This message was distributed via Congress Plus at 11:15 a.m. today.

August 3, 2011

Dear TRIO Colleagues:

From the last-minute deal in April to prevent a government shutdown to the eleventh-hour debt ceiling agreement signed into law yesterday, we have seen the very worst of U.S. politics in recent months. With the Administration and Congress continuously gridlocked over federal spending, the only consistent outcome has been the slashing of services from our most vulnerable citizens. With the enactment of the debt ceiling deal – S. 365, the Budget Control Act – we are poised to experience several more rounds of grave cuts. While the effects of these cuts will not be felt until the 2012-2013 program year, your Representatives and Senators are working now to figure out exactly what those cuts will be.

We cannot let them continue to gut our programs.

This week, your legislators return home for the annual Summer Recess period. From now until Labor Day, you will have unparalleled access to your Members of Congress as they sponsor townhall meetings and open forums as well as meet with local residents in their district offices. Upon their return, they will use all they have heard from your community to influence their decisions about future spending cuts. Therefore, it’s critical to reach out locally during the Summer Recess as well as nationally at their federal offices upon their return to Washington in September.

The time to act is now. We are truly in crisis mode and all TRIO supporters – staff, students, parents, alumni, and community leaders – must make congressional outreach a regular and repeated activity. We must aggressively target all Members of Congress and hold them accountable for what has happened and what could happen to TRIO. To that end, the enclosed Summer Recess Packet includes the following resources to assist you in these efforts:

·       instructions for bi-weekly messages to Washington

·       links to social media sites for online advocacy

·       sample petition

·       sample op-ed

·       sample TRIO student letter

Thank you for your continued advocacy and support of TRIO programs and students.

Sincerely,

Arnold L. Mitchem                                       

President