Irishmike's Federal Affairs Stuff

Federal Budget News.....

2010-04-23T14:48:00.000-05:00

By a vote of 12 to 10, the Senate Budget Committee reported out yesterday the FY2011 budget resolution.

The mark would freeze non-defense discretionary funding for three years. With an overall discretionary budget authority of $1.124 trillion for FY2011, this budget resolution would fund overall discretionary programs at $4 billion below the Administration request, with the $4 billion coming from international programs. Furthermore, the budget would establish discretionary spending caps through FY2013.

The Senate budget assumes a maximum Pell Grant award of $5,550 but leaves the shortfall of $5.5 billion in the program for the appropriators to address. The resolution would also include enough funding for health programs to allow for the Administration request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The budget also assumes that NASA would be funded at $1 billion above its FY2010 enacted budget. A number of reserve funds would be created, including one for energy. The resolution would support energy programs at $500 million more than the Administration’s request.

Included in the mark are two separate sets of reconciliation instructions, both of which are aimed at the Finance Committee. The first directs the committee to produce $2 billion in savings between FY2010 and FY2015, while the second mandates Finance to increase the statutory debt limit by $50 billion by the end of 2010.

More on NSF...

2009-12-10T07:48:00.003-06:00

Here's a general breakdown of the NSF FY '10 appropriations

Conference Report Provides NSF a 6.7% Increase for FY 2010

December 9, 2009
The FY 2010 Omnibus Appropriations Conference Agreement was completed today. The Conference agreement includes the final version of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations for FY 2010. Overall the agreement will provide the National Science Foundation with $6.926 billion, an increase of $436 million, or 6.7%, over the FY '09 enacted amount, and a reduction of $118 million, or 1.7%, from the President's request.

FY2010 Omnibus Appropriations Conference Agreement
Research and Related Activities:
The Research and Related Activities account receives $5.618 billion, a decrease of $115 million, or 2 percent, below the President's request, and an increase of $435 million, or 8.4 percent, over the FY '09 Appropriations.

Education and Human Resources:
The Education and Human Resources account is funded at $872.76 million, an increase of $15 million, or 1.8 percent above the requested level of $857.76 million, and an increase of $27.5 million, or 3.3 percent over the FY '09 Appropriated level.

Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction:
The Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction account is funded at $117.29 million, equal to President's request. The agreement denied the request for the Judgment Fund of $3 million, and shifted that funding to the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope, which receives $13 million. The remainder of the MREFC projects receives the requested level.

Agency Operations and Award Management:
The Agency Operations and Award Management account is funded at $300 million, a decrease of $18 million, or 5.8%, below the requested level, or an increase of $6 million, or 2% above the FY ’09 Appropriated level.

National Science Board:
The National Science Board is funded at $4.54 million, $200,000 above the requested level of $4.34 million to be used for “obtaining a general counsel independent of the NSF.”

Office of the Inspector General:
The Office of Inspector General is funded at the requested level of $14 million.

Finally....

2009-12-09T13:44:00.006-06:00

The Good folks at APLU have provided this update on the remaining approp bills to fund the remainder of this years federal calendar

The FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Conference Report, a package of six spending bills, was released on Tuesday night with the expectation that the House may take up this omnibus bill by the end of this week. The FY 2010 Defense appropriations bill, not included in the omnibus bill, is lone spending package still outstanding. For report text and explanatory statements, please see House Committee on Rules website at: http://rules.house.gov/bills_details.aspx?NewsID=4520

Highlights of the FY2010 Conference Report to the Consolidated Appropriations Act:

Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations

Education:
 Pell Grant maximum award is funded at $5,550. This total includes $4,860 ($17.495 billion of discretionary funding) with plus $690 from the CCRAA ($631 million in mandatory funding)
 Javits is level funded at $9.6 million
 GAAN is level funded at $31 million
 SEOG is level funded at $757 million
 Federal Work Study is level funded at $980 million
 LEAP is level funded at $63.8 million
 TRIO is increased by $5 million to $853 million
 GEAR UP is increased $10 million to $323 million
National Institutes of Health (NIH):
NIH is funded at $31.0 billion, $250 million above the request and $692 million above non-ARRA FY 2009 enacted level. Similar to past years, $300 million will be transferred to the Global HIV/AIDS Fund.

Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations

National Science Foundation (NSF):
NSF is funded at $6.93 billion, $436 million above the regular FY 2009 enacted level, but below the Administration’s request of $7 billion. Within NSF, the Research and Related Activities account would receive $5.617 billion, the Education and Human Resources account would receive $872.7 million, and Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) account would receive $117.29 million.
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
NASA is funded at overall at $18.72 billion, an increase of $941 million over FY 2009 enacted. Within NASA budget, the Science Mission Directorate funded at $4.469 billion, a decrease of $34 million, and the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate nearly level funded at $501 million.

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
NOAA is funded overall at $4.737 billion, with the National Sea Grant Program funded at $63.0 million, an $8 million increase over FY 2009, and the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research account is increased to $438.8 million.

National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST):
Within NIST, the Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEP) program is funded at $124 million, an increase of $14.7 million over FY 2009, and the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) is funded at $69.9 million, an increase of $4.9 million over FY 2009.

Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Appropriations

Veterans Affairs (VA):
Within the VA, the Medical and Prosthetics Research Program is funded at $581 million, an increase of $71 million over FY 2009.

State-Foreign Operations Approprations

Agency for International Development (USAID):
The Higher Education in Africa Program is funded at no less than $25 million with the report language stating that higher education partnerships between American and African institutions of higher education should be expanded and $15 million “shall be awarded in an open and competitive process…” The Collaborative Research Support Programs (CRSPs) is funded at $31.5 million.

The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation is not funded.

Congress Update

2009-11-13T14:16:00.001-06:00

Folks at the AAU report that when the Senate reconvenes on Monday, November 16, it is expected to pass the FY10 Military Construction-Veterans appropriations bill (H.R. 3082), which would be the ninth of 12 FY10 appropriations bills the Senate has passed. The House has approved all of its FY10 bills; five have been enacted into law. A continuing resolution that expires on December 18 is maintaining funding at FY09 levels for those agencies and programs whose regular appropriations bills have not been completed.

CongressDaily reports that the Senate next week also may begin consideration of a health care reform package, although key votes are likely to occur after the Thanksgiving break. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is waiting for the Congressional Budget Office to score specific healthcare provisions before putting together a bill.

The House next week is expected to consider legislation to modify the Medicare formula for physician reimbursement.

Using the temporary checks....

2009-10-29T09:39:00.000-05:00

CQ today reports that congressional Democrats this week plan to move a second continuing resolution (CR), which will fund most government agencies through December 18. The current CR expires on October 31. The new measure, which will provide funding for those agencies whose regular FY10 appropriations have not been enacted, will be added to the conference agreement for the FY10 Interior-Environment appropriations bill (H.R. 2996). The publication reports that most programs will be funded in the CR at their FY09 levels, except for veterans’ health programs and the Census Bureau.

The Interior bill will be the fifth out of 12 FY10 appropriations bills to be completed this year.

$$$

2009-10-05T10:31:00.002-05:00

Here's where Uncle Sam's appropriations situation stands (AAU federal relations assessment):

The Senate on September 30 gave final congressional approval to the continuing resolution (CR) needed to keep the government running in the new fiscal year, which began yesterday. The measure, which lasts through the month of October, was attached to the FY10 Legislative Branch appropriations bill (H.R. 2918). Approval of the package makes Legislative Branch the only one of the 12 regular FY10 appropriations bills approved so far by Congress.

The CR funds most government programs at their FY09 levels but increases funding for the Veterans Health Administration and the Census Bureau. CongressDaily reports that the bill also extends authorizations for several programs, including child nutrition and surface and aviation transportation programs.

The House has completed action on all 12 FY10 appropriations bills; the Senate has completed work on six. In addition to the Legislative Branch bill, conference agreements have been completed for Agriculture (H.R. 2997) and Energy and Water (H.R. 3183). The House approved the Energy and Water conference report yesterday.

