Congress Moves Forward on COVID Stimulus: Join us to Make Noise for IDEA!
On Friday, Congressional Democrats paved the path for advancing a COVID-19 stimulus bill through a process called reconciliation, a tool that can be used once a budget cycle to approve legislation with a simple majority in the Senate rather than the typical 60 vote threshold.
The reconciliation process is tied to spending and has strict guardrails—meaning only measures which change federal revenue or federal spending may be included in the bill. Democrats are invoking this process to advance a COVID stimulus package with a $1.9 trillion price tag, as proposed by President Biden. Lawmakers are currently working within their Committees to draft legislative text, which could be released and considered as early as this week.
Also on Friday, Sens. Chris` Murphy (D-CT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) reintroduced the Supporting Children with Disabilities During COVID Act. The bill, which CEC has endorsed, would provide one-time emergency funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The release of the bill is intended to influence the COVID stimulus package.
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Action Alert
As Congress moves quickly to negotiate a new COVID stimulus package, lawmakers need to hear your support for dedicated IDEA funding ASAP! Follow the link to our one-step action alert to make your voice heard.
Please join us and share this alert with your colleagues and friends. Together we can make some noise!