Posted in: Kids Not Cuts
Children’s education, health care would be devastated by ‘fiscal cliff’
Tag fiscal cliff, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel
by Dennis Van Roekel
The end of the 2012 election is no doubt a relief to most Americans, but Congress still has its hardest work ahead. Over the next two months lawmakers must decide whether to avert automatic budget cuts that were set in motion a year ago, as well as the fate of tax cuts from the Bush era.
The process is bound to get ugly, and Americans weary of politics will be tempted to tune it all out. That would be a mistake, because colorful metaphors about “lame duck” and “fiscal cliff” can’t obscure the stark reality: If Congress allows massive across-the-board cuts to education programs, the consequences will be vivid and harmful to America’s children.
Even if Congress takes a balanced approach by allowing tax breaks to expire for the wealthiest two percent of Americans, some cuts to programs that serve children would probably still be unavoidable. If Congress fails to avoid reckless across-the-board cuts, federal education and early childhood programs will be devastated. Based on information from the Congressional Budget Office, NEA has calculated that 9.3 million students would be directly affected by almost $5 billion in cuts.
Work study students struggle to remain in college as sequestration cuts kick in
Tens of thousands of work study students will have hours cut or be booted from the program entirely if Congress fails to reverse its reckless, $3 billion cuts in federal education spending. Read More
Interactive map: Find out what your state stands to lose with the looming across-the-board cuts
Check out the new interactive map from Education Votes that shows what education funding states stand to lose with the looming across-the-board cuts and allows you to easily share our state-by-state infographics with your social networks. Read More
Featured Media
Retired 103-year-old teacher never misses an election
A retired teacher from El Paso shares the importance of voting, no matter what age. See More ›
What We're Reading
- 05/15/2013 "Coalition pension remedy (SB 2404) is fair, effective, and constitutional’" – Daily Herald
- 05/15/2013 "Sequestration Forces Cuts to National Social Studies Tests" – Education Week
- 05/21/2013 "Indiana School Board Association reps decry level of state funding for public education" – The Times of Northwest Indiana
- 05/21/2013 "Pension vote puts some House Republicans in awkward position" - Tampa Bay Times
- 05/21/2013 "Teachers earn pensions" – AZ Central
Posted November 24th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
All educators need to speak up and speak out on this issue!
Posted November 24th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
I agree and feel that we need to ask Congress to stop spending and not cut educaton!
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 11:05 pm
If we care about our kids, we will stop spending their future earnings.