Conference deliberations were delayed last week by House and Senate differences over how to treat congressional earmarks to for-profit entities (which were not an issue in the Legislative Branch bill). House appropriators added provisions to their appropriations bills requiring that earmarks to for-profit entities undergo a competitive bidding process. The requirement did not apply to earmarks originating in the Senate, and Senate appropriators resisted its application to the five percent of earmarks that overlap in House and Senate bills. Negotiators reached an agreement last Friday under which the House requirement will not apply to those overlapping earmarks in FY10 bills but will apply to such earmarks beginning in FY11.

2009-07-30T15:48:00.003-05:00

Irishmike has failed to post all the info regarding appropriation actions. A lot's going on.

Formally, here's the breakdown and links to the reports http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app10.html

The only remaining approp bill in the house is defense. And it's up.

The senate is not a far along.

FA

2009-07-23T09:54:00.009-05:00

As you may know, Texas A&M is a FELP school so the legislation below would be a big change in how we administer finacial aid. We've informed our elected officials regarding the effects of the legislation--not working for or against, but "just the facts." See a teh July 15 blog entry below for the details.

The house committee responsible for the legislation acted yesterday (a nice summary from our friends at AAU):

The House Education and Labor Committee yesterday approved far-reaching higher education legislation (H.R. 2331) that would restructure the federal student loan program and funnel the savings over 10 years into a variety of higher education and K-12 programs, as well as deficit reduction.

The committee approved the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, introduced by Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), by a vote of 30 to 17. The measure would eliminate the federally guaranteed private student loan program, add mandatory funding to the Pell Grant program without making it an entitlement, and reshape the Perkins Loan program.

The bill also would:

* provide new funding for community colleges and Historically Black and other minority-serving institutions,
* keep student loan interest rates low,
* make it easier for families to apply for financial aid,
* increase support for college access and degree-completion programs,
* provide funding for schools modernization, renovation and repair, and
* create an early learning challenge fund.

As the Administration has proposed, the Miller bill would close down the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and move all new lending into the Direct Loan program at the Department of Education. This is estimated to generate $87 billion in savings over 10 years. Of these savings, $40 billion would be allocated to Pell Grants, with the rest supporting other initiatives in the bill, along with $10 billion in deficit reduction.

The Miller bill rejects the President’s proposal to make the Pell Grant program an entitlement; House and Senate appropriators would continue to set the Pell Grant maximum award each year. However, the bill would use mandatory funds to increase the maximum award automatically each year through 2019 by the Consumer Price Index plus one-percent, an increase which the Administration has requested. This would raise the Pell Grant maximum from $5,550 in 2010 to $6,900 in 2019.

Approps Refresher

2009-07-20T08:52:00.006-05:00

Irishmike is aware that he throws out a lot of federal approps info and at times the context of which is lost. Sometimes we just need the bottom line, like, "where we at?"

Here's the ubiquitous federal approps chart that is still the best on keeping track of the approps process http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app10.html

And for those keeping score, with Friday's approval of the Energy and Water bill (see previous blog entry), the House has now completed nine bills, with Labor-HHS-Education and Transportation-HUD scheduled for consideration next week. No floor schedule has been announced for the remaining bill, Defense, which is expected to be marked up in the full Appropriations Committee soon.

The Senate has approved two FY10 appropriations bills—Legislative Branch and Homeland Security—with an additional seven bills reported from the Appropriations Committee and awaiting Senate consideration. The Committee has not acted on the Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, and Transportation-HUD bills.

Do you have the energy?

2009-07-20T08:35:00.005-05:00

Friday the House voted on the Energy, Water Approp bill. Lots o' stuff in it. The good folks at the AAU provides us this summary.

The House Friday approved its version of the FY10 Energy and Water appropriations bill (H.R. 3183) by a vote of 320 to 97. The measure provides $26.9 billion overall for the Department of Energy (DOE), or about $500 million less than the Senate committee-approved bill (S. 1436) and $1.5 billion less than the Administration’s FY10 request of $28.4 billion.

The White House Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) on H.R. 3183 thanks House leaders for fully funding the DOE Office of Science but urges restoration of its full request for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy—a $68 million difference. The SAP expresses strong support for the Innovation Hubs and the RE-ENERGYSE program, both of which received funding in the House bill considerably below the request. (Additional details below.)

