Education Insider A weekly review of progress on the Quality Public Schools Agenda and other legislation that impacts our students, classrooms, and public education. October 3 , 2003

	NEA National Day to Repeal Social Security Offsets On the Hill - October 1, the NEA National Day to Repeal Social Security Offsets, was a great day on Capitol Hill! Educators from 47 states visited Congressional offices to urge repeal of laws that unfairly reduce the Social Security benefits of educators and other public employees. NEA activists have won the support of: 271 Members of Congress as cosponsors for H.R. 594 (McKeon (R-CA), Berman (D-CA)), and 26 Senators as cosponsors of the companion bill, S. 349 (Feinstein (D-CA), Collins (R-ME)). The bills would eliminate both the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). (http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec/) At home - More than 7,000 colleagues phoned in their stories of the offsets' harsh impact. The Price of Success: 'Line Overload!' - A very special "THANK YOU!!" to all who had to try and try again to record your message. The flood of phone messages challenged the capacity of the telephone network and triggered 'line overload.' It proved a 'teachable moment' and the engineers designed a way to double the capacity of the system. Thank you for your patience, tenacity, and steadfast support. Note: The toll-free line [1-800-818-6030] will be open through Wednesday, October 8. NEA is pressing for action on the House and Senate repeal bills. D.C. Vouchers - NEA Message Resonates; Senate Delays Vote (HR 2765) The Senate delayed a vote on the House-passed D.C. voucher plan after a start-and- stop spirited debate. The transparent truth of NEA message has given the Senate pause: "Vouchers don't work. Do what's right. Vote NO to the false-hope of ill-conceived, taxpayer-paid private school vouchers in the District of Columbia. " Send your message to Congress The D.C. voucher bill is likely to come up again when the Senate returns from the October 3 - 14 recess. Tell Congress: "Do what's right. Just say 'NO' to vouchers."
Government Relations 202-822-7300 http://www.nea.org/lac 1201 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036
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