By Catherine Brown, Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy
Reading time: Two minutes
Congress passed a short-term extension on Thursday to continue funding the federal government at current levels into March. Under the new
timeline, funding for the US Department of Education will expire on March 8, 2024. While that may seem like plenty of time to finalize the budget, it’s a mere seven weeks away and Congressional leaders have a lot of work to do!
First, Appropriations leaders need to set overall funding levels for each of the twelve spending bills, called the 302(b) allocations (education programs are part of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, or LHHS, bill in case you were wondering).
Once each Appropriations Subcommittee has its 302(b) allocation, they will need to negotiate the allocation for each program within the larger bill.
The extension has bought us a little more time and as a result we have extended our campaign to #DoublePell and #ProtectHigherEducationFunding! This is a critical time to make your voice heard.
We are asking you to reach out to your elected officials in Congress and tell them to #DoublePell, save work-study from elimination, and increase funding for
Federal Student Aid and postsecondary student success programs! Our Action Alert allows you to send an email directly to your federal Representative and Senator
using an email template that you can tailor with information about yourself and your organization if you’d like. Once you’ve taken that step, we urge you to do the following:
Circulate the Action Alert to your networks, such as students, board members, and community partners!
Reach out directly to the US Congressional staff you met during the National College Attainment Network's (NCAN) 2023 Hill Day (or anytime previously). Tell them how much the Pell Grant and other federal programs matter to the students you serve.
You can use the email template from the Action Alert or write a short note in your own words thanking them for their leadership and asking for their help
in funding higher education.
Tag your Members of Congress on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, or X using the Committee for Education Funding’s new graphic urging
Congress not to leave students out in the cold (graphic can be found here).
And finally, reach out to share any feedback you receive or pose any questions you may have. The NCAN policy team is grateful for your engagement and here to help elevate your voice!
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