Yesterday, the Senate Budget Committee approved the FY11 budget resolution by a 12-10 vote. The budget resolution provides an aggregate level for discretionary spending that is $4 billion below the President’s budget for FY11. The administration proposed to shift $17.7 billion for Pell in FY11 from discretionary to mandatory, but the budget resolution adjusted it back to discretionary spending. The budget also assumes that the $5.5 billion Pell shortfall will be paid off, but it does not provide funds to do so. Therefore, in order to shore up the shortfall, other programs will need to be cut by $5.5 billion. (The budget resolution serves as a guideline for appropriators but is not binding.) Pell Grant funding continues to be the thorniest issue and there is some concern about the how the funding situation will be addressed.
Prior to approval of the budget resolution, the committee passed an amendment by a 16-6 vote. The amendment requires 60 senators to vote in favor of spending more than 20 percent of savings from the reconciliation on new programs. It appears that the budget resolution will come to the floor in a few weeks after the Senate deals with the financial reform bill. The President does not sign the resolution.
In other news, Keep Our Educators Working Act of 2010, the bill introduced by Senator Harkin (S. 3206), now has 20 cosponsors, the newest being Sens. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Ted Kaufman (D-DE). Sen. Harkin is continuing to gather co-sponsors and plans to attach the bill as part of a supplemental appropriations legislation.
Read more!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Chairman Harkin Introduces Education Jobs Bill
Today, Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced “Keep Our Educators Working Act,” which would provide $23 billion to states to support k-12 and post-secondary education positions. The program would be distributed similarly to the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund that was established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Also, Chairman Harkin held a hearing to discuss the administration’s education budget and the Education Jobs bill with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testifying. Another panel of witnesses, including Mark Herzog, Chancellor of the Connecticut Community Colleges, testified before the subcommittee. All of the witnesses voiced their strong support for the education jobs bill. With the downturn in the economy and impending budget cliffs, these funds would stave off huge budget deficits and layoffs. ACCT sent a letter of support of Chairman Harkin’s bill.
The bill’s funding level mirrors the House-passed “Jobs for Main Street Act,” which was passed in December of last year. Last month, House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4812, which includes funding for states and an additional $75 billion over two years for local government to retain workers, including school employees.
The hearing can be found at: http://appropriations.senate.gov/webcasts.cfm?method=webcasts.view&id=089d3b21-5bc6-4f18-89bf-b3fccb2b981b
ACCT’s letter of support can be found at: http://www.acct.org/advocacy/letters/
Read more!
Also, Chairman Harkin held a hearing to discuss the administration’s education budget and the Education Jobs bill with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testifying. Another panel of witnesses, including Mark Herzog, Chancellor of the Connecticut Community Colleges, testified before the subcommittee. All of the witnesses voiced their strong support for the education jobs bill. With the downturn in the economy and impending budget cliffs, these funds would stave off huge budget deficits and layoffs. ACCT sent a letter of support of Chairman Harkin’s bill.
The bill’s funding level mirrors the House-passed “Jobs for Main Street Act,” which was passed in December of last year. Last month, House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4812, which includes funding for states and an additional $75 billion over two years for local government to retain workers, including school employees.
The hearing can be found at: http://appropriations.senate.gov/webcasts.cfm?method=webcasts.view&id=089d3b21-5bc6-4f18-89bf-b3fccb2b981b
ACCT’s letter of support can be found at: http://www.acct.org/advocacy/letters/
Read more!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
President Signs H.R. 4872; Announces Community College Summit Led By Dr. Biden
Today at Northern Virginia Community College’s (NOVA) Alexandria campus, President Barack Obama signed H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. H.R. 4872 represents a significant infusion of funds for higher education, including annual Pell Grant program funding increases and new competitive career-training grants, which will be available to community colleges. ACCT has created a summary of the education-related provisions within H.R. 4872. The summary can be found at: http://www.acct.org/HR4872%20Summary.pdf
ACCT issued a statement in response to the signing of H.R. 4872, which is available at: http://www.acct.org/2010_ACCT_Statement_HR_4872_03-29-2010.pdf.
Dr. Jill Biden, U.S. Second Lady and professor at NOVA introduced the President. President Obama noted during his remarks that “we need to invest…in our students. We need to invest in our community colleges. We need to invest in the future of this country. We need to meet the goal I set last year and graduate more of our students than any other nation by the year 2020.”