DOE Office of Science. The House bill would fund the DOE Office of Science at $4.94 billion, just over the Administration’s request, and $186 million over the FY09 level. The Senate measure would provide $4.90 billion. (The Office of Science also received $1.6 billion in Recovery Act funds, to be spent over FY09 and FY10.) The House bill includes about $38 million in congressionally directed projects; the Senate bill includes about $41 million.

The House bill provides $1.675 billion for Basic Energy Sciences (BES), about $10 million below the request, and $409 million for the Advanced Scientific Computing program, the same as the request. Nuclear physics would receive $536 million, or about $16 million below the request; High Energy Physics would be allocated $819 million, the same as the request; Biological and Environmental Research would receive $597 million, about $7 million below the request; and Fusion Energy Sciences would be funded at $441 million, or $20 million above the request.

The Senate committee-passed bill funds Basic Energy Sciences at $1.65 billion, which is $25 million less than the House level and about $35 million below the request. Advanced Scientific Computing would receive $399 million, which is $10 million below the House level and the request. Nuclear Physics would receive $540 million, or $4 million above the House level and $12 million below the request; High Energy Physics would receive $813 million, $6 million below both the House level and the Administration request; Biological and Environmental Research would receive $604 million, the same as the Administration request and $7 million above the House level; and Fusion Energy Sciences would be funded at $416 million, $5 million below the request and $25 million below the House level.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The House bill would provide $2.25 billion, which is $68 million below the request, about $2 million above Senate funding, and $321 million above the FY09 level.

Innovation Hubs. The Department has requested $280 million to initiate eight Energy Innovation Hubs. The House bill provides just $35 million for the centers within the Office of Science Basic Energy Science program, citing redundancy of the program with other DOE initiatives and a lack of implementation details. The Senate bill supports three hubs: Fuels from Sunlight (within the Office of Science), Energy Efficient Building Systems (within in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy), and Modeling and Simulation (within Nuclear Energy). The committee report says that the Fuels from Sunlight and Energy Efficient Building Systems hubs should each receive $22 million, but only if the Department of Energy is able to free up the funding by supporting with Recovery Act funds an infrastructure/roads project associated with the planned expansion of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It is unclear from the committee report how much funding is being provided for the Modeling and Simulation hub.

RE-ENERGYSE. DOE has requested $115 million in FY10 for a new clean energy education initiative called, REgaining our ENERGY Science and Engineering Edge (RE-ENERGYSE). The House Committee report notes that the panel supports the desired results of the proposed RE-ENERGYSE program but believes the Administration’s justification for it lacks sufficient details. The Committee also expresses concern that the program might duplicate existing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs at DOE and other federal agencies. The Committee bill does not fund the program, but it provides $7.5 million for DOE to conduct a study to better define future energy education and workforce needs and to understand gaps in existing federal STEM education efforts that should be filled appropriately by DOE. The Senate bill provides no funding for RE-ENERGYSE.

As proposed by the Administration, the RE-ENERGYSE program would provide $80 million for higher education programs, including support for new experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students as well as three-year fellowships for doctoral students and one-year postdoctoral opportunities in energy-related fields. The program also would grant competitive awards to universities to develop and offer a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Energy Studies, focused on clean energy.

The remaining $35 million in the program would support technical training and K-12 education. This includes support for community colleges to train technicians and faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and for activities aimed at engaging K-12 students and their teachers in such activities as reducing energy use at their schools and moving toward a zero-carbon footprint.

Neither bill would provide FY10 funding for the new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), for which the Administration requested $10 million. The new agency received $400 million in Recovery Act funds and $15 million in FY09.

DL v. FELP

2009-07-15T13:37:00.005-05:00

OK, I will be the first to tell you that the complex world of financial aid is not often discussed on crazy talk radio or Irishmike's Blog. But there is a MAJOR fight relating to this issue that will have a real effect for colleges and universities.

Currently, schools have an option to which program they can participate: Federal Family Education Loan Program (which is basically government subsidized loans from private lenders to students) or FELP---and---Direct Lending (DL) where basically the Dept. of Education manages the loan (they bid that service out).

Today, legislation was filed to by House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller in which the federal government would stop providing subsidies to private lenders issuing loans under FELP and would roll over the entire program into DL. The bill would preserve the role of lenders as loan service providers but would require lenders to compete for the privilege on loans provided from the government.

