Action Alert--April 4, 2008

ADVOCATES FOR HISPANIC HIGHER EDUCATION WILL GATHER IN WASHINGTON, DC

HACU members urged to register for Capitol Forum today

***IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED***

It’s a critical election year, and the time to speak up on behalf of Hispanic higher education is now. With cuts to HSI programs looming in President Bush’s budget requests, HACU urges its members to participate at HACU's 2008 National Capitol Forum on Hispanic Higher Education, April 13-15, at the Madison Hotel, Washington, D.C. If you have not yet registered, please visit www.hacu.net to register online, or forward this alert to someone that can represent your office or institution.
 
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner will lead the roster of distinguished keynote speakers. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX), a Congressional Hispanic Caucus leader and architect of the Higher Education Act’s funding provisions for HSIs, and Congressman Joseph Crowley (NY), whose amendment to the NSF reauthorization last year paves the way for increased STEM funding for HSIs, will also speak to Forum participants. (See Agenda.)

This Forum is critically timed to urge Congress to act now for Hispanic education and make a multi-million dollar investment in Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Hispanic higher education.  The President’s FY 2009 budget proposal cuts $20 million from Title V funding and reduces HSI programs in USDA and HUD. Your presence during the Forum’s visits to Capitol Hill is needed to influence Congress to increase rather than decrease this funding.

In addition to appropriations issues, pending reauthorizations of the Higher Education Act and the Farm Bill mean that additional multi-million dollar funding over the next five years is at stake for HSIs.  Congress is also expected to move the reauthorization of “No Child Left Behind,” which contains provisions for Teacher Education and resources for upgrading the nation’s K-12 education system.

Don’t wait any longer, register online today. 

YOUR LEADERSHIP CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

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HACU Action Alerts are a service of
the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.