Legislative action: ALERT - FLAP marked for elimination, FY 2002 AND 2003!!!

[Scott McGinnis]

Good day again, all,
 
While FLAP is a K-12 program, keep in mind that it reflects a general
Congressional trend RE: language education as a priority -- and while it
may have been a good year for Title VI on legislative paper, the
appropriations process is still not complete.
 
Best,
s.
 
-----Original Message-----
From: John David Edwards [mailto:info at languagepolicy.org] 
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 2:08 PM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: ACTION ALERT: FLAP marked for elimination, FY 2002 AND 2003!!!
Importance: High


  

FLAP ACTION ALERT!!!

THE BUDGET AXE STRIKES AGAIN.  'LOW PRIORITY' ITEMS TO BE ELIMINATED

On February 4, 2002, Present Bush released his proposed budget for
FY2003.  Once again, the Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) was
not funded.  This program along with many other individual education
programs could be eliminated through the budget process despite
inclusion in H.R.1, The No Child Left Behind Act.  For more information
on the budget for FY2003, please visit the JNCL-NCLIS website,
www.languagepolicy.org.

The White House has targeted FLAP for elimination in FY 2003, but that
is not enough.  It is attempting to eradicate this program for FY2002,
despite the program’s appropriation of $14 million for this year.
Mitchell Daniels, Director of the Office of Management and Budget
requested that $1.3 billion be cut from the Labor-HHS-Education
Appropriations Bill in order to make up for the shortfall in
appropriations for Pell Grants, which provides critical financial
assistance to low-income students seeking higher education.  The U.S.
Department of Education released a list of 40 “low-priority” programs to
guide Congress in making cuts in programs already funded.  In additional
to FLAP, other programs slated for recission and/or elimination are:
Javits Gifted and Talented Education, Civic Education, Star Schools and
the National Writing Project.  (See the JNCL-NCLIS website for a
complete list of programs.)

President Bush expressed concern for the underfunding of the Pell Grants
at the January 10th signing of the appropriations bill.  Pell grants,
however, are chronically underfunded and it has been reported that the
President is simply seeking another opportunity to eliminate programs
that Congress funded against his wishes.

 

FLAP NEEDS YOUR HELP NOW!

Now is the time to write, fax and e-mail* your Members of Congress
urging them not to eliminate this critical program.  A sample letter
will be on the JNCL-NCLIS website for you to use.  In your letters,
please include information on language programs in your state and
district.  Show Congress that these programs are neither “low-priority”
nor have “limited effect”.

* Remember, there is still a lag in 'snail mail' service to the Hill due
to the decontamination process.  We still perceive paper mail as the
most effective, but we encourage you to couple this with faxed or
e-mailed copies of your letters sent to both the national and district
offices of your Members. 

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