September - October 2009 Policy Updates

By Lynn Selmser, Policy Director, NCL

Summer recess is over and Congress is back at work. The enactment of health care reform legislation is a top priority. It has taken center stage and will continue to do so over the next few weeks – if not longer.

As reported in my last column, the House has passed its Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill. The Senate version has been reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee but not considered by the full Senate. In the meantime, a continuing resolution has been passed to continue funding through the end of October for government programs without an enacted appropriations bill.

The House passed legislation including the President’s Community College Initiative, (H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009) on September 17, 2009. The Senate has not yet passed its version of this legislation. Since there are opportunities for adult education to be included in the Community College Initiative, the Coalition forwarded its recommended amendments to this legislation, developed through an open meeting of the Public Policy Committee, to appropriate Senate staff for consideration.

The Coalition has forwarded its recommended changes for the Adult Education and Economic Growth Act to Congressmen Patrick Kennedy (RI), Ruben Hinojosa (TX), and Senator Jim Webb (VA). We also requested clarification on several items. We expect to meet with them in October to discuss our recommendations in greater detail and will report back to you on the results of this meeting. These recommendations were also developed through open meetings of the Public Policy Committee.

Finally, work continues to secure passage of H. Res. 707, calling for the celebration of Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. Congressman Jared Polis (CO) is leading the charge to have this resolution considered in the House, and it is scheduled to be on the House Floor this Tuesday, October 6. When it is introduced, it will be an opportunity for Members to speak on the Floor of the House in support of the resolution and adult education and family literacy programs. For a copy of the Dear Colleague letter and the text of the resolution, see the Act Now section of the NCL Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit.

National Coalition for Literacy Home