Here is Friday’s CEF update. No additional comments from me at this time but you’ll probably be hearing a lot from me this week! Jeff > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Sheryl Cohen <cohen@cef.org> > Subject: CEF Update 11.11.16 > Date: November 11, 2016 at 4:00:06 PM EST > To: CEFMembersList <CEFMembersList@cef.org> > > > > Friday, November 11, 2016 > > > Dear CEF Members: > > I. Advocacy > > · Trump transition team – Attached is an organizational chart showing the Trump transition team. There are many names being floated for various positions, including for Secretary of Education, but it’s still unclear who will be making the decisions and who will be considered. We are told much is still in flux, and the names being discussed early on do not necessarily include the ones who will be chosen. > > · We are requesting to meet with the Trump transition staff to introduce CEF and share our mission, looking for where we can agree and focusing on the many benefits of investing in education – for the students themselves, and for the economy as a whole. President-elect Trump has said he’d consider eliminating the Department of Education or at least “streamlining” it, but has also laid out a short list <https://www.greatagain.gov/policy/education.html> of education priorities. These include funding for charter schools and other school choice issues (as a candidate, he supported $20 billion for charter schools paid for by cutting other programs), and ensuring financial accountability for student aid. > > · CEF Hill visits - As noted in our previous Updates, we have had 16 meetings with House and Senate leadership and Appropriations Committee staffs from both parties in the last 4 weeks. We are going back to each to gather new intelligence and reiterate the need for a strong investment in education. > > II. Policy Intelligence and Education News > > · FY2017 appropriations plans likely to change – While there is much uncertainty about changes that may occur under a Trump Administration, Congress reconvenes next week to elect its leadership for the 115th Congress and finish its legislative business. Prior to the election, appropriators had been saying they intended to complete action on all 11 bills before Congress adjourned. Now, we are hearing that Republicans want to pass another short-term funding bill until early the first part of next year, which is what conservatives have been advocating. House Republicans say decisions will be made after consultation with the incoming Administration and their members next week. > > · Rep. Aderholt (R-AL), chair of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, told CQ <http://www.cq.com/doc/news-4985950?3&srcpage=news&srcsec=ina> that if Democrats try to block Republican policy riders, Republicans may wait to pass full-year funding bills when the new president would sign them. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee chair, told CQ that: > “[H]e will defer to the incoming Trump administration for what to do on spending. ‘Personally, I would prefer to finish things, and I think it’s always important to get our work done within the calendar year. I think there are real consequences down the line. But we could find ourselves in a situation where we get several things done but not everything done,’ Cole said. He said it was possible some bills might be rolled into a continuing resolution.” > > · Where education funding sits for FY2017 – We will continue to stress the message we delivered in all of our meetings with Hill staff about the importance of investing in education. We have highlighted the current low level of overall education funding, the proposed cuts to Pell grant funding, and that both the House and Senate Appropriations Committee-passed Labor-HHS-Education bills provide less for elementary and secondary education than Congress authorized for them in last year’s Every Student Succeeds Act. However, funding for education is not likely to fare well in an environment that does not include a bigger decision to raise the cap on non-defense discretionary spending. > > · FY2018 appropriations outlook – The challenge to the federal education investment in 2018 may be even greater. On the campaign, President-elect Trump said he wanted to eliminate the sequester for defense spending and offset the cost by cutting waste and budget gimmicks, which has been interpreted to mean cutting non-defense discretionary (NDD) spending. Since the sequester took effect in 2013, every time Congress adjusted the caps they raised or lowered the defense and NDD caps by equal amounts. A plan to raise defense spending and lower NDD spending below the austerity-level sequester cap for 2018 would make it even harder to fund key priorities such as education. He also supported the so-called penny plan <http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/trump-penny-plan-would-mean-large-cut-in-non-defense-spending> to reduce NDD spending by 1 percent more each year, deepening the size of the cut each year. After ten years, the impact would cut NDD programs by about 29 percent below current levels adjusted for inflation (the Congressional Budget Office’s baseline estimate of spending); that would cut NDD spending to just 2.0 percent of the economy, one third below the previous record low of 3.0 percent. > > · Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) seeking chairmanship of Education and Workforce Committee – As expected, Rep. Foxx announced that she will run for the chairmanship of the House Education and the Workforce Committee that is being vacated by Rep. John Kline’s retirement. She was quoted in Ed Week saying: > "I would love to get the federal government out of education policy altogether. However, that's not going to happen. So my position is, if we're going to be involved, then we should have the money spent as well as it can be spent," Foxx said of HEA, IDEA, and other issues.” > > · 25 Republican members of congressional education committees object to ESSA regulations – 25 Republicans in Congress submitted a letter <http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/2945f5b9-027b-4ba0-9a7d-8f79e938c0a1/11-4-2016-help-ew-republican-letter-on-sns.pdf> during the comment period objecting to requirements in the Department of Education’s proposed rule implementing the Supplement, Not Supplant provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act. They want the Department to rescind requirements that they say do not reflect Congress’s intent in ensuring that federal Title I funds only supplement non-federal funds that would otherwise be available. The letter objects to certain proposed methodologies for the distribution of state and local funds, insisting that the new law was intended to provide more flexibility to LEAs in complying with the provision, and not to dramatically change how LEAs budget. Gerard Robinson, one of the Trump transition team’s leaders for education, said the incoming Administration might rescind <http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2016/11/trump_ESSA_civil_rights_transition_education.html> any regulations it deems too restrictive. > > III. Events > > · Friday morning meetings resume next week – With Congress coming back, CEF resumes our regular Friday meetings next week. > o November 18, 9-11am, at the University of California (1608 Rhode Island Ave, NW, 1st Floor Auditorium). Speaker to be determined. This is an important opportunity for us to talk about our agenda for the rest of this year and outlook for next year. > o December 2, 9-11am, at the NEA (News Conference Room, 1201 16th Street, NW). Speaker is Erica Navarro, the Department of Education’s new director of the Budget Service. > o December 9, 9-11am. Venue and speakers to be determined. > o December 16, 9-11am, at the University of California (1608 Rhode Island Ave, NW, 1st Floor Auditorium). This is CEF’s annual meeting with the elections for next year’s board, so participation is important. > > · Post-election debriefing postponed – Unfortunately, the notable speaker we had confirmed for November 16 has been – like so many people – consumed with the ongoing analysis of the election, so we are postponing the briefing. We will reschedule, and are looking at Wednesday, November 30, as a possibility, so please hold the date. > > · Annual membership survey – As part of our process for planning events and budgets for next year, we’d like your feedback about what is most helpful to you about CEF and our activities, and any areas where we can improve. If you haven’t already, please take the brief survey here: CEF Member Survey <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/65T5KCY> > > · ACG-hosted Member Lunches – We have a four more chances for CEF members to join us for lunch at our ACG offices. These are a great way for me and the ACG team to get to know each member more personally and what your specific issues are. You can sign up for the lunch on November 16 or 30, or December 7 or 14 here: Member Lunches Sign Up <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cef-member-lunches-tickets-27180617960> > > 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/> >