Members, Here is the latest from CEF. As I’m sure you all know by now, DeVos was confirmed today, although to do it they had to take unprecedented step of calling down the vice president to cast the a tie-breaking vote. The list of House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee is now complete with the additional of two new Democratic members. As most of you know, these are the the most critical representatives involved in making decisions about the federal appropriation for adult ed. The new members are worth noting, although the long-time Ranking Member, Rosa DeLauro, has been our most consistent champion for adult ed on the subcommittee. Jeff > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Sheryl Cohen <cohen@cef.org> > Subject: CEF Update: 2.7.17 - House Labor-H members, NDD letter, budget rumors, CEF February schedule > Date: February 7, 2017 at 1:37:37 PM EST > To: CEFMembersList <CEFMembersList@cef.org> > > Tuesday, February 7, 2017 > > Dear CEF Members: > > I. Advocacy > > · Hill visits start – Hill Teams and ACG staff have started our first round of advocacy visits to the Hill. Sarah and I have met with the Democratic staff of the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee and the full Committee, and we have scheduled meetings with staff from the new members of the House and Senate Labor-H subcommittees. The members of the Hill Teams Committee are signing up to attend so that we have someone from each part of the education continuum at each visit. The meetings scheduled so far are the following new members of the House Labor-H Subcommittee: > o Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) > o Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) > o Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) > o Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) > > We will also set up meetings with Republican Appropriations leadership, the new members on Appropriations but not on the Labor-H Subcommittee, and the “Red State” Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2018. > > · Reminder: Consider signing NDD United letter opposing sequestration –NDD United is circulating a letter <http://www.publichealthfunding.org/uploads/NDDUnited2017.SignOnDraft.pdf> to Congress opposing the 2018 sequester and outlining its threat to NDD programs, including education. CEF has signed on, and we encourage all of you to do so, too. Each CEF individual member – and any of your local or state affiliates – can sign separately. To sign, click here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc6CKAXBZ0x6chUZC_6YiF6xm6IfBWF92qW9_vUvAkULRCDwA/viewform?usp=send_form>and complete the form. The deadline is February 10. > > II. Policy Intelligence and Education News > > · House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee complete -- House Democrats have announced their two new members of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee. The complete membership is listed below, with members new to the subcommittee marked with an *. > > > III. Policy Intelligence and Education News > > · Senate votes to confirm DeVos – The Senate voted 51-50 today to confirm Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary, with Vice President Pence casting the historic tie-breaking vote. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted against DeVos, but all other Republican Senators supported the controversial nominee. > > · FY 2018 Administration budget rumors – President Trump has been invited to address a joint session of Congress on February 28, the same day as the expected release of his so-called Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 “skinny budget” – the budget outline without much detail that customarily comes out early in the first year of a new Administration while it is still working out the programmatic policy and budget specifics for the complete budget request. However, rumors are resurfacing about whether the Administration will propose a FY 2018 budget given that the OMB Director has not yet been confirmed. Interim House Budget Committee chair Diane Black (R-TN) said they would find it “very helpful” if the skinny budget were released before Congress begins working on the FY 2018 budget. It would be very surprising – to say the least – if the Administration were to forego the opportunity to stake its ground on budget goals and programmatic priorities, but it does seem as if the FY 2018 budget cycle will start even later than usual in the first year of an Administration. > > IV. Upcoming CEF Schedule > > · For planning purposes, here is a list of CEF events for the next month or so: > · Friday, Feb. 10, 9-11am: CEF Meeting, AFT (555 NJ Ave, NW). Guest speaker: Mark Cruz, Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, and Vice-Chairman of the House Budget Committee > · Friday, Feb. 17, 9-11am: CEF Meeting (California State, Hall of States, 444 N. Capitol St, NW, room 333). Guest speakers: Alex Keenan and Mark Laisch, Senate Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee Democratic staff > · Friday, Feb. 24: No CEF meeting > · Thursday, March 2, 8:30-10:30am: New Member/website launch event, (Room TBD) > · Friday, March 3: No CEF meeting > > My best, > > Sheryl > > > Sheryl V. Cohen, Executive Director > 1800 M Street, NW > Suite 500 South > Washington, DC 20036 > T: 202-327-8125 > cohen@cef.org <mailto:cohen@cef.org> > www.cef.org <http://www.cef.org/> > >