President Obama also said, “And because community colleges like NOVA are so essential to a competitive workforce, I’ve asked your outstanding professor, Dr. Jill Biden…to host a summit on community colleges at the White House this fall. And we’re going to bring everybody together, from educators to students, experts to business leaders. We are going to bring everybody together to share innovative ideas about how we can help students earn degrees and credentials, and to forge private sector partnerships so we can better prepare America’s workforce and America’s workers to succeed in the 21st century.” ACCT will continue to provide updates on the summit as the planning for the event progresses.
Additionally, with the signing of the bill, the White House released a fact sheet on the Community College and Career Training Grant program. According to the fact sheet, community colleges could apply for funds to do the following:
- Work with businesses: Colleges could build partnerships with businesses and the workforce investment system to create career pathways through which workers will earn new credentials and promotions through step-by-step, worksite education programs that build essential skills. Colleges will work closely with employers to design training that is relevant to the local labor market and likely to lead to employment and careers.
- Create education partnerships: Colleges could work with other educational institutions to expand course offerings and promote the transfer of credit among colleges.
- Teach basic skills: Colleges could improve remedial and adult education programs, accelerating students’ progress and integrating developmental classes into academic and vocational classes.
- Meet students’ needs: Colleges could offer their students more than just a course catalog through comprehensive, personalized services to help them plan their careers, stay in school, and graduate.
- Develop online courses: Colleges could create open online course materials such as interactive tutors.
President Obama’s and Dr. Biden’s remarks can be found online at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-and-dr-jill-biden-signing-health-care-and-education-reconciliatio
Full video of the event can be viewed at: http://www.c-span.org/flvPop.aspx?src=project/health/health033010_obama.flv&s=57.077&e=2252.05&live=N&pop=Y&srv=fms.c-span.org&remote=N Read more!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Congress Passes Reconciliation Bill; Heads to President's Desk for Signature
Yesterday, Congress passed H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Bill of 2010, which contains health-care legislation fixes and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA). Earlier in the day, the Senate passed the bill by a 56-43 vote, after removing two provisions within the bill that were found to be in violation to the reconciliation rules. Of the two violations, the most important one was a “hold harmless” provision related to the Pell Grant program. The “hold harmless” provision was supposed to ensure that students would not see a drop in the Pell maximum if funding for Pell declined. This provision would not kick in until FY2013, when the maximum is expected to increase within the bill. Additionally, the maximum would only decrease if Appropriators significantly lowered the discretionary Pell Grant maximum base, which is $4,860. Congressional leaders are working to reinsert the “hold harmless” language in to another bill.
After Senate passage, the House quickly passed the revised reconciliation bill by a vote of 220-207. With House passage, President Obama is expected to sign the bill very soon. As of today, Congress will be out of session through the next two weeks as part of the spring district work recess, which starts on Monday.
H.R. 4872 eliminates the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and moves all federal student loans into the Direct Loan program. Colleges participating in the federal student loans program will need to move to the Direct Loan program by July 1, 2010. Through the conversion to the Direct Loan program, the bill creates $61 billion in savings, which will be utilized for a number of programs and deficit reduction. Most notably, the bill provides $13.5 billion to pay for the Pell Grant shortfall and $22.6 billion to support a Pell Grant maximum increase in an amount equal to the consumer price index since the newest projected shortfall is $19.5 billion. The infusion of funds will ensure that a large amount of the shortfall is taken care of, but Congress will still need to find the remaining amount in the appropriations process. Additionally, $2.55 billion would be allocated to fund Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and tribal colleges.
From the community college perspective, the bill contains $2 billion for community colleges, the Community College and Career Training Grant Program ($500 million for each of four years, fiscal years 2011-2014), which was authorized in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The program will support educational and career-training programs focused on dislocated workers and unemployed workers. The program will likely be a competitive program (meaning that colleges must submit an application in order to receive funding), but each state will be guaranteed .5% of the total funding, which totals $2.5 million per state. The program will be run by the Department of Labor and is located within the finance section of the bill.
In other news, Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter and Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration Jane Oates testified yesterday before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. During the hearing, Kanter and Oates called for Congress to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act.
More information including the testimony on the hearing can be found here: http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_lhhse.shtml Read more!
