AAUP
Capitol Hill Day
2009

Conference Co-President Laura Connolly participated in Capitol Hill Day 2009 in Washington, DC. This event is organized and sponsored by the national office of the AAUP. Government Relations Associate Nicole Byrd provided information and guidelines for lobbying as well as one-page information sheets and talking points for participants. Nearly 100 AAUP members fanned out over Capitol Hill and met with their Congressional Representatives and Senators to discuss issues of importance to higher education.

Laura met with legislative staffers for both Colorado Senators as well as for Representatives Polis (District 2), Salazar (District 3), and Markey (District 4). The primary topic was the need for the "DREAM Act" which would ensure that students who had attended high school within a given state for at least three years would be eligible for in-state tuition at colleges and universities within their home state, even if they are not documented as legal residents. This would ensure that many capable and hard-working students who have lived in the United States for most of their lives would have access to higher education. It would also help lower dropout rates in addition to increasing numbers of college-educated residents. Although several states have already adopted versions of this bill (and Colorado came very close to doing the same this year), there are several reasons that this legislation should be adopted at the Federal level. First, it helps ensure equity and access for students in all states. Second, many lawmakers have argued that immigration policy must be addressed at the Federal level and this act is integrally related to immigration policy.

Other issues discussed included the need for reform of the No Child Left Behind Act and President Obama's call for direct loans for college students. Other important issues were not discussed because there are a couple of cardinal rules of lobbying in DC: (1) Keep the discussion to one or two issues only and (2) have concrete suggestions about what can be done about this through Federal legislation. Most of our work will continue to be done at the state level, which is "where the action is" for higher education.