Congress passed the fiscal year 2006 budget resolution on April 28 without the AFT-supported increases for higher education and job training programs outlined in the Senate-passed amendment offered by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). The budget resolution also did not include a Senate-passed amendment offered by Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and supported by the AFT to restore the $10 billion in Bush administration cuts to the Medicaid program.

The House vote to approve the budget resolution was 214-211, with 15 Republicans voting against final passage and thus supporting AFT's position. The Senate vote was 52-47, with three Republicans voting no.

Earlier this month the AFT launched a call-in and e-activist campaign among members urging them to contact their representatives in Congress to request support for including the Kennedy and Smith amendments in the final budget resolution.

Sen. Kennedy's amendment, which generated hundreds of calls and letters from the union's higher education membership, would have raised the maximum Pell Grant by $450 to $4,500 in fiscal year 2006 and for funding other programs scheduled for elimination in the Bush administration proposal—such as the Perkins loan program, Upward Bound and Talent Search. It would have also provided student loan forgiveness for teachers who go into high-need fields.

Sen. Smith's amendment stripped the Medicaid cuts from the Senate bill that was brought to the floor by the Republican leadership. Despite a barrage of calls and letters from AFT Healthcare members, however, the amendment was not included. The final version includes $10 billion in cuts to this vital program.

"Congress missed a unique opportunity to improve the budget by including these two important amendments in the final package," said Tor Cowan, AFT's director of legislation.  Also disappointing was that the budget continues the trend of underfunding No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act despite Congress' original commitments to properly fund these laws, he added.  "However, we are heartened by our many members who reached out to Congress during the budget debate and made sure that their voices were heard on Capitol Hill. During the upcoming appropriations process, we will continue to fight for our funding priorities and to push Congress to abandon this reckless path." [Trish Gorman, Tor Cowan]

April 29, 2005