I'm traveling today so no extra commentary! Jeff Begin forwarded message: > From: Sheryl Cohen <cohen@cef.org> > Date: May 22, 2017 at 11:04:36 AM CDT > To: CEFMembersList <CEFMembersList@americancontinentalgroup.onmicrosoft.com> > Subject: CEF Update: 05.22.17 - News of the day, President's budget, sequester language, advocacy call, job listings, gala award nominations > > > > > Monday, May 22, 2017 > > > Dear CEF Members: > > I. What we’re hearing > > · Confusion on scheduling for the President’s budget – The President’s detailed fiscal year 2018 budget will be released tomorrow, but there’s still no confirmed time when the material will be published – people “think” it will be at 11am. The Department of Education is working to schedule its customary budget briefing for groups, but keeps pushing back the time it will send out the invitation (supposedly later today, but we’re not sure whether that means a briefing will occur tomorrow or later). We’ll share the information as soon as we get it. > > II. Policy Intelligence and Education News > > · CEF material on the President’s budget tomorrow – We plan to send you our budget tables and a brief analysis tomorrow as soon as we get them done tomorrow. We will also tweet links to our materials. > > · Secretary DeVos testifying before House Appropriations Subcommittee on May 24 – Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will testify on the President’s education budget before the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday, May 24, at 11am in room 2358C Rayburn House Office Building. > > · OMB Director Mulvaney testifying before Budget Committees – The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will testify about all aspects of the President’s budget before both the House and Senate Budget Committees this week. The House hearing is on Wednesday at 9:30am in 1334 Longworth House Office Building, and the Senate hearing is on Thursday at 9:45am in 608 Dirksen Senate Office Building. These hearings generally involve questions on many controversial aspects of the President’s budget. > > · Oversight hearing – “High Risk American Indian and Alaska Native Programs (Education, Health Care, Energy)” on May 24 – The House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee is holding an oversight hearing on Wednesday, May 24, at 2pm in 2007 Rayburn House Office Building. Melissa Emrey-Arras, Director of the Government Accountability Office’s Education, Workforce and Income Security Team, will be one of the witnesses. > > III. Advocacy > > · NDD United language on need to raise the sequester-level spending caps – NDD United, of which CEF is a co-chair, urges those responding to the President’s budget to mention the need to raise the austerity-level sequester cap on nondefense discretionary (NDD) funding for fiscal year 2018. They are circulating the following language as a template: > “While Congress will make independent judgments in crafting the fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget, we urge you to reject the draconian cuts proposed in the Trump budget. However, doing so is not sufficient to provide needed investments in critical nondefense programs supporting education. Congress cannot ignore the return of reduced sequester spending caps for FY 2018. These restrictive caps must be raised to allow nondefense discretionary programs supporting education to be adequately funded. Equally critical, relief from the tight caps must be even-handed; parity must be maintained by providing the same relief from the sequester caps to defense and nondefense alike. A bipartisan budget deal like those that provided relief from the sequester caps and maintained parity for FYs 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 must be achieved for 2018.” > > · FYI, budget strategy conference call for national groups – The Coalition on Human Needs and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities are hosting a call for national groups to discuss what’s expected in the President’s budget and the congressional budget resolution – spending cuts and reconciliation instructions that are expected to affect Medicaid, SNAP, SSI and/or other entitlements, as well as spending cuts to nondefense discretionary (NDD) programs and tax cuts – and strategies to combat them. The call is Wednesday, May 24, at 4pm ET, conference call # 844-224-7906, Conference ID: 27704193. The following day, May 25, at 1pm there will be a webinar for state and local advocates. You can register for the webinar “The Trump Budget and What's Ahead in Congress: What Every Advocate Needs to Know” here. > > IV. Other (Job openings, Gala nominations, CEF schedule) > > · CEF member job openings – CEF Members who have registered for access to the member section of our website can look at the CEF Job Board where we list related job openings. Here are two that have recently come in: > o UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is seeking an experienced government affairs leader with a deep commitment to advocating for minority students to serve as its next Vice President, Public Policy and Government Affairs. UNCF, which awards more than $100 million in scholarships each year, seeks to further advance postsecondary access and opportunity, particularly for African American students. More information is at: www.imsearch.com/6211. > o National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) is seeking a Director of Federal Relations to lead its work in developing and executing a policy agenda that seeks to improve the lives of the 1 in 5 children with learning and attention issues and their families. More information is available here. > > · Nominate someone to honor at the CEF Gala – We are asking all CEF members for suggestions of champions of education to receive an award at CEF’s annual gala on October 3. Past awardees are a bipartisan roster of those who have taken a lead in efforts to provide federal education funding, including Members of Congress from both parties, Administration officials, former staffers, as well as those working outside of government on initiatives that will help students and promote learning. We want awardees to represent the gamut of our members’ interests, and to help draw people to attend the gala, as well. I’ve attached a nomination form – please send nominations to Gala Committee co-chair Kelly Vaillancourt at kvaillancourt@naspweb.org by June 2, 2017. > > · CEF’s upcoming schedule – > o Friday, May 26, 9-11 am: CEF meeting (AASCU, 1307 NY Ave, NW). Guest speaker: Bob Moran, Deputy Education Policy Director, Senate HELP Committee Republican staff > o Friday, June 2 – No meeting > o Friday, June 9, 9-11 am: CEF meeting (AASCU, 1307 NY Ave, NW). Guest speaker: Mike Gentile, Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee Republican staff > o Friday, June 16, 9-11 am: Quarterly meeting (University of California, 1608 Rhode Island Ave, NW, 1st Floor Auditorium) > o Friday, June 23, 9-11 am: CEF meeting (AASCU, 1307 NY Ave, NW). Guest speaker: Mary Cassell, OMB Education Branch chief, with education staffers > > 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 > www.cef.org > > <2017 Gala Award Nomination form.doc>