their commitment, their struggles, and their belief in education as the best hope for a brighter future for themselves and their families. Every day in my classroom I also see the power of education to break down barriers and to open students’ eyes to the possibilities around them."

Biden notes on the White House blog that she is back in her Northern Virginia Community College classroom today teaching English.

Read Biden's articles at:

• White House Blog
• The Answer Sheet/Washington Post Education Page

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