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Phone congressman re. Ike funds



NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
***SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE***
September 22, 1997
________________________________
This Thursday, a House-Senate Conference Committee
will begin meeting to iron out the differences
between the version of the education appropriations
bill passed by the Senate on September 11 and the version
passed by the House last Wednesday, September 17.

As reported earlier, the Senate bill includes an
amendment, which was proposed by Slade Gorton (R-WA),
that combines most K-12 Department of Education
programs---including the Eisenhower Professional
Development Program---into a single $11 billion block
grant that would be distributed by formula to states
based on the size of the school population and the
number of students living in poverty. Virtually no
strings would be attached to this money.

Other programs folded into the block grant include
Goals 2000, Educational Technology, Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities, Indian Education, Bilingual
and Immigrant Education, and many more. In addition,
the Title I formula would be altered.

The House version of the education appropriations bill
contains NO such amendment and funds the Eisenhower
program at $310 million for FY 1998, which begins
shortly, on October 1. (In the original version of
both the House and Senate appropriations bills, the
Eisenhower program was slated to receive $310 million.)

To preserve Eisenhower funding, NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT.

There is not enough money available to fund all the
priorities being advocated by the House, the Senate,
and the Clinton Administration. Compromises will have
to be made.

SO, if you are a constituent of any member of the
Conference Committee (names below), contact that
person. If not, CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND BOTH
YOUR SENATORS and ask them to forward your opinion to
the Conference Committee as soon as possible.

Ask your representative and senators to OPPOSE the
Gorton block grant amendment and vote FOR the funding
of targeted professional development through the
Eisenhower Professional Development state grants
program. Ask that the program be funded at $310
million.

Explain briefly why this program is important to you
and your colleagues and ultimately your students. And,
of course, be sure to give your name.

Use the phone numbers below to reach the offices of
Conference Committee members. You can reach the
offices of other representatives and senators through
the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Another option is to send e-mail---though that is a
second-best choice since different Congressional
offices treat e-mail messages differently. To get
e-mail addresses, go to

http://www.voxpop.org/zipper/

BE SURE TO SIGN your e-mail message with your full
name and home (voting) address to demonstrate you are
a constituent.

Those serving on the House-Senate Conference Committee
will be

SENATORS

Arlen Specter (R-PA)
(202) 224-4254
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
(202) 224-5054
Slade Gorton (R-WA)
(202) 224-3441
Christopher S. Bond (R-MO)
(202) 224-5721
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
(202) 224-3324
Lauch Faircloth (R-NC)
(202) 224-3154
Larry Craig (R-ID)
(202) 224-2752
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
(202) 224-5922
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
(202) 224-3254
Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC)
(202) 224-6121
Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI)
(202) 224-3934
Dale Bumpers (D-AR)
(202) 224-4843
Harry Reid (D-NV)
(202) 224-3542
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
(202) 224-5653
Patty Murray (D-WA)
(202) 224-2621

REPRESENTATIVES

John Edward Porter (R-IL)
(202) 225-4835
C. W. Bill Young (R-FL)
(202) 225-5961
Henry Bonilla (R-TX)
(202) 225-4511
Ernest J. Istook, Jr. (R-OK)
(202) 225-2132
Dan Miller (R-FL)
(202) 225-5015
Jay Dickey (R-AR)
(202) 225-3772
Roger F. Wicker (R-MS)
(202) 225-4306
Anne M. Northup (R-KY)
(202) 225-5401
David R. Obey (D-WI)
(202) 225-3365
Louis Stokes (D-OH)
(202) 225-7032
Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD)
(202) 225-4131
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
(202) 225-4965
Nita M. Lowey (D-NY)
(202) 225-6506
Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT)
(202) 225-3661

Don't pass up this opportunity to affect the
committee's vote and the future of the Eisenhower
Professional Development Program.

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