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NAGPS Legislative Update
Thursday, September 24, 1998

GAANN, JAVITS, AND MARSHALL GRADUATE GRANTS SAVED!!!

The Higher Education Act (HEA), the primary vehicle for the federal
funding of education, should receive final approval today! This key piece
of legislation is renewed once every five years. In recent years, support
for graduate education in the HEA has been dramatically cut, with the
total number of federal graduate fellowships plummeting from 60,000 to
under 10,000.

This year, due to NAGPS' grassroots efforts throughout the country and
direct lobbying on Capitol Hill, we have managed to garner a modest
increase in the number of fellowships available! The following programs
have been approved for federal funding over the next five years: 

(1) Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN): GAANN funds
students in the area of national need (primarily the sciences). The
Secretary of Education determines the areas of "national need" based on
consultations with other federal agencies, universities and citizen
groups.

	ANTICIPATED ANNUAL FUNDING: $25.8 million

(2) Javits Fellowships: Javits Fellowships are the only federal program
remaining for students in the arts, social sciences, and humanities.
Javits faced an uphill battle this year: the program was slated for either
drastic reduction or complete elimination in the House version of the
bill. Fortunately, Javits received continued funding.

	ANTICIPATED ANNUAL FUNDING: $6.58 million

(3) Thurgood Marshall Legal Educational Opportunity Program: The Thurgood
Marshall program will encourage talented undergraduates from economically
disadvantaged or minority background to attend law school, through a
program of mentoring, including a series of intensive 6-week summer
workshops. This new program, intended to replace the CLEO program
eliminated in 1996, was introduced into the HEA by Senator Paul Sarbanes
(D-MD), and NAGPS led a coalition of local and regional bar associations,
law students, and graduate students to ensure creation of the first new
graduate grant program in many years! 

	ANTICIPATED ANNUAL FUNDING: $5.0 million

                        ONE MORE FIGHT REMAINS!

While the three above programs have now been authorized to receive
funding, they must still receive final funding through the Labor, Health
and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill. 

To secure funding for these programs, NAGPS needs your help. Sign up today
and become part of the NAGPS activist network. We ARE making a difference
in Washington DC, and we ARE beginning to reverse decades of funding cuts.
If we raise our voices loudly, we may be actually able to INCREASE funding
levels for these programs. For more information, visit the NAGPS web site
at http://www.nagps.org/NAGPS to find out how you can get involved.

We are also working to secure lower student loan interest rates, and lower
interest rates for multiple loans consolidated into one loan. Help us help
you and JOIN TODAY! 

To get more information, or to join our Activist Network, please contact
Michael Agosta, NAGPS' Legislative Director, at leg-dir@nagps.org via
electronic mail.

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