As the FY 2006 appropriations process gets started, there is a lot
of jockeying on Capitol Hill as lawmakers try to gain support for their
favored programs. As indicated in FYI
#50, some of this activity takes the form of "Dear Colleague"
letters, in which Members seek the signatures of as many colleagues
as possible on letters to key appropriators, encouraging strong funding
for those programs. Three separate "Dear Colleague" letters
are currently being circulated to support programs intended to improve
science and math education. In the Senate, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) initiated
a letter in support of the Education Department (ED) Math and Science
Partnerships, and Senators John Rockefeller (D-WV), Norm Coleman (R-MN),
and Richard Durbin (D-IL) are circulating a letter about the NSF Math
and Science Partnerships (MSPs). In the House, Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-MI),
Mark Udall (D-CO), Rush Holt (D-NJ), and Judy Biggert (R-IL) are seeking
signatures in support of both the ED and NSF MSPs. For constituents
who have an interest in any of these programs, this is an opportunity
to contact your Representative or Senators and ask them to sign onto
the appropriate House or Senate letter(s). However, the deadlines for
Members to sign on are rapidly approaching.
SENATE LETTER ON ED MSPs: Sen. Roberts is circulating a letter
asking Senators "to join me in writing the Subcommittee on Labor,
Health and Human Services and Education to ask for increased funding
[of at least $269 million] for the Math and Science Partnerships program
at the Department of Education." Additional signatures must be
received by April 15.
SENATE LETTER ON NSF MSPs: Senators Rockefeller, Coleman and
Durbin have issued a letter asking colleagues to "join us in writing
to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and
Science to express our strong support for mathematics and science education
and to urge them to fund the NSF Mathematics and Science Partnership
Program at a level that will permit the Foundation to continue to develop
new and innovative approaches to math and science education.... [T]he
NSF program is a key part of a strategy for improving math and science
education, and there are signs that it is working. But neither current
funding nor the funding level in the FY2006 Budget are sufficient to
establish any new partnerships." The deadline for Members to sign
onto this letter is April 12.
HOUSE LETTER ON ED AND NSF MSPs: Reps. Ehlers, Udall, Holt and
Biggert are seeking colleagues' signatures on "letters to Chairman
Regula of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education subcommittee,
and Chairman Wolf of the Science, State and Justice subcommittee requesting
$400 million in funding for the Math and Science Partnership program
and the Department of Education (ED) and $200 million in funding for
the Math and Science Partnership program at the National Science Foundation."
The letter continues, "The NSF Math and Science Partnerships provide
a proving ground for competitively selected, innovative ideas. These
ideas can then receive broader application through the ED's state-based
grant program, which provides funds for every state to run a competitive
grant process for partnerships between school districts and university
departments of science, technology, engineering, and math. Businesses
and other community organizations can also partner. Combined, these
two distinct partnership programs provide necessary teacher professional
development, which strengthens teachers' ability to effectively teach
math and science and strengthens our students' math and science skills."
The deadline for this letter is April 15.
LETTERS ON HOUSE AND SENATE STEM EDUCATION CAUCUSES: Additionally,
the co-chairs of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
Education Caucuses in both the House (Ehlers and Udall) and the Senate
(Coleman and Durbin) have also sent out letters urging other Members
to join these caucuses. "America's economic strength is rooted
in its ability to innovate," Sens. Coleman and Durbin write. "A
strong education in science, technology, engineering and math skills
equip our students not just to hold their own but to advance the frontiers
in fields important to our economy and security.... The more support
we can provide to help keep our workforce on the cutting edge, the more
robust our economy will be." Once again, if science education is
a topic of interest to you, this is an opportunity to contact your Members
and encourage them to join the caucus in their chamber.
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