Education Proposals to be Part of the State of Union Address

Today, President Barack Obama will be giving his first State of Union address to the Joint Session of Congress. According to the White House, President Obama is expected to push for additional education dollars for higher education and K-12. The Administration is requesting that the Department of Education’s funding level grow by 6%. The President will likely press Congress to pass the FY2010 Education Reconciliation and the American Graduation Initiative. The Administration’s formal budget request will be released on Monday, February 1.

As for the jobs bill, Senate Democratic leaders are coalescing around a proposal that would provide over $80 billion for infrastructure, energy, and state aid. The House passed its $154 billion jobs bill in December. The Senate Democratic leaders may unveil their bill as early as tomorrow.

In other news, the Center for American Progress held an event on “Community Colleges and Competitiveness: Generating Economic Opportunity Through Innovation in Postsecondary Education” this morning in Washington, D.C. The event was keynoted by Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, a professor at Northern Virginia Community College. Assistant Secretary of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education Brenda Dann Messier also keynoted the event.

The event had a number of other speakers including Gail Mellow, President of LaGuardia Community College and Keith Bird, Chancellor Emeritus of Kentucky Community and Technical College System. More information can be found at: http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2010/01/commcoll.html. The video for the event should be available online shortly. 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!

LAW E-Alert: Congress Poised to Pass Budget

April 28, 2009—Congress is poised to pass a $3.5 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget plan that will back President Obama’s funding priorities. The Conference Committee was able to reach a final agreement on the funding level of the FY2010 budget resolution, which will provide $89.4 billion for the Function 500 account containing the education and labor funding accounts. The Conference Committee also included reconciliation language for education. Reconciliation paves the way for Congress to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program and create a single federal-loan program and use the savings to support a Pell Grant mandatory (entitlement) program.

The House and Senate are expected to vote and pass the bill. For more information, please visit: http://www.rules.house.gov/bills_details.aspx?NewsID=4231

In other related Congressional news, Sen. Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania announced today that he is changing parties and will run for re-election as a Democrat. Sen. Specter will retain his seniority in the Senate.

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LAW E-Alert: Congress Moves to Pass Budget Resolution

April 24, 2009—It now appears that Congress and the Administration have reached a tentative agreement on the parameters for a final budget resolution for FY2010. According to press accounts, the budget resolution will include budget reconciliation language that will pave the way for converting the Pell Grant program into a mandatory (entitlement) program. The reconciliation process would allow Congress to move legislation without a threat of a Senate filibuster and would only require 51 votes to pass in the Senate.

ACCT has come out in support of the Administration’s proposal on converting Pell. ACCT’s letter can be found at: http://www.acct.org/advocacy/letters/

Earlier this week, the Senate announced its conferees for the Budget Conference Committee: Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-ND), Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Budget Committee Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-NH). The House also announced its conference members: House Budget Committee chairman John Spratt (D-SC), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). The announcement of the conferees is an indication that a tentative agreement has been reached.

The conference committee will likely meet next week and finalize a budget resolution quickly. The Administration has indicated that they would like to have the budget resolution passed by the end of President Obama's first 100 days. The budget resolution does not require the President’s signature. The resolution is vital in shaping the appropriations process for the given fiscal year. Read more!

LAW E-Alert: Congress Returns From Break and More Changes

April 21, 2009—With the end of the spring district work period, Congress returns to finalize action on the FY2010 budget resolution. Congress is expected to split the funding differences between their respective bills, but the larger question is whether Congress will include budget-reconciliation language in regards to education, energy and health care. The budget reconciliation is not subject to a filibuster; therefore, it only requires a majority of the votes. If Congress includes budget-reconciliation language for education, this will pave the way for Congress to consider pushing the Pell Grant program into an entitlement and consolidate the federal-loans programs into a single federal-loan program. The budget resolution provides a rough outline of funding areas, though it does deal specifically with all the programmatic funding levels and does not require the President’s signature.

The House resolution provides $533 billion for non-defense discretionary funding, with $88.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Function 500 account for Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services. The Senate resolution provides $525 billion for non-defense discretionary funding, with $89.4 billion in discretionary funding for the Function 500 account for Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services. Both resolutions set a Pell Grant maximum level of $5,550 in FY2010 and include a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow for Pell Grant increases in line with those proposed in President Obama's budget.

Congress is expected to finalize action in the next weeks. Meanwhile, the Administration is expected to release its full budget request for FY2010 the week of May 4th.

In other news, the Administration continues to appoint individuals for various positions in the federal government. For more information on these nominations, go to http://www.acct.org/advocacy/latest/ Read more!

House and Senate Pass Respective Budget Resolutions

April 3, 2009—Yesterday, the House of Representatives and the Senate passed their respective FY2010 Budget Resolutions, paving the way for Congressional leadership to work on a final resolution. The House vote was 233-196 and the Senate vote was 55-43; both votes were divided largely along party lines. The budget resolution provides only a rough outline of funding areas, though it does deal specifically with all the programmatic funding levels.

The House resolution provides $533 billion for non-defense discretionary funding, with $88.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Function 500 account for Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services. The Senate resolution provides $525 billion for non-defense discretionary funding, with $89.4 billion in discretionary funding for the Function 500 account for Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services. Both resolutions set a Pell Grant maximum level of $5,550 in FY2010 and include a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow for Pell Grant increases in line with those proposed in President Obama’s budget.

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