Political leaders in Washington, DC are NOT talking about TRIO.

Yet, they are engaged in crucial conversations that will have a direct impact on whether any funding is available for TRIO in FY12 and beyond.

Why?

•        Republicans are holding legislation to raise the debt ceiling hostage unless Democrats agree to include measures in the bill to reduce the federal deficit by cutting programs important to low-income Americans.

What happens if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling?

•        The United States will have to choose between paying its debts and funding domestic programs like Social Security, Medicare, etc.

What can we do?

•        Contact Vice President Joe Biden.

He is the White House’s lead negotiator on this issue.  Contact him by e-mail at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact AND by phone at (202) 456-1111. (Please note that phone lines are only staffed Monday-Friday, 9am – 5pm, Eastern Time.)

•        Contact Senator Harry Reid (D-NV).

As the Majority Leader, Senator Reid is accountable to all American citizens for action in the U.S. Senate. He is and will continue to be a key figure in this fight. He knows about TRIO. Now we need him to stand up for TRIO! Contact him by e-mail at http://reid.senate.gov/contact/ AND by phone at (202) 224-7327.

•        Contact your Democratic Representatives and Senators in Congress.

Republicans have dug in their heels on this issue. So, we must focus our energies on Democratic Senators and Representatives. Contact information for all legislators is available at http://www.contactingthecongress.org/.

•        Recruit five friends WHO DO NOT WORK IN TRIO to do the same!!!   Remember to also engage local leaders, parents, alumni and students as well.

What is our message?

Sample Message #1:  “As a citizen, I am very concerned that you and other Democrats are not going to stand up for the low-income people you represent in deliberations on the debt ceiling. Education programs that are important to me, like the Pell Grant and TRIO, are threatened by these negotiations. If we don’t educate our citizens, we will not be able to compete in the global economy.”

Sample Message #2:  “I am very concerned that the interests of our most vulnerable citizens will be ignored in the debt ceiling debate. Don’t trade the futures of the low-income students and families who rely on programs like TRIO and Pell in the name of fiscal responsibility. Cutting such programs would actually be fiscally irresponsible. Without an educated population, our economy will not survive. We, as citizens, are counting on you to protect our TRIO programs and the students and families served by them.”

For more information about these matters, please visit the COE website - http://www.congressweb.com/t/l/?BLEZOFVJWFRAFKM. If you have any specific questions regarding this important request, please contact Heather Valentine or Kimberly Jones at COE at 202.347.7430 or [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask].

Please do not "reply" to this e-mail as the general Government Relations address ([log in to unmask]) is not checked on a regular basis. Please send responses directly to [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]. Thank you.