May 2, 2005
A Quiet Week on the Hill But Much To Do in Grassroots Advocacy
This is the week to reach out to your Senators and make sure they sign the TRIO letter (which is attached to this email). If they have not signed, demand a reason for that decision. The letter goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee by close of business Friday.
Please do not be alarmed if the staffer says his/her boss won't sign because the Senator sits on the Appropriations Committee. If this is the case, please continue to follow-up by asking whether the Senator will make funding restoration a priority during committee deliberations.
The loss of funding via the Kennedy Amendment was a disappointment but it is NOT the end of the process. There is enough money in the budget to restore funding for Upward Bound and Talent Search and we have bipartisan support for doing so. We continue to need your grassroots pressure to help keep Congressional spines straight! Working together we can save these programs!
Here is the most current list of Senators who have signed the Senate letter supporting the TRIO programs:
http://www.coenet.us/congressignatures05/Senators_who_have_signed_4_251.doc
Thank you all for your continued support on this and please remember, this is not the end of the process. TRIO has strong bipartisan support and we have a long way to go in this fight! Please contact the Council at (202)347-7430 if you have any questions,
Heather Valentine
Vice President, Public Policy,
Council for Opportunity in Education
1025 Vermont Avenue, NW Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 347-7430
Fax: (202) 347-0786