2010 ACCT Congress: Update on Federal Legislative Priorities

The $2 billion Community College and Career Training Program, proposed regulations that could impact community college career certification programs, and the federal appropriations process were among the key public policy priorities outlined during a Thursday session at the 2010 ACCT Leadership Congress.

Among the programs discussed were:

The Community College and Career Training Program. Enacted as part of the landmark Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the CCCTP allocates $500 million annually for four years to help community colleges develop workforce programs. While the program is under the aegis of the Trade Adjustment Act, the grants are expected to focus on the development of new programs, according to Jim Hermes, director of government relations for the American Association of Community Colleges. “The Department of Labor has emphasized over and over that this program is going to be about ‘building the box’,” he said.

The Department of Labor is expected to issue a solicitation for grant applications shortly, with applications due early next year and awards potentially announced in the spring. According to Hermes, the DOL considers $2.5 million to be the minimum grant size for individual institutions, with consortia eligible for higher awards. Department officials have also emphasized the importance of grant applications focusing on reform and innovation. “This is not going to be for mere program expansion,” Hermes said.

Gainful Employment Regulations The Department of Education has proposed two rule-making documents that would provide new regulations overseeing what job training and certification programs will remain eligible for students to receive federal financial aid. Targeted at the for-profit college sector, which collectively amassed $2.7 billion in profits in 2009, the proposed regulations could also impact the 170,000 students who receive certification at community colleges each year, said David Baime, AACC senior vice president for government relations and research. While the for-profit sector is engaged in a furious lobbying effort to thwart the proposed regulations, ACCT and AACC believe the new rules, which would set standards related to student debt/earning ratios and loan repayment rates, would not pose problems for most community college programs, whose students rarely borrow money. The two associations do remain concerned, however, about the additional regulatory and reporting burdens at a time when community colleges have limited resources to devote to them, Baime said.

American Opportunity Tax Credit. Included in the 2009 stimulus legislation, the AOTC replaced the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit, offering community college students a higher maximum credit, as well as the ability to apply the credit to course materials for the first time. The AOTC expires at the end of the year, and extending it for another 10 years would cost $58 billion, Baime said. Despite support from the Administration, “in a Congress increasingly concerned about deficit spending, that’s a high hurdle,” he added, especially since it is likely to become embroiled in the debate over extending the Bush tax cuts, which are also expiring. Should the AOTC not be extended, the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit would still be available, according to Baime.

Appropriations. With the uncertainty of midterm elections, none of the appropriation bills for FY11 were approved before the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, said Jee Hang Lee, ACCT director of public policy. Of key concern is the Pell Grant program, which has increased from serving 5 million to nearly 9 million students. While $13.5 billion was provided to address Pell Grant shortfalls in the healthcare reconciliation bill earlier this year, the program still has a $5.7 billion shortfall, and could see a reduction in the maximum award if that shortfall isn’t addressed, according to Lee. The Career Pathways Program has also been eliminated, in part because it was supposed to be replaced by components of the American Graduation Initiative. On the state level, the $10 billion education jobs bill passed earlier this year did not include funds for public higher education, but did include a provision requiring states to provide level funding for public colleges and universities. “We’re hopeful that the maintenance of effort [provision] will help states maintain a level of funding,” Lee said.

DREAM Act. A push for a Senate vote on the legislation fell short ahead of the midterm elections. The current legislative priority remains attempting to get it considered separately from any comprehensive immigration reform bill, though the timing remains unclear, according to Lee.

The focus on the legislative agenda will continue at the 2011 National Legislative Summit, held Feb. 13-16 in Washington, D.C. Read more!

Congress Passes Another Continuing Resolution

Yesterday, Congress passed H.R. 2996, the FY2010 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which also included a continuing resolution to keep the federal government programs running through December 18. The previous continuing resolution would have expired at the end of the month. The House vote was 247-178 and the Senate vote was 72-28. The President is expected to sign the bill soon.

Congress still needs to pass the seven remaining appropriations bills. Congress will likely move a large omnibus appropriations bill that will contain the remaining bills. Read more!

Congressional Committees Outline Funding Allocations

June 19, 2009—Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY2010 302(b) allocations, which provide spending amounts that allow the Subcommittees to work on their respective funding bills. The Senate 302(b) allocation for Labor, HHS, and Education is $163.1 billion—almost $10 billion more than the FY2009 allocation.

Last week, the House Appropriations Committee passed by party-line vote, 34-21, its FY2010 302(b) allocations for Labor HHS, and Education is $160.1 billion—$7.5 billion more than FY2009.

The House Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to introduce its bill in early July, while the Senate Subcommittee expects to introduce its bill in late July. Both Subcommittees intend to pass their respective bills prior to the Congressional August recess.

For more information about ACCT's advocacy services, visit www.acct.org/advocacy. Read more!

Education Secretary Arne Duncan Testifies Before Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees

June 3, 2009—Today, Education Secretary Arne Duncan testified before the Senate Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations Subcommittee and the House Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee to address "The Administration's FY2010 Budget Request for the Department of Education."

Duncan told the Senate that "this budget makes important choices to continue and expand education for our children from cradle to career."

The Department of Education has submitted an FY2010 budget for an overall $46.7 billion of discretionary funding, an increase of $1.3 billion over FY2009. One of the goals of the budget, Duncan said, is to assure that students have the financial aid and student loans they need not just to enter college, but to complete their college educations.

"The Recovery Act made an important down payment in our effort to expand student aid," said Duncan. "In addition to more aid, we want to make sure that students are not just attending college, but graduating. The stimulus bill provided $17.1 billion so that we would increase the maximum Pell award from $4,850 to $5,350. In our fiscal year 2010 budget, we propose important and permanent changes to assure students have access to federal grants, aid, and loans. The first is to move the Pell program from discretionary to a mandatory appropriated entitlement. The second, we propose to link the grant increase in the maximum grant to the consumer price index, plus one percent every year, which will allow the maximum grant to grow at a rate higher than inflation so that students can keep up with the rising cost of college."

The Education Department would pay for this by improving and streamlining the federal student loan program. All loans would be moved over time from the Federal Family Education Loan Program to the direct-loan program. Duncan stressed that doing this would improve the loan program without creating a burden for tax payers.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) expressed concern over changing the Pell program from discretionary to mandatory, saying he doesn't "have a closed mind about it," but that the issue needs further discussion.

Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) expressed concern over the need for an improved system of matching practical and technical skills acquired during higher education with skills needed once students are working. She said she will soon be introducing legislation to bring together "all the players from the schools to the community to the community leaders, labor, business, workforce leaders to design programs for their own communities." She asked whether there is a place in the budget for these needs.

Duncan responded that "community colleges play a huge role in the trajectory of education continuum" and that community colleges "have been a highly under-utilized, undervalued resource." He mentioned the nomination of Martha Kanter, chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District in California, to the position of Undersecretary of Education as a "strategic" placement to include community colleges at the federal legislative level.

"It's so important," Duncan said, "to help shape the opportunities that our high school and community college students have. We can't do enough of that. We have to tie education to the real world."

View video of Secretary Duncan's testimony to the Senate. Read more!