Federal Advocacy

The U.S. Constitution grants all legislative powers to a bicameral Congress: a House of Representatives and a Senate. Each member of the House serves a two-year term with seats being apportioned by state according to population. In the Senate, voters of each state elect two Senators who serve six-year terms. The two chambers are fundamentally equal in their legislative roles and functions. The enactment of law always requires both chambers to separately agree to the same bill in the same form before presenting it to the President. For more information, click here for a detailed overview of the legislative process.

The Tennessee School Boards Association aims to equip our members with the resources they need to understand federal legislation that impacts state and local education and encourages all members to engage in advocacy at the federal level.

House Education and Labor Committee

The Committee’s basic jurisdiction is over education and labor matters generally, including oversight over matters related to higher and early education, workforce development and protections, and health, employment, labor, and pensions.

Click here for more information as to the Committee’s meeting schedule as well as recent legislation considered by the Committee.

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

The Committee’s basic jurisdiction is over the following subjects:

  1. Measures relating to education, labor, health, and public welfare;
  2. Aging;
  3. Agricultural colleges;
  4. Arts and humanities;
  5. Biomedical research and development;
  6. Child labor;
  7. Convict labor and the entry of goods made by convicts into interstate commerce;
  8. Domestic activities of the American National Red Cross;
  9. Equal employment opportunity;
  10. Gallaudet University, Howard University, and Saint Elizabeth hospital;
  11. Individuals with disabilities;
  12. Labor standards and labor statistics;
  13. Mediation and arbitration of labor disputes;
  14. Occupational safety and health, including the welfare of miners;
  15. Private pension plans;
  16. Public health;
  17. Railway labor and retirement;
  18. Regulation of foreign laborers;
  19. Student loans; and
  20. Wages and hours of labor.

The Committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to health, education and training, and public welfare, and report its findings from time to time.

Click here for more information as to the Committee’s meeting schedule as well as recent legislation considered by the Committee.

Wanting to receive notifications regarding federal legislation? Members can stay up to date on the latest federal legislative activity by signing up for alerts delivered directly to your email.