I mentioned this yesterday on the policy call. Hope some of you are able watch!Jeff  I.  Social media plan to support CEF’s testimony tomorrow   ·        CEF testifying before House Budget Committee on Thursday morning – Tomorrow CEF’s  Deputy Executive Director, Sarah Abernathy, is testifying on the importance of federal education investments to the nation’s economic and national security at a  10am House Budget Committee hearing in room 210 Cannon House Office Building. The testimony describes public support for investments in education, the returns on these investments to both students and society, the need for greater education funding and  how the caps on non-defense discretionary (NDD) funding have constrained those investments, and why Congress therefore needs to raise the NDD caps.  Without an increase in the cap, NDD funding will be cut by $55 billion (9 percent) in the coming fiscal year.  That is bad enough, but the effective cut to existing NDD programs is actually 11% when you factor in new funding Congress needs to provide for the decennial census and the VA Choice program next year.  The House Budget Committee  has background information for the hearing.  Sarah will make a 5-minute presentation at the hearing, but the full testimony will be entered in the record and is now posted on CEF’s website  here.  Please do not tweet the testimony until tomorrow morning, as we would like to have a cluster of tweets during the hearing.   II. Social media timing, hashtags, retweeting, sample tweets   ·        Timing for tomorrow – When the hearing starts at 10am, we encourage you to share the testimony on Twitter along with examples of the impact of education funding cuts and the benefits of greater education  investments to students, families, teachers, schools, communities, and the economy during and after the hearing.  You can link to the testimony on CEF’s website or where it will be  posted on the House Budget Committee site.  ·        Hashtags – NDD United (the organization that CEF co-chairs that supports greater non-defense discretionary funding for the range of NDD programs) is urging people to tweet using #RaiseTheCaps  in reference to the NDD caps, and #CutsHurt.  CEF will also be using #5cents4edfunding (our “5 Cents Makes Sense” campaign to increase education investments from 2% to 5% of the federal budget – 5 cents on every dollar) and #edfunding.  That list is:   #5cents4edfunding #edfunding #RaiseTheCaps #CutsHurt  ·        Retweeting others – The House Budget Committee will webcast the hearing  here, and it would be helpful if you would retweet the livestream once the Committee tweets the link in the morning.  If you direct your tweets at the House Budget Committee by tagging them (include “@HouseBudgetDems” in your tweet), they are more  likely to see it and retweet it and have it reach their 12,500 followers.  Below is a list of Twitter accounts to consider retweeting during the hearing.  Please feel free to retweet others with your photos of student in labs or classrooms, teachers, etc.,  or relevant charts or artwork!   @edfunding – CEF’s Twitter account.  We will be tweeting facts, quotes, and charts during the hearing  @HouseBudgetDems – the House Budget Committee majority. It will share the livestream of the hearing, and tweet  key statements by Members of Congress and witnesses  @NDDUnited – NDD United will share how funding cuts have impacted vital services  @HouseBudgetGOP – The Republican Budget Committee account  Other CEF members! – We encourage you to amplify other tweets on the importance of education investments  Members of the Budget Committee – if you want to reach a particular Committee member, you can tag them in your tweet.  The Committee’s membership is listed here, and you Members include their twitter accounts on their homepage, which you can find by clicking on their photo.     ·        Sample tweets – Tweet your own examples of the impact of education funding cuts  and the need for greater investments using your hashtags or those above.  Below are some sample tweets that CEF will be using tomorrow.  (for today): How do investments in education impact economic and national security? Watch @edfunding testify before Congress @HouseBudgetDems Thursday at 10am  https://budget.house.gov/legislation/hearings/investing-america-s-economic-and-national-security     (for when the hearing webcast starts at 10am tomorrow – retweet the @HouseBudgetDems livestream tweet with the following message):  See how investments in education impact economic and national security in @edfunding testimony starting now. #5cents4edfunding     Congress needs to raise the non-defense discretionary (NDD) funding cap or face a devastating effective cut of 11% next year.  Tell Congress to #RaisetheCaps to prevent education cuts and support  greater education investments that benefit us all. #5cents4edfunding     Call your Members of Congress at 202-224-3121 to ask them to vote to #RaisetheCaps on NDD spending and to increase #edfunding investments that are good for students & economic security. See specifics  here.        