After Senate passage, the House quickly passed the revised reconciliation bill by a vote of 220-207. With House passage, President Obama is expected to sign the bill very soon. As of today, Congress will be out of session through the next two weeks as part of the spring district work recess, which starts on Monday.
H.R. 4872 eliminates the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and moves all federal student loans into the Direct Loan program. Colleges participating in the federal student loans program will need to move to the Direct Loan program by July 1, 2010. Through the conversion to the Direct Loan program, the bill creates $61 billion in savings, which will be utilized for a number of programs and deficit reduction. Most notably, the bill provides $13.5 billion to pay for the Pell Grant shortfall and $22.6 billion to support a Pell Grant maximum increase in an amount equal to the consumer price index since the newest projected shortfall is $19.5 billion. The infusion of funds will ensure that a large amount of the shortfall is taken care of, but Congress will still need to find the remaining amount in the appropriations process. Additionally, $2.55 billion would be allocated to fund Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and tribal colleges.
From the community college perspective, the bill contains $2 billion for community colleges, the Community College and Career Training Grant Program ($500 million for each of four years, fiscal years 2011-2014), which was authorized in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The program will support educational and career-training programs focused on dislocated workers and unemployed workers. The program will likely be a competitive program (meaning that colleges must submit an application in order to receive funding), but each state will be guaranteed .5% of the total funding, which totals $2.5 million per state. The program will be run by the Department of Labor and is located within the finance section of the bill.
In other news, Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter and Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration Jane Oates testified yesterday before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. During the hearing, Kanter and Oates called for Congress to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act.
More information including the testimony on the hearing can be found here: http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_lhhse.shtml Read more!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Senate Poised to Pass Reconciliation Bill, Needs to go Back to House for Consideration
Yesterday, during the Senate debate on H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Bill of 2010, which contains health-care legislation fixes and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), two provisions within the bill were found to be in violation to the reconciliation rules. Of the two violations, the most important one was a “hold harmless” provision related to the Pell Grant program. The “hold harmless” provision was supposed to ensure that students would not see a drop in the Pell maximum if funding for Pell declined. The two violations are being removed the bill. The Senate also defeated a number of amendments that would have changed the underlying bill. The Senate will continue considering amendments, with a goal of final passage of the bill sometime today. Since the Senate bill is now different than the House bill, when the Senate passes the bill, it will be sent back to the House for its consideration.
This past weekend, the House passed the reconciliation bill by a vote of 220-211. The House is working to schedule a vote on H.R. 4872 once the Senate completes the bill. Congressional leaders are working to finalize and pass the legislation prior to Congress adjourning for the spring district work recess, which starts on Monday. House leaders expect to pass the revised bill, which will then be sent to President Obama for his signature. President Obama supports the reconciliation bill.
H.R. 4872 eliminates the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and moves all federal student loans into the Direct Loan program. Colleges participating in the federal student loans program will need to move to the Direct Loan program by July 1, 2010. Through the conversion to the Direct Loan program, the bill creates $61 billion in savings, which will be utilized for a number of programs and deficit reduction. Most notably, the bill provides $13.5 billion to pay for the Pell Grant shortfall and $22.6 billion to support a Pell Grant maximum increase in an amount equal to the consumer price since the newest projected shortfall is $19.5 billion. The infusion of funds will ensure that a large amount of the shortfall is taken care of, but Congress will still need to find the remaining amount in the appropriations process. Additionally, $2.55 billion would be allocated to fund Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and tribal colleges.
From the community college perspective, the bill contains $2 billion for community colleges, the Community College and Career Training Grant Program ($500 million for each of four years, fiscal years 2011-2014), which was authorized in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The program will support educational and career-training programs focused on dislocated workers and unemployed workers. The program will likely be a competitive program (meaning that colleges must submit an application in order to receive funding), but each state will be guaranteed .5% of the total funding, which totals $2.5 million per state. The program will be run by the Department of Labor and is located within the finance section of the bill.
ACCT sent a letter in support of the education-related provisions within H.R. 4872. The letter can be read at: http://www.acct.org/Miller4872LetterSupport.pdf
A fact sheet from the House Committee on Education and Labor can be read at: http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/20100318StudentAidandFiscalResponsibilityAct.pdf
Read more!
This past weekend, the House passed the reconciliation bill by a vote of 220-211. The House is working to schedule a vote on H.R. 4872 once the Senate completes the bill. Congressional leaders are working to finalize and pass the legislation prior to Congress adjourning for the spring district work recess, which starts on Monday. House leaders expect to pass the revised bill, which will then be sent to President Obama for his signature. President Obama supports the reconciliation bill.
