Why It Matters
The National Education Association (NEA) is lobbying S. 2837, the Protect America's Workforce Act, which remains at the Introduced stage after referral to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The filing also covers the fiscal year 2027 defense authorization, the fiscal year 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS-Education) appropriations bill, Department of Education interagency agreements, and the Graduated Corporate Tax Act.
By the Numbers
The National Education Association's third-quarter 2026 report lists a filing amount of $670,000. That figure is up $70,000 from the $600,000 NEA reported in-house for the third quarter of 2025.
Two outside firms also filed third-quarter 2026 reports for NEA: Rock Creek Counsel at $40,000 and Todd Strategy Group at $50,000, bringing the client total for the quarter to $760,000. The combined total is flat against the second quarter of 2026, when all three registrants together reported $760,000.
The in-house team on the filing consists of eight lobbyists: Stephanie Salvador; Deb Koolbeck, with prior experience with Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9) and committee experience with the House Education and the Workforce Committee; and Bonita Williams. The team also includes Ronny Lau, Christin Driscoll, and Juan Rangel. The eighth lobbyist is Kim Trinca, with prior government experience, and the roster ends with Katy Rowley.
Broader Context
S. 2837, sponsored by Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), would nullify two executive orders, issued March 27, 2025, and Aug. 28, 2025, that excluded federal workers from labor-management relations programs; it was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Sept. 17, 2025. NEA argued the Protect America's Workforce Act would restore collective-bargaining rights to federal employees, including educators in Department of Defense schools, and that restoring those rights supports the Department of Defense Education Activity's (DoDEA) ability to recruit and retain staff.
H.R. 8800, the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL-3), passed the House; a late July 2026 report described it as stalled in the Senate. NEA urged NDAA amendments to expand DoDEA special-education and school-based mental-health services, citing a 2025 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found delays in 44 of 114 overseas DoDEA schools in 2022–23, and a separate GAO report finding DoDEA assessed one in 50 students for suicide risk in each of school years 2022–23 and 2023–24 after an identified mental-health concern.
H.R. 9260, the FY2027 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill sponsored by Rep. Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL-4), was placed on the Union Calendar on June 11, 2026, and awaits a House floor vote. NEA called on Congress to oppose the bill, arguing it would cut education funding by 10 percent, reduce Title I by nearly $2 billion, and eliminate teacher-training and community-school programs.
A December 2025 letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon documented congressional scrutiny of six interagency agreements announced Nov. 18, 2025, involving transfers of education-program administration to other federal departments.
Competitive Landscape
Organizations also lobbying S. 2837 include the National Right To Work Committee, the American Federation of Government Employees, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the Alliance for Retired Americans, and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union.
The Bottom Line
The House passed the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 8800, and a late-July 2026 report described the bill as stalled in the Senate. The in-house team and outside-firm roster have held steady across the past three complete quarters.
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