Last year I called it our Superbowl so this time I’m saying that last weekend was the Secular Coalition’s March Madness. On Sunday and Monday the 20 executive directors of the member organizations, plus the SCA board of directors, met to hear from speakers, talk government affairs, plan, collaborate, and catch up with one another.
Tuesday was our Lobby Day. Thanks to everyone who used our Action Alert to lead our opposition to the Educational Choice for Children Act before our citizen lobbyists arrived on Capitol Hill in person. Those emails showed that we have folks back home who are also concerned about this unprecedented tax credit that allows you to deduct a dollar from your tax bill for every dollar you donate to school voucher organizations. You can also donate stock.
There are numerous arguments against this bill; ours is that most of the vouchers end up supporting religious schools, and tax money that could go to any other important government service should not be diverted there for religious education/indoctrination.
Our attendees went in groups from the same state for five or six meetings. We had a lot of good discussions about the bill and met new people sympathetic to the secular movement. One group heard that they were the first people all day who didn’t come in asking for money for something, which is a good distinction to have. In some offices we were the first people to bring this bill to anyone’s attention, which is great because we get to frame it with the bill’s many drawbacks (It’s a bigger tax dodge if you donate stock instead of cash, rural areas don’t have many private schools, private schools raise tuition when voucher programs are created, and others).
An added plus on Tuesday was a hearing in the House Education Committee on the exact topic of school vouchers. Most of our people who had a break in their schedule were able to attend and see what a Capitol Hill hearing is like in person. There were three pro-vouchers witnesses and one anti-vouchers witness, which is how it usually happens when the majority already has an opinion about the topic. You can watch the hearing here.
Our timing was good because the Educational Choice for Children Act is a candidate to be rolled into the giant bill now being written that will authorize many of the President’s priorities and add trillions of dollars to the national debt through tax cuts. The “one big beautiful bill” he’s been talking about. We at the Secular Coalition appreciate everyone who took the time and effort to come to Washington and help us lobby. You helped us this week and you will have helped us in the future when we want to go to the same people on the Hill on different issues.
