Senate Invokes Cloture on ED Jobs, Clearing Way to Passage

Today, the Senate invoked cloture on the Murray-Harkin (Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA)) amendment to H.R. 1586, by a 61-38 vote. The amendment was inserted into the bill after H.R. 1586, the FAA reauthorization bill, failed to pass. The amendment provides $10 billion for education jobs and $16.1 billion for federal Medicaid payments. This amendment is different than the other versions, because the funding included is fully offset with rescissions. The amendment still needs to be passed, but the cloture marked a pivotal moment. The funding for education jobs is allocated solely for K-12, but states provide assurances on funding for K-12 and higher education. If the Senate passes the bill, the House will need to pass it as well. With the House of Representatives out for the summer recess period, PeSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) just announced that the House will be called into session next week to pass the bill once the Senate completes action.

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed S. 3686, its version of the on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education FY2011 appropriations bill, by a party-line vote of 18-12. The bill provides over $170 billion in discretionary funding, and $66.4 billion is allocated for the Department of Education. The bill provides funds for a $5,550 Pell Grant maximum, but it does not contain funds to address the $5.7 billion Pell Grant shortfall. This year, the Senate will provide over $2.7 billion more than the FY2010 allocation, but this amount is still almost $1 billion less than the Administration’s request. The Committee did not fund the Career Pathways Program, noting the new Community College and Career Training Grant program. Senate leadership remarked that Congress is very unlikely to consider a final appropriations bill until after the fall elections.

The Committee released a summary of the appropriations bill, which can viewed at: http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=5ac52a3a-5218-48fa-aa01-9264ca755118.

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House Passes Slimmed-Down Supplemental Appropriations Bill

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of the supplemental appropriations bill, HR 4899, by a vote of 308-114. The Senate bill is set at almost $60 billion, and it provides funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, disaster relief, and the Veteran’s Administration. The final bill does not include the $23 billion that was included in a previous House version (which did not pass in the Senate) for domestic activities, including $10 billion for education jobs and $4.95 billion for the Pell Grant shortfall. It is unclear whether Congressional leadership will attempt to include funding for education jobs or the Pell Grant shortfall in another bill, such as a small business bill. The supplemental appropriations bill is now headed to President Obama, who is expected to sign it.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations marked up its bill for FY2011 and passed the bill by a voice vote yesterday. The bill provides over $170 billion in discretionary funding, and $66.4 billion is allocated for the Department of Education. The bill provides funds for a $5,550 Pell Grant maximum, but it does not contain funds to address the $5.7 billion Pell Grant shortfall. This year, the Senate will provide over $2.7 billion more than the FY2010 allocation, but this amount is still almost $1 billion less than the Administration’s request. Further, it appears that the bill does not fund the Career Pathways Program. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to hold a full committee markup tomorrow, but it is very unlikely that the Senate and Congress will consider a final appropriations bill until after the fall elections.

The Subcommittee released a summary of the appropriations bill, which can viewed at: http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=b9a9897d-6d3f-4ad9-9872-ac20495afce5. Read more!

Senate Fails to Pass House's Version of Supplemental Bill

Last night, the Senate attempted to pass the House amendment to the Senate supplemental appropriations bill, HR 4899, but the cloture vote failed by a vote of 46-51. The tally fell short of the 60 votes necessary to end debate on the bill. The Senate version of the bill will now go back to the House of Representatives, which will likely adopt it. The Senate bill is set at almost $60 billion, and it does not include the $23 billion the House added for domestic activities, including $10 billion for education jobs and $4.95 billion for the Pell Grant shortfall.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee markup on Labor-HHS-ED Appropriations will be held on Tuesday, July 27.

GRANT NOTICE

Higher Education for Development (HED), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the U.S. Department of Education, is issuing a request for applications for the Broader Middle East and North Africa - U.S. Community College Entrepreneurship Proposal Development Grants Program. Applications are due by October 18, 2010. Please visit the HED website for more information.

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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.

