Thursday, July 14, 2016, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee completed the markup of legislation providing federal spending allocations for fiscal year 2017 (October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2017) for the U.S. Departments of Labor; Health and Human Services and Education. The good news is, that included within this bill, is a provision (Section 310, Title III – Department of Education) which calls for a prohibition on the implementation of several U.S. Department of Education regulations, including but not limited to the GE regulations.

 

Now that the House Appropriations Committee has completed its work on the FY17 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations bill, your AACS GRC is requesting your participation in our latest 45-day GE Campaign and a series of four targeted Calls to Action to help draw attention to the key differences between the Senate Appropriations bill passed in June and the House bill just completed today. We are calling this Campaign "The Carrot and the Stick" because we are asking you to send two different messages to  Senators and Representatives. 

 

Between now and the end of the month of August, your Government Relations Committee is requesting your institution(s), your students and the employers of your graduates assistance in sending two very different, but equally important, messages to the U.S. House and Senate related to repeal/delay/reform of the gainful employment regulations. We have constructed multiple Call To Action campaign boxes on our GRC Take Action page. Each campaign is targeted for participation from a specific group as mentioned above. Every school can then participate as much or as little as they feel comfortable, at minimum we are hopeful that you, your employees and the employers of your graduates will take action!

 

Our strategy in constructing these two separate messages is to: 

• The House message calls upon all House Members to support the continued inclusion of the rider in the bill when it is considered on the House floor in September. Our objective is to build as much House support as possible to strengthen both our positioning with the Republican leadership to retain the bill in Conference between the House and Senate Leadership and the Administration and attempt to use this momentum to spur Senate support.

 

• The Senate message challenges all Senators to fully understand the implications of a lack of action this year on efforts to repeal, or at a minimum delay, implementation of the GE regulations. Our objective is to seek their commitment to work with our community on the development of an acceptable proposal for consideration during the House and Senate Conference.

 

To assist you in this latest advocacy campaign and Call to Action, your GRC has developed two separate letters to send to your U.S. Senators and U.S. House Representatives. In addition, we have also designed letters which we encourage you to request your students and employers use to help elevate the level of support for GE reform from other constituencies. We’ve made it so you can cut and paste the parts of this email message and directions to those groups with ease, and edit as you deem appropriate.

 

To access the Call To Actions,  please visit our GRC website by clicking here:  

1. You & Your Staff: Click the green ‘Take Action Now’ button

                             i.  Click ‘Add Your Voice’ in the GE FY17 Appropriations Member Outreach Campaign Box

                             ii.  Read the Summary

                             iii. Fill in Your appropriate information

                             iv. Click ‘preview Email’ (from there you will be able to see the letter going to your Senators and letter going to                                          your Representatives, as they are very different).

                              v.  If you agree with the message, click the red ‘Send Email’ button

 

2.  Employers of your Grads: Click the green ‘Take Action Now’ button

o   This is for the Employers of your graduates to complete, it goes to all your Members of Congress

                               i.  Click ‘Add Your Voice’ in the FY17 Appropriations Employer Support Campaign Box

                               ii.  Read the Summary

                               iii. Read the Letter

                               iv. Fill in appropriate information

                                v. Click the red ‘Send Email’ button

 

3.  Your Students *Optional: Click the green ‘Take Action Now’ button

o   *Please Note: Your GRC members debated the prospect of member schools leveraging their students to advocate.

Some members of the Committee felt comfortable with this initiative, while others did not. It was apparent that those Committee members that are school owners/executives were not going to agree on the subject. So, rather than directing school owners to participate, the GRC felt it best to simply provide some sample letters and let you, the decision-maker, plot your own course. We’ve offered two samples for you to choose from. PLEASE READ BOTH Letters so you can decide which one you’d like to have your students complete.

                                  i.  This is for Your Students to complete, it goes to all your Members of Congress

                                  ii.  Direct your students to:

1.  Click ‘Add Your Voice’ in the GE FY17 Appropriations Student Support Campaign Box OR

2.  Click ‘Add Your Voice’ in the Disenfranchised Student Campaign Box  

3.  Read the Summary

4.  Read the Letter

5.  Fill in appropriate information

6.  Click the red ‘Send Email’ button