Higher Education legislation event at ASU with Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Mitchell and others

This afternoon, I attended an event at ASU with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Harry Mitchell, Congressman Ed Pastor, Congressman Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California. Sponsored in part by the AZ Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), the purpose of the event was for these representatives to discuss the higher education legislative policy of the new Congress. Following on my recent trip to D.C. with the SPPF, I was keen to attend.

Some observations about the event:

1. There were hundreds and hundreds of folks in attendance. Though they had planned for only about 300, the AZ Ballroom at the ASU Memorial Union was packed and nearly 400 people overflowed into another room where they had to watch the event on monitors. Fortunately I had arrived earlier and got a seat near the center front. It was clearly underestimated how many people would want to seek the first woman Speaker of the House and the other members of Congess in attendance.

2. In addition to many students and members of the community, some notable VIPs were there as well. They included former Senator DeConcini who is currently a partner in the key legislative lobbying group Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Simms, employed by the Maricopa Community College District to push for legislation on higher education. (In my trip to D.C. last week, I was able to meet with other key members of the lobbying group, including former Senator Simms and hear his perspectives on the legislative agenda.) Also at the ASU event today were Attorney General Terry Goddard and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.

3. The event didn't last very long - perhaps 45 minutes from start to finish once the crowd had settled. Each of the Representatives present spoke for perhaps 3-4 minutes. Speaker Pelosi began with a recap of what the House had done in the first 100 hours, including cutting interest rates on student loans by 50%. Congressman Mitchell spoke from the heart as a former educator and how it was important to continue to promote educational access. Congressman Pastor recalled his meeting with one of our SPPF group last week as an example of a success story in funding financial aid (it was great to hear that we'd made an impact!)

[Update: from my notes, my memory is jogged that Congressman Pastor also stated emphatically that "in March, we will have Comprehensive Immigration Reform which also includes the Dream Act".]

Then three pre-selected questions from students were asked and they were answered by one or two Representatives each. This was a little frustrating, since I'd prepared two questions related to the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit and the Montgomery G.I. Bill expansion for Reservists on active duty, but was never asked to submit my questions for consideration. Finally, Speaker Pelosi wrapped up with about a five minute talk on her views of the importance of higher education and the commitment to funding access for all.

4. As they were filing out, I was able to shake Speaker Pelosi's hand and express my congratulations on her victory. And again, I shook Congressman Mitchell's hand and expressed thanks once more for the opportunity to meet with him in D.C. last week.

In conclusion, it was great to see these formidable elected representatives emphasize the importance of higher education. However, the rather shallow content of the event, its short duration and the very nearly complete lack of interaction with the attendees left me feeling like it wasn't as constructive an event as it might have been. Nevertheless, coming on the heels of my lobbying trip last week, it was an added bonus to be able to have higher education legislation once more in focus.

SPPF lobbying trip to DC on Higher Education Legislation

Last week, several of my colleagues and I who are serving as representatives on the Maricopa County Community College District's SPPF (Student Public Policy Forum) took a trip to D.C. The purpose was twofold. First, to lobby our elected representatives for their support on a series of higher education bills before Congress. Second, to attend the National Community College Legislative Summit.

Overall, the trip was a success. Some highlights:

1. Lobbying our elected officials.

SPPFers joined Governing Board members and other key staffers to visit with all of Arizona's elected officials. I was slated for Senator Kyl and, by request, Congressman Mitchell. Unfortunately, Senator Kyl wasn't available to meet, so we met with one of his staffers. Also unfortunately, rather than meeting with us in a small group, they scheduled about 40 of us at the same time, so we were all jammed into the Senator's conference room at once. And finally, the staffer didn't appear to be all that informed about the higher education legislative agenda, despite introducing himself as the Senator's "Education Expert".

We were able to present some of the agenda, but as a lobbying effort, it was kind of a bust. As a learning experience, though, it was great. I picked up several tips on how to lobby more effectively in the future.

Congressman Mitchell was unfortunately tied up in a meeting, but we did have the opportunity to meet with his legislative assistant in a small, focused group meeting. It went extraordinarily well. Though there are nearly a dozen pieces of legislation on our agenda for higher education, my areas of focus were on the Pell Grants and the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit. I was able to speak on both of those. The staffer was well informed, respectful, supportive and seemed actively interested. When our meeting with her was over, she and Mitchell's staff arranged for us to meet with him briefly in his office.

It was a great honor, having campaigned for Harry during the election here in AZ-5, to be able to stand in his office and talk with him about our agenda and to congratulate him, again, on his victory. His wife Marianne was there, and I chatted briefly with her, too. I have a picture of Harry and me standing behind his desk which I hope to post soon. It was not lost on me that this was the same office and desk that belonged to quite a different legislator only a few short months ago.

2. The National Community College Legislative Summit.

The conference was held over three days at our hotel and was quite informative. First, I met and spoke with many folks from around the country who are active in Board Governance for community colleges, as well as staffers and college Presidents.

The sessions were illuminating and left me with a real sense of the importance of community colleges as drivers of not only economic strength but also innovation, workforce competitiveness, tax-base development and a wide variety of social benefits as well. I'm convinced that funds spent on increasing higher education access are dollars well invested, that return many times over what we spend on such funding.

One interesting session was the "Red vs. Blue" presentations by Terry McAuliffe and Ed Gillespie. They provided the partisan view on the legislative agenda. McAuliffe was outright exultant and using the opportunity to stump for Hillary Clinton, whom he is serving as Campaign Manager, for President in '08. Gillespie was no less partisan, but was somewhat more subdued (related to the GOP losses in Nov 06). Gillespie avoided stumping for a given candidate, probably because he's just stepped into the role of head of the Republican Party in Virginia, and as such can't champion one particular candidate over another.

3. Logistics.

Our expenses were covered by the SPPF program, for which I'm extraordinarily grateful. It afforded me a real opportunity to get involved in lobbying for an issue I feel strongly about and learning far more than I already knew. I may explore how to expand this into a more sustained effort in the future.

The travel arrangements were a bit unpleasant, as the snowstorms that hit the northeast shut down Reagan International Airport and delayed our flight out considerably. Our connecting flight was in Atlanta and by the time we arrived, it was too late to catch the flight to Phoenix. So, for the second time in as many months, I've slept in an airport terminal due to weather delays. :(

In conclusion, though, it was a great trip despite the setbacks. I'd urge anyone who's interested in finding out more about lobbying on higher education policy and who happens to be attending a community college to check out the SPPF program.

Fortunately, I was able to connect with Congressman Mitchell again this afternoon at the Higher Education Legislative Agenda event at ASU with Speaker Pelosi and other key representatives. (More on that in a following post.)