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House Passes Supplemental Appropriations Bill

Last night, the House of Representative passed an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 4899, by a vote of 239-182, and one voting present. The amendment, which was offered by House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI), includes $10 billion for education jobs and $4.95 billion for the Pell Grant shortfall. With the passage of this new amendment, the bill will have to be sent back to the Senate for reconsideration. In total, the House added an additional $23 billion for domestics activities over the Senate passed bill. The Senate and House have adjourned for the July 4th recess. The Senate is not expected to take up the bill until later this month.

During House consideration, the White House threatened to veto the bill because $800 million in education-related rescissions were included to offset additional funding within the bill. The White House veto threat and additional Senate action raises concerns about whether the House provisions will be passed by the Senate. There is an expectation that the education rescissions will be removed during Senate consideration. The House also passed a budget resolution, but this resolution only applies to the House.

In other news, President Barack Obama called on Congress yesterday to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation. In his speech, President Obama renewed his support for the DREAM Act. ACCT, with the Act on the DREAM Coalition, is encouraging to Congress to start the process and pass DREAM this session of Congress.
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Congress Works to Wrap Up Tax Extenders and Appropriations Bill

This week, Congress has been working to wrap up activity on the tax extenders bill and the supplemental appropriations bill. Senate leaders have revised the extenders bill by scaling down the cost of the bill again, but it still appears that the bill lacks the necessary votes to break the filibuster. The Senate bill includes important changes to the Community College and Career Training Grant (CCCTG) program, which was funded within the reconciliation bill.

Recently, House Republican leaders announced that they would oppose any additional dollars beyond funds for war and disasters, even if the funding is offset by other funds. This adds an additional hurdle as Congressional leaders work to finalize a bill that has been pending for a number of weeks. Meanwhile, funding for education jobs is now down to $10 billion from $23 billion. The funding appears to be offset, but the offset will not come from ARRA unspent funds. The status of the Pell Grant shortfall funds is unclear, but the overall sense is that these funds may be in jeopardy due to the desire to limit funding to war and disasters.

The Congressional district work period/recess for July 4th is rapidly approaching, and there is a strong desire to finalize action on these two bills before the recess. It is unclear what actions will be made to advance these two important bills.

Today, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing entitled “Emerging Risk? An Overview of the Federal Investment in For-Profit Education.” The committee will hold additional hearings to examine the for-profit sector due to the disproportionate share of federal financial aid and the rise in student loan default rates.

Click here to read the committee's report on the for-profit sector.

Click here to view the hearing. Read more!

ACCT Joins DREAM Act Coalition

Today, ACCT joined forces with 24 other organizations to create the Act on the DREAM Coalition to urge Congress and the Obama Administration to finally pass the DREAM Act. With the short time period before the congressional elections, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that Congress will consider comprehensive immigration reform that the DREAM Act has been a part of for a number of years. The Act on the Dream Coalition is asking Congress to consider and pass the DREAM Act as a separate piece of legislation this year. The Senate version, S. 729, has 38 co-sponsors; the House version, H.R. 1751, has 120 co-sponsors. ACCT encourages members and other supporters of the DREAM Act to visit the Coalition’s website at: http://actonthedream.org/.

Senate leaders were unsuccessful in proceeding to consider H.R. 4213, its version of the “tax extenders” bill. The Senate voted 45-62 on the bill, which would have required 60 votes to move to consider the bill. The large price tag of the bill, nearly $140 billion (of which $60 billion is offset), continues to be the major factor in halting action on the bill, even though most of the extensions have strong support. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) is expected to introduce a stripped-down version of H.R. 4213. The Senate bill includes important changes to the Community College and Career Training Grant (CCCTG) program, which was funded within the reconciliation bill. ACCT will monitor developments closely to ensure that the provisions remain in the final bill. The Senate bill summary can be viewed at: http://finance.senate.gov/legislation/download/?id=c43e1c4b-c9e2-498d-bb68-ebe84ecf9003. Read more!