Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC) now has a different story as to why his "no" vote didn't register during last week's House vote on CAFTA.

From C4AP

If you believe this I have a bridge I would like to sell you.

Here you have Aaron, the True Majority Oreo modile man, talking to Gov. Lynch who represents the true majority of voters in New Hampshire. Dan and Terri Jones, or as we call them back bone of the Coos County Democratic Party, stand nearby.







Here is Aaron speaking the truth to the good people of Lancaster.

















The message was definately getting out there....

NEA and other higher ed advocates were able to scale back efforts to provide unlimited access to federal funding by for-profit institutions in a bill (H.R. 609) passed July 22 by the House Education Committee to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The bill, however, includes an NEA-opposed program that provides school districts $100 million to link teacher pay to student performance. It also puts students at risk of incurring thousands of dollars more in debt for college loans.

Approved 27-20, the bill includes a token increase for the maximum Pell Grant and it raises the interest rate cap on student loans from 6.8% to 8.25%, ensuring the average middle class student would pay thousands of dollars more for a college education.

NEA helped to limit the federal funding made available to for-profits. As a result, they will have access only to funding through the Higher Ed Act. Funding for higher education institutions that serve blacks and Hispanics is protected in the bill. As originally drafted, the bill would have given for-profits access to all federal funding.

The original bill also sought to repeal the requirement that for-profit schools get at least 10 percent of their revenue from sources other than federal funding; while modified, the "90/10 rule" was retained. In a significant setback, the "50 percent rule," which excludes institutions that provide more than 50 percent of their coursework by distance education from receiving federal funding, was repealed.

from NEA

The Senate Finance Committee approved legislation this week to overhaul federal pension laws. The bill, National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act of 2005 (JCX-57-05), could destabilize private defined benefit pension plans and ultimately cause state legislatures to weaken public pensions that cover teachers and education support professionals.

The next steps are uncertain, including when the bill will go to the floor and whether it will be combined with the work of other committees. In the meantime, NEA, along with its cyberlobbyists, will continue to press for legislation that does not penalize employees or responsible employers. Of particular concern to teachers, education support professionals and other public sector employees is a growing trend to erode the foundation of public pensions by making it more difficult for employers to provide such plans. Among those specifically impacted by the Senate legislation are NEA's and its state affiliates' employees, who participate in private defined benefit plans.

from NEA