In an information campaign organized by three influential ed-tech organizations, educators and other ed-tech advocates took to Capitol Hill March 9 in hopes of convincing lawmakers to restore funding to the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) block grant program and other endangered technology-specific spending measures.

President Bush and other leaders have issued calls to bolster the nation's education system in the face of broad economic changes, but ed-tech advocates contend such goals will not be realized without the proper resources. If proposed ed-tech funding cuts come to fruition, they said, the prospects are dimming that America will remain competitive in a global economy.

The event, part of a full day of political activities intended to buttress congressional support for the integration of school technology, brought more than 150 educators and industry representatives from nearly 40 states and over 75 congressional districts to Washington, D.C. to lobby on behalf of school technology. The annual "Advocacy Day" was conducted in conjunction with the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and marked the largest single turnout in the event's five-year history.

"The fact that 2006 is witnessing our largest Advocacy Day ever speaks volumes about the dedication of the education technology community to making its voice heard on federal policy," said Keith Krueger, chief executive officer of CoSN. "This spectacular turnout also demonstrates that educators understand that federal leadership and support of education technology is in jeopardy and that the time has arrived to trumpet the importance of technology to teaching, learning, and competing globally. I hope Congress heeds this call."

The program also provided a forum for a candid discussion about what many in the industry perceive as a disconnect between Washington's preoccupation with education reform and global competitiveness and the resources available to schools in support of these changes.

"We all know authorizations really don't mean that much," said Julia Warner, a legislative aide to Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Mich., during a panel discussion about the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics instruction--called "STEM education" in Washington parlance. Rep. Ehlers is co-chair of the House STEM Education Caucus, a bipartisan effort dedicated to giving students the skills they need to succeed in the modern workforce.

Lawmakers have roundly endorsed a variety of well-intentioned plans intended to boost the nation's standing as a world economic power, touting new investments and educational reforms as a means to secure America's competitive edge over emerging nations such as China and India, Warner said. But the mere existence of such programs, she pointed out, means little without sufficient appropriations.