Revenue collected from the change in lending practices would be put toward an estimated $40 billion expansion of the Pell grant program, with an additional $10 billion going toward deficit reduction. The bill also includes provisions sponsoring investments in community colleges, online training and early education.

Some lenders are fighting back. Some reps. and senators are fighting back. The Obama administration is pushing hard for DL. There are a lot of aspects to each position. So DC gets hotter!

At A&M, we've been aware that this was afoot (plus several lenders have been bailing out of the student loan business) and with the new student information system we could handle DL if it becomes law of the land. However, some schools are not in that position.....

Stay tuned!

Committee Notes

2009-07-10T16:41:00.002-05:00

Lots going on as congress works to get as much $$$ business done before the August recess.

Here are tidbits I picked up this week in DC and through CQ and APLU.......

The Senate Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly approved a $48.7 billion draft bill Thursday to fund the State Department and foreign affairs activities in fiscal 2010.

USAID would get $1.4 billion — $329.6 million more than fiscal 2009.

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Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D‑Calif., said Thursday she no longer intends to mark up a bill before the Senate leaves for its summer recess Aug. 7. Instead, she said, she will set the markup for early September.

The delay of a Senate committee markup of climate change legislation until September is a signal that health care — not energy — will take priority in the near future.

Boxer and the chairmen of other committees that share jurisdiction over the complex legislation met Wednesday evening with Majority Leader Harry Reid, D‑Nev., and Carol M. Browner, White House coordinator of energy and climate policy. Reid agreed to extend by 10 days a Sept. 18 deadline for all committees to finish their work on the bill, giving them until Sept. 28 to complete markups.
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Appropriations Committee approved the FY2010 Energy-Water Appropriations bill that would provide $34.3 billion in discretionary funding. The Committee provided $27.4 billion for the Department of Energy overall, $1.109 billion below the President’s budget request. The Office of Science would receive $4.899 billion. There is no funding provided for the Re-ENERGYSE program and the Committee provides funding for three of the Innovation Hubs: Modeling and Simulation, Fuels from Sunlight, and Energy Efficient Building Systems.
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With respect to the subcommittee-approved Labor-HHS measure in the House, the legislation would maintain the maximum Pell Grant award provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) at $5,550. It would also fund programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities at $653 million. GEAR UP would be funded at $330 million while TRIO would receive $868 million under this bill.
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would receive $30.97 billion excluding the transfer of funds for the Global AIDS program in the bill, and, according to the chairman’s prepared statement, the bill “reject[s] the Administration’s targeted funding approach and [ensures] that all institutes and centers receive funding to offset biomedical research inflation…”

Senate Approps Update

2009-06-30T11:15:00.002-05:00

The full Senate Appropriations Committee voted the C,J,S bill out of committee yesterday. No dollar amount changes from the C,J,S subcommittee markup noted below.

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Side note: Will it ever rain again in Brazos County? Discuss.....

C,J,S Senate Style

2009-06-25T08:58:00.006-05:00

The Senate Approps C,J,S subcommittee marked up that bill this week. Here are the highlights according to the committee (that relates to research):

• Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) - The bill provides $6.15 million for OSTP, equal to the budget request.
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - The bill provides $18.68 billion for NASA, $903 million above the Fiscal Year 2009 level and equal to the President’s request. The total funding includes $3.16 billion for Space Shuttle operations; $2.27 billion for Space Station operations; $3.5 billion for development of the next generation Crew Launch Vehicle and Crew Exploration Vehicle and Cargo Launch Vehicle; $4.5 billion for science; and $507 million for aeronautics research.
• National Science Foundation (NSF) - The bill provides $6.9 billion for NSF, $426 million above the Fiscal Year 2009 enacted level. The total includes $5.55 billion for research, $122 million for research equipment and facilities; and $857 million for education activities.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – The bill provides $878.8 million for NIST, which is $59.8 million above the Fiscal Year 2009 level enacted level and $32.7 million above the President’s request. The bill provides $69.9 million for the Technology Innovation Program (TIP), equal to the President’s request. The bill also includes $124.7 million for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program, equal to the President’s request. Funding TIP and MEP are consistent with the recommendations of the America COMPETES Act.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – The bill provides more than $4.77 billion for NOAA, $407 million above the Fiscal Year 2009 level and $299 million above the President’s budget request. The Committee bill includes: $551 million for the National Ocean Service; $980 million for the National Weather Service; $872 million for the National Marine Fisheries Service; $1.2 billion for satellite programs; and $430 million for Oceanic and Atmospheric research, including climate science.
• Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) – The bill continues the policy of providing PTO with full access to fees collected from inventors, estimated at $1.9 billion for Fiscal Year 2010.
• National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) – The bill provides $39.9 million for NTIA, including $20 million for the Public Television Facilities Planning and Construction (PTFPC) grant program, equal to the President’s request.

