Capitol Insider
January 20, 2022
It’s Uphill at the Statehouse
Bills in the first house will move to the second after 3rd reading deadline. For the House that deadline is January 31; for the Senate it is February 1. Meanwhile it’s still uphill to get amendments to bills that are moving. Here are some of the ones that are most troublesome. There are a few good bills most of which will remain unheard.
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Budget Proposal Reflects Investment in Education “Thanks to the advocacy and engagement of AFT Indiana members across the state, Indiana legislators have proposed a budget that invests in public education,” said GlenEva Dunham, President of AFT Indiana. “Our members have worked hard and long advocating for public school funding that provides for student needs as well as increases to our lagging teacher salaries,” she continued. The Governor and legislative leaders made the announcement Tuesday.
Patience—counseled by former Vice President Joe Biden all election week as Americans waited for votes to be counted—finally paid off Nov. 7, four days after Election Day, when Biden won in Pennsylvania and gained enough Electoral College votes to acquire a new title: president-elect. AFT President Randi Weingarten says the union’s leaders and members “can’t wait to get started” on the work ahead “with an administration that will embrace and fight for the values we hold dear.”
AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest column outlines the urgency of using our voices—our votes—in this life-changing election, when we will make a choice “between President Donald Trump, who has trafficked in chaos, fear, lies and division, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who seeks to reverse Trump’s failures on COVID-19 and the economy, and to unite and uplift the American people.” Besides the four crises we face—a pandemic, an economic crisis, racism and a climate emergency—democracy itself is on the ballot, as Trump continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.
In her September New York Times column, AFT President Randi Weingarten says that going back to school has never looked like it does now. Weingarten explains that because of President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus, which has been chaotic, contradictory and inept, and the lack of federal guidance and funding, we’re seeing a patchwork of school reopening plans across the country.