    
    

I mentioned this yesterday on the policy call. Hope some of you are able watch!Jeff I.  Social media plan to support CEF’s testimony tomorrow ·        CEF testifying before House Budget Committee on Thursday morning – Tomorrow CEF’s Deputy Executive Director, Sarah Abernathy, is testifying on the importance of federal education investments to the nation’s economic and national security at a 10am House Budget Committee hearing in room 210 Cannon House Office Building. The testimony describes public support for investments in education, the returns on these investments to both students and society, the need for greater education funding and how the caps on non-defense discretionary (NDD) funding have constrained those investments, and why Congress therefore needs to raise the NDD caps.  Without an increase in the cap, NDD funding will be cut by $55 billion (9 percent) in the coming fiscal year. That is bad enough, but the effective cut to existing NDD programs is actually 11% when you factor in new funding Congress needs to provide for the decennial census and the VA Choice program next year.  The House Budget Committee has background information for the hearing. Sarah will make a 5-minute presentation at the hearing, but the full testimony will be entered in the record and is now posted on CEF’s website here.  Please do not tweet the testimony until tomorrow morning, as we would like to have a cluster of tweets during the hearing. II. Social media timing, hashtags, retweeting, sample tweets ·        Timing for tomorrow – When the hearing starts at 10am, we encourage you to share the testimony on Twitter along with examples of the impact of education funding cuts and the benefits of greater education investments to students, families, teachers, schools, communities, and the economy during and after the hearing.  You can link to the testimony on CEF’s website or where it will be posted on the House Budget Committee site. ·        Hashtags – NDD United (the organization that CEF co-chairs that supports greater non-defense discretionary funding for the range of NDD programs) is urging people to tweet using #RaiseTheCaps in reference to the NDD caps, and #CutsHurt.  CEF will also be using #5cents4edfunding (our “5 Cents Makes Sense” campaign to increase education investments from 2% to 5% of the federal budget – 5 cents on every dollar) and #edfunding.  That list is: #5cents4edfunding #edfunding #RaiseTheCaps #CutsHurt ·        Retweeting others – The House Budget Committee will webcast the hearing here, and it would be helpful if you would retweet the livestream once the Committee tweets the link in the morning.  If you direct your tweets at the House Budget Committee by tagging them (include “@HouseBudgetDems” in your tweet), they are more likely to see it and retweet it and have it reach their 12,500 followers.  Below is a list of Twitter accounts to consider retweeting during the hearing.  Please feel free to retweet others with your photos of student in labs or classrooms, teachers, etc., or relevant charts or artwork! @edfunding – CEF’s Twitter account.  We will be tweeting facts, quotes, and charts during the hearing @HouseBudgetDems – the House Budget Committee majority. It will share the livestream of the hearing, and tweet key statements by Members of Congress and witnesses @NDDUnited – NDD United will share how funding cuts have impacted vital services @HouseBudgetGOP – The Republican Budget Committee account Other CEF members! – We encourage you to amplify other tweets on the importance of education investments Members of the Budget Committee – if you want to reach a particular Committee member, you can tag them in your tweet.  The Committee’s membership is listed here, and you Members include their twitter accounts on their homepage, which you can find by clicking on their photo.    ·        Sample tweets – Tweet your own examples of the impact of education funding cuts and the need for greater investments using your hashtags or those above.  Below are some sample tweets that CEF will be using tomorrow. (for today): How do investments in education impact economic and national security? Watch @edfunding testify before Congress @HouseBudgetDems Thursday at 10am https://budget.house.gov/legislation/hearings/investing-america-s-economic-and-national-security   (for when the hearing webcast starts at 10am tomorrow – retweet the @HouseBudgetDems livestream tweet with the following message): See how investments in education impact economic and national security in @edfunding testimony starting now. #5cents4edfunding   Congress needs to raise the non-defense discretionary (NDD) funding cap or face a devastating effective cut of 11% next year.  Tell Congress to #RaisetheCaps to prevent education cuts and support greater education investments that benefit us all. #5cents4edfunding   Call your Members of Congress at 202-224-3121 to ask them to vote to #RaisetheCaps on NDD spending and to increase #edfunding investments that are good for students & economic security. See specifics here.