House Money

2009-06-25T08:15:00.011-05:00

The House approved the second of 12 appropriation bills last night. Homeland Security. One item in that bill relates to "university programs" which funds the Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Center ( a DHS Center of Excellence) located here.

$39.38 million has been provided for the Centers of Excellence, $4.4 above the budget request.

Over all DHS received $42.6 billion in fiscal 2010 discretionary funds, $205 million less than the White House requested and $2.6 billion more than the amount enacted for fiscal 2009, not including emergency funding.

Oh, in my last entry I said to watch the next approp bill that hits the house floor for debate and watch if a "closed rule" is instituted--the previous approp bill (commerce, justice, science) was muy contentious. Well, there was a "closed rule" adopted that limited the number of amendments to 14 and 10 minute debate for each. Howls ensued. Most likely the following bills will be dealt with accordingly.

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The Interior, EPA, Forest Service approp bill is up next in the house for full consideration. Maybe this week.

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53

2009-06-19T14:01:00.012-05:00

That's how many amendments the house considered in the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill debate on the floor yesterday evening. It took A LONG time for the house to vote out their first of 12 approp bills the leadership wants to adopt before the end of July.

Okay, for you political junkies, watch what the house leadership does next regarding future debates on appropriation bills. Traditionally, approp bills are debated with a fairly "open rule" meaning amendments are allowed with some debate. So with the marathon, contentious session last night, we'll see if this will be allowed in the next round. It was a VERY acrimonious fight between the aisles.

The final score was 259 to 157.

So what passed? Similar to the blog entry below, but just a recap....

National Aeronautics and Space Administration: $18.2 billion total budget, $483 million below the President’s request and $421 million above 2009 levels. NASA Science – $4.5 billion, NASA Aeronautics - $500 million.

National Science Foundation: $6.9 billion overall, $108 million below the President’s request and $446 million above 2009 levels.

National Institutes of Standards and Technology: Manufacturing Extension Partnerships Program - $125 million, matching the President’s request and $15 million over 2009; Technology Innovation Program - $70 million, matching the President’s request, and $5 million over 2009 levels.

National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration: $4.6 billion total budget, $238 million above the current level and $129 million above the President’s request

C, J, S

2009-06-09T16:19:00.004-05:00

Commerce, Justice, Science. That subcommittee marked up their bill last week and the full approps committee voted it out today. next stop house floor. What's in it? Take a look:

Science Education: $1 billion, $68 million above the President’s request and $36 million above 2009 to support all aspects of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education from kindergarten through graduate school.

Space Science: $4.5 billion, $20 million above the President’s request, for scientific discovery to improve our quality of life and enhance our long term economic security. NASA’s Science account received $400 million in the Recovery Act.

Global Climate Change Research: Over $2 billion, $100 million above the President’s request and $120 million above 2009, to study global climate change, one of the greatest challenges facing our country. This includes:
• NASA: Nearly $1.3 billion, including nearly $150 million to develop and demonstrate space-based climate measurements identified by the National Academy of Science and the science community.
• NOAA: Almost $400 million to enhance climate change research and regional assessments; climate data records, data access and archiving requirements; and climate change educational programs.
• National Science Foundation: An estimated $310 million for climate change research, modeling and education.
• Economic Development Administration: $25 million for green building initiatives.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology: $15 million for the development of greenhouse gas emission standards.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration: $18.2 billion, $483 million below the President’s request and $421 million above 2009, for scientific discovery, national security, and space exploration. NASA received $1 billion in the Recovery Act. The bill funds the next generation of human space flight at 2009 levels pending the recommendations of the Augustine panel.
• Earth Science: $1.4 billion, combined with $325 million in Recovery Act funding, the bill will support NASA’s continuing work to develop and launch space-based and suborbital sensors to study climate change and the global environment.
• Human Space Flight: $3.3 billion, with increases deferred pending the recommendations of the Augustine panel and the Administration’s plan to follow the retirement of the Space Shuttle.

