House Subcommittee Moves Education Funding Bill

Yesterday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education passed its $176.4 billion FY2011 appropriations bill by a party-line vote. The bill’s total education funding level is $1.4 billion less than the Administration’s request. The bill increases funding for the Pell Grant program by $5.7 billion, but it is unclear whether the purpose of the increase is to make up for the shortfall, increase the maximum amount for individual Pell Grants, or accommodate the increasing number of students. A number of proposed amendments were defeated, including an anti-Dream Act amendment. The bill now heads to the full committee, but it is unclear whether the committee will consider the bill or head directly to the House floor. In all likelihood, Congress will not finish these bills until after the fall elections.

A table summarizing the allocation of funds can be viewed on the House Appropriations Committee website at: http://appropriations.house.gov/images/stories/pdf/lhhse/FY2011_LHHS_Summary_Tabel-07.15.2010.pdf. The full program funding levels will only be introduced if the bill is considered by the full committee or the House.

The Senate leadership continues to discuss next steps for the supplemental appropriations bill. It appears that leadership will attempt to hold a cloture vote on the bill, which will likely fail. With the resulting action, the House will likely need to adopt the Senate’s supplemental bill. The House passed the Senate’s bill but added $10 billion for education jobs and $4.9 billion to cover the Pell Grant shortfall. Although the new funding is offset, it appears that there is sufficient opposition to the inclusion of these funds to block passage of the bill.

Read more!

Senate Moves Closer to Passing Supplemental Bill; House Postpones Markup

Today, the Senate voted for cloture on the supplemental appropriations bill by a vote of 69-29. This paves the way for the Senate to vote on final passage. While the Senate is finishing action, the House Appropriations Committee will not mark up its bill this week. The Committee is postponing action until after the Memorial Day recess period. Earlier this week, House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) announced that he was going to include $23 billion for education jobs and $5.7 billion for the Pell Grant shortfall. Unfortunately, the education jobs funds do not include public higher education. The House leadership is working to gather support for the larger House version of the supplemental bill.

Congressional leaders are continuing to work on a revised “tax extenders” bill, which covers a number of tax provisions that have strong bi-partisan support and have expired or are about to expire. The latest version of the bill would cost $143 billion, of which $59 billion is offset. Moderate Democrats are pushing to reduce the cost of the overall bill or find additional offsets. House leaders have indicated that they will try to have a final vote on the “tax extenders” bill prior to the Memorial Day recess period.

For community colleges, the extenders bill contains important changes to the Community College and Career Training Grant (CCCTG) program funded by the reconciliation bill. The CCCTG program is funded at $500 million for fiscal years 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

According to the summary, the provisions included in the bill would expand the program by authorizing the grants to benefit individuals who are eligible for unemployment insurance, who are likely to be eligible for unemployment insurance (according to specific criteria), or who have exhausted their unemployment insurance. Additionally, the provisions would: (1) clarify that only public and non-profit educational institutions are eligible for grants; (2) authorize the Department of Labor to spend up to five percent of program funds to administer, evaluate, and establish reporting systems for the program; and (3) give the Department of Labor more flexibility by allowing it to obligate grant funds in the year that they are appropriated as well as the subsequent fiscal year. The changes outlined for the community college grant program do not have a cost and rather only affect how the program will function. A summary of the bill can viewed at: http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/111/America_Jobs_Summary.pdf

Read more!

House Appropriations Committee Passes Education Funding Bill

Last Friday, the House Appropriations Committee passed its version of the FY2010 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending bill at $160.7 billion by voice vote. With Committee passage, the bill now heads to the House floor for consideration. It is expected that the bill will be considered this week or next week. The bill is $5.2 billion over last year’s funding level, but $52 million less than what President Obama requested.

The bill maintains the maximum Pell Grant at $4,860; combined with the mandatory funding of $690 for the Pell Grant program, this equals a $5,550 maximum. Also, the Career and Technical Education programs are level funded at $1.2 billion.

The Committee provides $130 million for the new Career Pathways Innovation Fund (formerly called the Community-Based Job Training Grant program). The allocation for this program is $5 million more than the FY2009 total. It appears that the Departments of Labor and Education will have a role in running this program. The Committee requires that $65 million be used for nursing programs. Additionally, the Committee is providing $50 million to prepare workers for careers in emerging green industries.

The Senate Subcommittee is expected to consider its version of the bill in the next couple of weeks.

For more information, visit: http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_lhhse.shtml Read more!