Bad News about Title VI

[Rachel Stauffer]

Miriam Kazanjian, who lobbies for Title VI and Fulbright in DC, sent out the
following useful message to the Title VI Language Resource Centers two days
ago. It contains good background, a suggestion for action to be taken, and
suggested language for floor statements that could be requested from your
Representative. I get the sense that it's not entirely too late to take
action because the Secretary of Education ultimately decides how cuts to
Title VI will take shape. I work for an NRC in East Asian Studies, but that
doesn't mean that I don't have a steep learning curve when it comes to
politics - it's hard to say where it really stands at the moment - but Ms.
Kazanjian offers some good suggestions and language for correspondence with
the powers-that-be - it may not be too late. Also for what it's worth, our
center's FLAS funding for next year has already been approved. So those
undergraduate and graduate students to whom we awarded FLAS money will be
funded for the next fiscal year at U.Va. Staff in our NRC, however, could be
a different story.

-Rachel

Rachel Stauffer, PhD
Outreach Coordinator, Asia Institute
University of Virginia

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>From Miriam Kazanjian on Wednesday:
-----------------------
Please see the list of cuts on the House Appropriations Committee website,
which hasn't changed much since yesterday:
http://appropriations.house.gov/_files/41211ProgramCutsListFinalFY2011CR.pdf



International and foreign language education is still slated for a $50
million or 40% cut, plus another 0.2% across-the-board cut, according to the
House.  The Senate's position is that because of the way the CR bill is
written, it will be up to the Secretary of Education to decide how much
Title VI will be cut.   Keep in mind that the overall cut to higher
education is over $800 million, which is huge and does not include student
aid programs.   ED must find this amount to cut from a small array of
programs, including Title VI/FH.  Moreover, there is a difference of opinion
within ED as to whether they are REQUIRED to cut $50 million or not under
the CR bill, pending review.

It is still important to see if any of your Congressional Members would be
willing to make a floor statement during debate on the CR (tomorrow or
Friday, not sure exactly when debate will be yet). The CR is expected pass
by Friday when the current CR expires.

Below are a couple of paragraphs I drafted that could be used (please feel
free to edit).

The reason floor statements are important is to demonstrate that there is
strong support in this Congress as the Secretary of Ed. decides how this
will be interpreted.

Let me know if you need any assistance.  It's important not to stand down on
this!

With thanks and regards,
Miriam

"The nation's success in the 21st century depends on Americans with global
competence, including foreign language skills, the ability to understand and
function in different cultural environments, and international business
skills.  The U.S. Department of Education's HEA-Title VI and Fulbright-Hays
programs are the federal government's most comprehensive investment in
creating and maintaining the nation's global competence needed for national
security, defense, foreign policy, economic competitiveness, and mutual
understanding.  This array of programs supports activities to improve our
capabilities throughout the educational pipeline, from K-12 outreach through
graduate education and advanced research, with emphasis on the less
commonly-taught languages and areas of the world.  Most of these programs
and activities would not exist without federal support, especially at a time
when state and local governments, and institutions of higher education also
are financially strapped."

"Shortly after 9-11 and in the face of continuing shortages of Americans
with foreign language skills and area expertise, Congress began to provide
targeted enhancements to Title VI/FH focusing on strategic world areas and
cultures.  Today the House is proposing to cut these programs by 40%,
completely rolling back a decade of enhancements that address critical
national security and economic competitiveness needs.   While the
Labor/HHS/ED budget is cut only 3.3% under the FY 2011 CR, this
disproportionate 40% cut would be devastating to these small and effective
programs. It's my understanding that the Secretary of Education has the
discretion to reject or reduce these cuts to Title VI/FH for FY 2011, and I
encourage him to do so."

On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 11:15 AM, Benjamin Rifkin <rifkin at tcnj.edu> wrote:

> Dear SEELANGers:
>
> Title VI has had significant cuts in the budget just passed by Congress:
>
>
> http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/15/international_education_takes_hit_in_2011_budget
>
> Sadly,
>
> Ben Rifkin
> The College of New Jersey
>
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