PLEASE READ BELOW SENT ORIGINALLY BY HEATHER VALENTINE AND JOSE MARTINEZ-SALDANA
Gillermina Martinez
Retention Counselor
STAAR Program
CSU, Bakersfield
9001 Stockdale Hwy.
Bakersfield CA, 93311
(661) 654.2281
----- Original Message -----
Ok, everyone. We need to move on this right away. Please work with your Chapters to have members contact their congressional reps. I will send something out on the WESTOP listserv.
Thank you,
Tomasa Mauricio, M.S.
Director, Service Learning
Pre-College Institute
College of Education
San Diego State University
Phone: (619)594-1899
Fax: (619)594-7821
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Mon 1/26/2009 11:27 PM
To: Tomasa Mauricio
Subject: FW: Time is Running Out - Contact Your Member of Congress Today!
Hi Tomasa,
I hope you are doing well. I'm emailing you from Memphis, where I'm
attending the SAEOPP conference. Earlier today we had Mitch provide his
Washington Update and one of the outcomes was his recommendation that the
TRIO personnel from South Caroline call their Congressional representative
James Clyburn, who sits on the appropriations committee and is apparently
the third most powerful member of the house.after Pelosi and Miller (from
SF). When Mitch finished his comments, Camille asked all of the conference
attendees to take a couple of minutes and call their representatives (from
which ever state they reside in) and ask them to include TRIO and GEAR Up
funding in the stimulus package. The request was to make the calls right
away. Within 30 minutes, one of the attendees reported that Representative
Clyburn was so moved by the volume of calls that he was trying to call for a
meeting tomorrow morning (Tuesday) to discuss how COE's request would add
jobs.apparently that was the key buzz word that got his attention. I would
imagine that the news reports of all the job cuts today by some large
companies is putting increased pressure for the stimulus package to have a
greater focus on job creation.
In a brief conversation with Mitch this evening, I asked who else we should
focus on - no surprises, he thought a similar effort that focuses on Pelosi
and Miller could have a similar impact. The talking points are those
detailed in the email below, which I know you and Stephen have already sent
out.but the urgency now is that tomorrow (Tuesday), the appropriations
committee is meeting to take up the stimulus bill and it is expected that a
vote could occur as early as Wednesday. So, I thought I would email you and
the other Presidents and COE board members to see if we could collectively
mobilize to ask our membership again to take action.
Mitch will be asking Heather to email me Tuesday morning if there is
anything else that she might be able to update us on. If anything else
comes forth, I will forward it to you for your consideration.
Saludos!
Jose
José Martínez-Saldaña
Vice President for Organization Development
EDvolution
831-578-7329
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 10:57 AM
Subject: Time is Running Out - Contact Your Member of Congress Today!
January 22, 2009
Dear TRIO Colleague:
Last week, Congress began work on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
- a "stimulus" bill designed to be a shot in the arm to our weakening
economy. The draft of the bill issued by the House of Representatives
included billions of dollars for education - including $20 billion for
school construction, $15.6 billion for Pell Grants, $13 billion for
educational programs to support students with disabilities (IDEA), $1
billion for education technology, and $490 million for College Work-Study -
but no money for TRIO or GEAR UP. As Congress continues to negotiate this
legislation, it is critical that they hear from YOU about the importance of
including these programs in this bill. Also, as Congress starts looking
towards FY2010 appropriations, this outreach work will lay the foundation
for sending a clear message to Congress that we need a substantial increase
in funding now!
For many years, our community has lamented the difficulty in meeting the
ever-growing needs of its students, especially in the face of rising costs
for staff and supplies. This bill represents a rare and unique opportunity
to inject substantial funds into the TRIO and GEAR UP programs to meet these
needs. However, it will not happen unless you continue to press your
Members of Congress (via e-mail, phone, and fax) to make TRIO and GEAR UP a
high funding priority!
To assist you in this effort, we have included a sample letter and a contact
list for all Members of Congress and their education staffers. Please let
us know if you require any further assistance.
Thank you for all you do on behalf of TRIO and GEAR UP programs.
Sincerely,
Heather Valentine
Council for Opportunity in Education
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