SUPER COMMITTEE DANGER- YOUR RETIREMENT AND CHILDREN'S HEALTHCARE AT STAKE!

As the " Super Committee's " Thanksgiving deadline approaches, we continue to hear disturbing reports that cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare are being put on the table by BOTH Democrats and Republicans.  We must act now!  We must tell the Super Committee in no uncertain terms that is unconscionable to balance the nation's deficit on the backs of retirees, middle class families, and children at a time when Wall Street continues to profit and Main Street struggles!

A newly released study by the Washington-based Brookings Institution shows that the number of Americans living in neighborhoods beset by extreme poverty surged in the last decade.  At least 2.2 million more Americans, a 33 percent jump since 2000, live in neighborhoods where the poverty rate is 40 percent or higher.  We cannot allow policy makers to devastate whole segments of the population while catering to those least in need of attention and support.

Our message to the Super Committee:

• Focus on creating jobs
• Invest in school modernization
• Oppose additional cuts to education and other critical programs
• Protect those most in need and those who rely on core safety net programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
• Ensure a balanced approach to deficit reduction that includes revenues, by making sure those most able to do so pay their fair share.   

Take Action Today:

• E-mail Congress and tell them that the Super Committee must help create jobs, protect those with the greatest needs, and ensure that those most able to do so pay their fair share. 

• Submit a comment to the Super Committee by going to their website at http://www.deficitreduction.gov/public/index.cfm/ and going to the "write to us today" box at the bottom of the screen.

• Call your Members of Congress as part of the Social Security Works Coalition ongoing call-in event and urge them to oppose cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  Dial 1-800-998-0180 to hear the latest update and connect to your Members of Congress.

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SHAME ACROSS AMERICA -- STUDENTS FACING DEPLORABLE SCHOOL CONDITIONS!

Read more stories and submit your own.

This week, a delegation of NEA members as well as education activists and stakeholders from across the country took their concerns about the condition of our nation's schools directly to President Obama.  The policy discussion focused on the American Jobs Act (AJA) --which will modernize public schools nationwide, prevent hundreds of thousands of educator layoffs, and keep students out of overcrowded classrooms.  Read more about this meeting. 

The group had a simple message for the President and lawmakers - we can't afford to wait any longer.  Our students deserve much better than schools with leaky roofs and peeling paint, overcrowded classrooms, and out-of-date technology.  Right now, too many students are getting the message that they just don't matter.  They need to know that they are a priority!

Take Action Today: 

• Tell your Members of Congress to put Americans back to work and ensure our children the education they deserve by supporting school modernization.  Tell Congress to support the the Fix America's Schools Today Act (S. 1597/H.R.2948), which would provide needed funds to ensure students the learning environments so essential to their success. 

• Share your story  -- Keep the stories coming.  We are using your stories to help put pressure on Members of Congress to do the right thing and focus on creating a great public school for every student.

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ESEA REAUTHORIZATION: MAKE SURE CONGRESS KNOWS WHAT WILL WORK FOR YOUR STUDENTS!

As ESEA reauthorization continues to move forward, we must make sure policy makers hear and understand the experiences of educators working with students every day.  Make your voice heard!  Speak up for the students who are suffering under too much testing and not enough individual attention.  Speak up for the schools that are doing their best every day to meet the needs of students who come to school hungry, who have no books at home, and who have no safe place to study after school.  Don't let Congress ignore us!

There is still time to weigh in!  The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, November 8 on the ESEA reauthorization bill passed out of Committee last month.  The hearing will feature testimony by an NEA/Kentucky Education Association member, who will share her expertise as a Gifted and Talented Coordinator and will raise concerns about the current law's impact on students with special needs and the narrowing of curriculum.  She will also urge the Committee to ensure that educator voices are represented in the reauthorization process. 

The Senate bill includes a number of hard-fought victories, including leaving teacher evaluation to the state and local level, giving states flexibility to help turnaround struggling schools, and ensuring that districts won't force teachers to transfer to different schools.  But, much more work needs to be done, particularly to reduce the focus on standardized testing.  The bill could move to the Senate floor in the weeks following the hearing. 

In the House, the Education and the Workforce has approved three ESEA pieces -- a bill to eliminate over 40 education programs, a bill reauthorizing the charter school program, and a bill to allow transfer of funds among programs.  The full House has passed the charter school bill.  NEA opposed the program elimination and fund transferability bills and remained neutral on the charter schools legislation.  The Committee continues to work on two additional bills addressing teachers and leaders and accountability.  These bills will comprise the bulk of a House reauthorization proposal and will address issues of great concern to educators.  We expect action on them before the end of the year. 

Take Action Today:  Tell Congress to craft an ESEA reauthorization bill that will work for students, educators, and schools.

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Next Tuesday, voters will go to the polls in Ohio to determine the fate of an anti-worker bill that attacks educators, police, firefighters, and many other public employees.  To find out more about the fight to repeal this unjust law and how you can stand strong with Ohio workers, visit Education Votes. 

Also at stake on Tuesday is control of the Virginia State Senate.  Election Day is Tuesday! For more information about what's at stake, visit the Virginia Education Association website.

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Cheers to:

	House Democratic Whip, Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and 182 Democratic Members of the House, who signed a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) calling for removal of controversial policy riders from funding bills.  These riders - including calls to block the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, roll back important clean air and clean water protections, and place new restrictions on women's access to a full range of medical and health services - serve simply to stop action on critical funding bills at a time when policy makers should be focused on creating jobs and growing the economy.
	Representative Jim Clyburn (D-SC), who spoke at this week's Super Committee hearing about the growing wealth gap in our nation and the need to avoid further harming the most vulnerable populations.
	Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Representatives Steny Hoyer (D-MD), John Lewis (D-GA), Robert Brady (D-PA), Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), and Judy Chu (D-CA) for standing up for voting rights.  Senator Nelson wrote to the United States Justice Department requesting an investigation into whether new voting laws passed by Florida and more than a dozen other states this year are the result of a coordinated effort to suppress voter turnout among millions of seniors, young people, and minorities in next year's presidential election.  Representatives Hoyer, Lewis, Brady, Gonzalez, Cleaver, and Chu held a press conference and released a letter to all Secretaries of State urging them to oppose new state measures adopted over the last year that would make it harder for more than five million eligible voters to register or vote.

Jeers to:

	House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who this week said with regard to the Super Committee work, "Without real reform on the entitlement side, I'm not even going to put any new revenue on the table."  Entitlement programs include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
	Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), Chair of the conservative Republican Study Committee in the House, who this week warned against including tax or revenue increases in any Super Committee plan.