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Ike funds: good news!



NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
***SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE***
September 17, 1997
_________________________________
UPDATE: (excerpts from the NSTA)

As things stand now, the House will NOT be voting on
a proposal, similar to the one passed last Thursday in
the Senate, to combine most K-12 programs of the
Department of Education---including the Eisenhower
Professional Development Program---into a single
block grant.

Representative Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) was planning to
introduce a block grant proposal during debate on the
House version of the FY 1998 Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education Appropriations Bill (HR
2264).

But today, when Hoekstra took a "head count" of how
many votes he might get and saw the odds stacked
against passage of his proposal, he decided not to
offer it on the House floor.

The Senate Vote

As you know, in last Thursday's stunning turn of
events, the Senate passed an appropriations bill that
included an amendment, offered by Senator Slade Gorton
(R-WA), to consolidate most K-12 education programs
into a single $11 billion block grant. That money
would go by formula to school districts with no strings
attached.

The Senate passed the Gorton block grant amendment,
by 51-49 and the full appropriations bill by 92-8.

What's Next?

After the House passes its version of the
appropriations bill, a House-Senate conference
committee will be named to come up with a compromise
bill from the House and Senate versions that can be
then be passed by both the House and Senate and sent
to the President for signing.

What You Can Do

If you have not yet contacted your two senators,
there is still time to voice your opposition to the
block grant amendment and your support for the
Eisenhower Professional Development Program as a
SEPARATE program in the Department of Education.

Be sure to ask your senators to share your opinions
with the members of the conference committee and
especially with Senator Gorton himself. (If you wish,
you can also call Senator Gorton's office directly.)

You can reach your senators' offices through the
Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

You can also write them at
Honorable (firstname lastname)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20515

(Note from Jane: I find it easier to call my Senators
at their home office. It takes just a minute. Their
numbers are in the blue pages of the phone book - the
US Govt. section.)

Jane Jackson (Prof. of Physics, Scottsdale Comm. College--on leave)
Dept.of Physics, Box 871504, Arizona State Univ.,Tempe AZ 85287-1504.
jane.jackson@asu.edu (602)965-8438 FAX:965-7331
Modeling Workshop Project: http://modeling.la.asu.edu/modeling.html