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LDA NEWS FROM WASHINGTON
January, 2007
LEGISLATION
FEDERAL AGENCIES
IN THE STATES
109TH CONGRESS IS HISTORY
On December 5, the 109th Congress finally adjourned without passing 9 of the
11 Appropriation bills to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2007. Instead,
a C.R. (Continuing Resolution) was passed to fund government agencies at
the 2006 levels until February 15, 2007. Although little or no action on
legislation of concern to the disability community was taken, Congress did
pass and the President signed into law the "Combating Autism Act of
2006" (S 843) which authorizes $945 million over five years for autism
research, early detection, and intervention. Congress also extended for one
year the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which calls for the end of discrimination
against those who suffer from mental or substance abuse disorders. Other
legislation of interest, including the reauthorizations of the Workforce
Investment Act, the Higher Education Act, and Head Start; the Americans with
Disabilities Restoration Act; and bills amending No Child Left Behind must
be reintroduced in the 110th Congress.
110th CONGRESS IS TO BE SWORN IN ON JANUARY 4, 2007.
* The President's State of the Union Address is scheduled for January 23.
* The in-coming Chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
Rep. David Obey (D-WI), and Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) have announced their intention
to enact a year-long Continuing Resolution, minus all earmarks.
THE HOUSE
Immediately following the swearing in ceremony on January 4, the House leadership
plans to introduce legislation to update ethics rules, raise the minimum
wage, promote stem cell research, make college education and prescription
drugs more affordable, further implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations,
and cut subsidies to the oil industry. Not all of these proposals are expected
to pass. However, the President has indicated his willingness to consider
raising the minimum wage.
Because of the criticism that the House in the 109th Congress met only on Tuesdays thru Thursdays, the new Democratic leadership announced that votes in the 110th Congress will be held five days a week. In addition, breaks will be limited to a week in February, two weeks in April, a week in May, and a week in July. The four week August recess is unchanged. Adjournment is scheduled for October 26.
Rep. George Miller (D-CA) will chair the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R- CA) will serve as Ranking Member
THE SENATE
In an announcement on November 16, Sen. Ted Kennedy, incoming Chairman of the
Senate HELP (Health, Education, and Pensions Committee) promised to continue
to work in a bipartisan way with Republicans on the Committee. Sen. Kennedy
identified the Committee's priorities as increasing the minimum wage, removing
barriers to stem cell research, reducing the cost of health care and making
it available to all Americans, enacting a higher education reauthorization
that makes college affordable, funding and reauthorizing the No Child Left
Behind Act, reauthorizing the Head Start federal preschool program, reauthorizing
the Workforce Investment Act, and fully funding IDEA.
FEDERAL AGENCIES
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, wrote
to Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Mendez to tell them he is revising
the controversial proposal for the Toxics Release Inventory which would have
raised the threshold for reporting releases of toxic chemicals in detail from
500 to 5,000 pounds and would allow companies to report every other year instead
of annually.
TOUGH CHOICES OR TOUGH TIMES: The Report of the New Commission
on the Skills of the American Workforce (www.skillscommission.org)
On December 14, an independent commission published a report proposing changes
to make the nation more competitive globally. The report recommends authorizing
school districts to pay companies to run their schools, enrolling eligible
students in college after the 10th grade, and paying teachers up to $100,000
annually in return for giving up pensions and switching to 401(k) retirement
plans. The most controversial recommendation is that, depending on their scores
on standardized tests at age 16, students are divided into two classes:
- those who would stay in high school after 10th grade, spend the 11th and 12th grades taking advanced courses and enroll in college as sophomores and juniors.
- those who pass exams demonstrating academic competency could graduate from high school after the 10th grade and enroll in trade schools or community colleges.
The report expects implementation to take 15 years.
TABOR (Taxpayers Bill of Rights) provisions which, among other proposals, would require schools to spend at least 65% of their money on direct services in the classroom) were defeated Maine, Nebraska, and Oregon and suspended for 5 years in Colorado.
STATE REGULATIONS ON IDEA
Although many advocates rely on federal law and regulations, school administrators
rely on state regulations to implement the requirements of IDEA. Because
the process for issuing regulations varies from state to state, it is essential
to work with other state groups committed to improving the education for
students with disabilities 1) to compare the current state regulations with
the federal ones, 2) to track the state's regulatory process, and 3) to provide
input on decisions which will be made. Hopefully, the state parent training
center will have information on the topic. Each state's regulatory process
should be posted on its department of education's web site. Another useful
source of information is the National State Policy Database (NSPD) from which
federal and state special education laws and regulations can be downloaded. http://nspd.rrfcnetwork.org/search/searcher.php
LDA News from Washington is a periodic publication of The Learning Disabilities Association of America, Inc. containing news of interest to the volunteer and administrative leadership of National LDA and its State and Local Affiliates written by LDA's Washington Representative, Justine Maloney. LDA members wishing to be added to the email list may contact LDA.
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