H.R. 4872 eliminates the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and moves all federal student loans into the Direct Loan program. Colleges participating in the federal student loans program will need to move to the Direct Loan program by July 1, 2010. Through the conversion to the Direct Loan program, the bill creates $61 billion in savings, which will be utilized for a number of programs and deficit reduction. Most notably, the bill provides $13.5 billion to pay for the Pell Grant shortfall and $22.6 billion to support a Pell Grant maximum increase in an amount equal to the consumer price since the newest projected shortfall is $19.5 billion. The infusion of funds will ensure that a large amount of the shortfall is taken care of, but Congress will still need to find the remaining amount in the appropriations process. Additionally, $2.55 billion would be allocated to fund Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and tribal colleges.
From the community college perspective, the bill contains $2 billion for community colleges, the Community College and Career Training Grant Program ($500 million for each of four years, fiscal years 2011-2014), which was authorized in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The program will support educational and career-training programs focused on dislocated workers and unemployed workers. The program will likely be a competitive program (meaning that colleges must submit an application in order to receive funding), but each state will be guaranteed .5% of the total funding, which totals $2.5 million per state. The program will be run by the Department of Labor and is located within the finance section of the bill.
ACCT sent a letter in support of the education-related provisions within H.R. 4872. The letter can be read at: http://www.acct.org/Miller4872LetterSupport.pdf
A fact sheet from the House Committee on Education and Labor can be read at: http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/20100318StudentAidandFiscalResponsibilityAct.pdf
Read more!
Monday, March 22, 2010
House Passes Reconciliation Bill
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed health-care legislation, paving the way for the House to pass H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Bill of 2010, which contains health-care legislation fixes and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA). The House passed the reconciliation bill by a vote of 220-211. H.R. 4872 eliminates the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and moves all federal student loans into the Direct Loan program. Colleges participating in federal student loans will need to move to the Direct Loan program by July 1, 2010.
Through the conversion to the Direct Loan program, the bill creates $61 billion in savings, which will be utilized for a number of programs and deficit reduction. Most notably, the bill provides $13.5 billion to pay for the Pell Grant shortfall and $22.6 billion to support a Pell Grant maximum increase in an amount equal to the consumer price index, totaling $5,550 in 2010 and up to $5,975 by 2017. (The CPI increase will start in 2013 and end in 2017.) The Pell Grant funding is critical, especially since the newest projected shortfall is $19.5 billion. The infusion of funds will ensure that a large amount of the shortfall is taken care of, but Congress will still need to find the remaining amount in the appropriations process. Additionally, $2.55 billion would be allocated to fund Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and tribal colleges.
From the community college perspective, the bill contains $2 billion for community colleges, the Community College and Career Training Grant Program ($500 million for each of four years, fiscal years 2011-2014), which was authorized in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The program will support educational and career-training programs focused on dislocated workers and unemployed workers. The program will likely be a competitive program, but each state will be guaranteed .5% of the total funding, which totals $2.5 million per state. The program will be run by the Department of Labor and is located within the finance section of the bill.
ACCT sent a letter in support of the education related provisions within H.R. 4872, the letter can be read at: http://www.acct.org/Miller4872LetterSupport.pdf
A fact sheet from the House Committee on Education and Labor can be read at: http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/20100318StudentAidandFiscalResponsibilityAct.pdf
H.R. 4872 now heads to the Senate for consideration. The Senate is expected to take a considerable amount time to debate amendments and points of order to the overall bill. It still expected that the Senate will pass the bill. If there are no changes, the bill will be sent to the President for his signature. If there are changes, the House will need to reconsider and pass the modified bill. Read more!
Through the conversion to the Direct Loan program, the bill creates $61 billion in savings, which will be utilized for a number of programs and deficit reduction. Most notably, the bill provides $13.5 billion to pay for the Pell Grant shortfall and $22.6 billion to support a Pell Grant maximum increase in an amount equal to the consumer price index, totaling $5,550 in 2010 and up to $5,975 by 2017. (The CPI increase will start in 2013 and end in 2017.) The Pell Grant funding is critical, especially since the newest projected shortfall is $19.5 billion. The infusion of funds will ensure that a large amount of the shortfall is taken care of, but Congress will still need to find the remaining amount in the appropriations process. Additionally, $2.55 billion would be allocated to fund Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and tribal colleges.
