Keep Our Educators Working Act Builds Momentum

S. 3206, the “Keep Our Educators Working Act of 2010” bill introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), now has 26 cosponsors. The bill continues to gather co-sponsors, and it appears that the bill will be coming to the Senate floor soon. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who supports the bill, has indicated that the bill will be brought up for consideration and may come up before the Senate recesses for the Memorial Day work period. To view the bill, visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.3206:

In other Congressional news, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) has announced that he will not be running for re-election this fall. Chairman Obey has been a longtime champion of education programs, most specifically the Pell Grant program. In recent years, Chairman Obey has been strong proponent of increasing the Pell Grant maximum and succeeded in increasing the maximum from $4,050 in 2006-7 to $5,550 for 2010-11. If the House remains in Democratic control, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) will have seniority on the committee and is expected to succeed Chairman Obey.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing yesterday and approved the nomination of Eduardo M. Ochoa to be the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education at the Department of Education. Currently, Ochoa is Provost and Vice President at Sonoma State University in California. The full Senate still needs to consider the nomination.

The Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) has started a newsletter. To sign up for the newsletter, please email peirce.hammond@ed.gov. Read more!

Secretary Duncan Testifies on Education Budget Request

February 25, 2010 — Today, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testified before the House Budget Committee to outline the Department’s budget for FY 2011. The budget outlines $10.6 billion for the American Graduation Initiative. Secretary Duncan’s testimony can be found here: http://budget.house.gov/hearings/2010/02.25.2010_Duncan_Testimony.pdf

The Department of Education’s budget information can be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget11/summary/edlite-section1.html

Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on “A Stronger Workforce Investment System for a Stronger Economy.” Most notably, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) stated that Congress would pass the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) this year. Dr. Robert Templin, Jr., President of Northern Virginia Community College testified on behalf of community colleges and outlined the priorities of AACC and ACCT on WIA reauthorization.

The WIA priorities and background information can be found here: http://www.acct.org/advocacy/priorities/

To view the hearing, click here:
http://help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=99586896-5056-9502-5d82-cabe2d595170

On the Jobs legislation front, House Congressional leaders are now working to bring the Senate Jobs legislation to the House floor for consideration.

In other news, the White House earlier this week announced President Barack Obama’s intention to nominate Dr. Eduardo M. Ochoa as Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, Department of Education. Dr. Ochoa is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Sonoma State University. He is responsible for the University’s academic programs, strategic planning, and overall diversity initiative.
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