From the community college perspective, the bill contains $2 billion for community colleges, the Community College and Career Training Grant Program ($500 million for each of four years, fiscal years 2011-2014), which was authorized in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The program will support educational and career-training programs focused on dislocated workers and unemployed workers. The program will likely be a competitive program, but each state will be guaranteed .5% of the total funding, which totals $2.5 million per state. The program will be run by the Department of Labor and is located within the finance section of the bill.
ACCT sent a letter in support of the education related provisions within H.R. 4872, the letter can be read at: http://www.acct.org/Miller4872LetterSupport.pdf
A fact sheet from the House Committee on Education and Labor can be read at: http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/20100318StudentAidandFiscalResponsibilityAct.pdf
H.R. 4872 now heads to the Senate for consideration. The Senate is expected to take a considerable amount time to debate amendments and points of order to the overall bill. It still expected that the Senate will pass the bill. If there are no changes, the bill will be sent to the President for his signature. If there are changes, the House will need to reconsider and pass the modified bill. Read more!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Reconciliation Bill Update
Today, Congress and the Administration continue to work on gathering support for a reconciliation bill that will contain the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) and health-care reform legislation. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is expected to release its finding on the pending legislation soon, which will provide the funding and budget outlines within the bill. This aspect is critical to gathering additional support for the bill. House leaders have indicated that they would like a vote on a final bill by the end of the weekend.
On the SAFRA front, there have been indications that the funding for the American Graduation Initiative (AGI) may not be included within the reconciliation bill. AGI funding is in jeopardy because Congress is using a new CBO score of SAFRA, resulting in $67 billion in savings ($20 billion less than the House passed SAFRA). The SAFRA savings is generated through the conversion of the Federal Family Education Loan Program into the Direct Loan Program. The score, coupled with the rise in Pell Grant-eligible students, has reduced the amount of funding available for AGI. Additionally, some Senators object to creating new bills in the reconciliation process. The SAFRA funding will be primarily focused on funding a Pell Grant maximum increase and deficit reduction.
On the Jobs bill front, the Senate passed its first installment of the Jobs Bill, a $17.6 billion jobs bill, by a vote of 68-29. The bill includes a payroll tax break for new hires, a small-business expensing provision, surface-transportation funding, and bond financing for infrastructure projects. The House passed the bill earlier; the bill will now be forwarded to President Obama for his signature. President Obama is expected to sign the bill. Congress is continuing efforts to move other pieces of Jobs legislation.
GRANT NEWS
The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration announced the Community-Based Job Training Grant competition for this year. The closing date for the competition will be April 29th. Funded at $125 million, the awards will be distributed to “support workforce training for high-growth/high-demand industries through the national system of community, technical, and Tribal colleges.”
For more information: http://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/SGA-DFA-PY-09-07.pdf Read more!
On the SAFRA front, there have been indications that the funding for the American Graduation Initiative (AGI) may not be included within the reconciliation bill. AGI funding is in jeopardy because Congress is using a new CBO score of SAFRA, resulting in $67 billion in savings ($20 billion less than the House passed SAFRA). The SAFRA savings is generated through the conversion of the Federal Family Education Loan Program into the Direct Loan Program. The score, coupled with the rise in Pell Grant-eligible students, has reduced the amount of funding available for AGI. Additionally, some Senators object to creating new bills in the reconciliation process. The SAFRA funding will be primarily focused on funding a Pell Grant maximum increase and deficit reduction.
On the Jobs bill front, the Senate passed its first installment of the Jobs Bill, a $17.6 billion jobs bill, by a vote of 68-29. The bill includes a payroll tax break for new hires, a small-business expensing provision, surface-transportation funding, and bond financing for infrastructure projects. The House passed the bill earlier; the bill will now be forwarded to President Obama for his signature. President Obama is expected to sign the bill. Congress is continuing efforts to move other pieces of Jobs legislation.
GRANT NEWS
The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration announced the Community-Based Job Training Grant competition for this year. The closing date for the competition will be April 29th. Funded at $125 million, the awards will be distributed to “support workforce training for high-growth/high-demand industries through the national system of community, technical, and Tribal colleges.”
For more information: http://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/SGA-DFA-PY-09-07.pdf Read more!
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