National Science Foundation: $6.9 billion, $108 million below the President’s request and $446 million above 2009, for the most promising scientific research at America’s colleges and universities, and supporting scientists with cutting edge labs and equipment. The bill supports the President’s commitment to double funding for basic research in key agencies over 10 years. The NSF received $3 billion in the Recovery Act.

National Institute of Standards and Technology: $781 million, $65 million below the President’s request and $57.5 million below 2009, including $510 million for scientific and technical research services, $38 million above 2009. In concert with funding provided by the Recovery Act, the bill fulfills the President’s commitment to double funding for basic research in key agencies over 10 years.
• Manufacturing Extension Partnerships: $125 million to help small and mid-size manufacturers compete globally by providing them with technical advice and access to technology, as well as leveraging private funds to save and create jobs.
• Technology Innovation Program: $70 million to fund high-risk high-reward research into areas of critical national need done by U.S. businesses, colleges and universities, and national labs.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: $4.6 billion, $129 million above the President’s request and $238 million above 2009, to increase important ocean, weather, and climate research activities and for satellite acquisitions.

Updates

2009-06-09T09:41:00.007-05:00

The house approved the legislation mentioned in the blog entry below, next stop senate--http://science.house.gov/press/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=2495

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How much can we spend? That's the question all appropriation subcommittee members ask their chairman. In the house, the subcommittee chairs got their allocations. CQ reports the following:

Congressional Quarterly compared a copy of the draft fiscal 2010 allocation list with the initial subcommittee allocations for fiscal 2009 released last year. Based on that analysis, many of the subcommittees would have sizable increases to work with.

One exception is the Energy-Water bill, which would receive about a 1 percent increase, to $33.3 billion, in fiscal 2010. The stimulus law included a substantial amount of spending for energy projects in fiscal 2009 and 2010.

The committee is set to provide $68.8 billion, which is $14 billion more than in fiscal 2009, for the Transportation-HUD bill and $48.8 billion, roughly a $14 billion boost, for the State-Foreign Operations bill.

The Defense bill would receive $508 billion under the allocations, about $20 billion more than provided in fiscal 2009. These figures, however, do not include war funding, which is provided as emergency spending and does not count against the committee’s budget caps.
The other allocations, compared with their fiscal 2009 committee allotments, are as follows:
• Agriculture: $22.9 billion, a $2.3 billion increase.
• Commerce-Justice-Science: $64.3 billion, a $7.5 billion increase.
• Financial Services: $23.6 billion, a $1.2 billion increase.
• Homeland Security: $42.4 billion, a $2.5 billion increase.
• Interior-Environment: $32.3 billion, a $4.4 billion increase.
• Labor-HHS-Education: $160.7 billion, a $7.5 billion increase.
• Legislative Branch: $4.7 billion, a $296 million increase.
• Military Construction-VA: $76.5 billion, a $3.8 billion increase.

S&T Policy in da House....

2009-06-08T07:57:00.005-05:00

Okay, Irishmike promises not make any more antiquated "in da house" references....

Kathryn A. Wolfe, CQ Staff writer reports that:
The House is expected to take up two bills Monday that would expand research and development programs in an effort to boost U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace.One of the bills (HR 1709) would require the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to create a committee that would coordinate federal programs related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
Those education programs recently got a funding boost under the economic stimulus measure enacted this year which provided $40 million for a math and science partnership fund and $1 billion to expand and modernize research equipment shared by universities.
The other bill (HR 1736) would create a panel within the National Science and Technology Council to coordinate international science and technology cooperation across federal agencies.
Both bills will be considered under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage and bars amendments. The House Science and Technology Committee approved the bills April 29.

The whistle is about to blow to end recess....

2009-05-28T07:48:00.002-05:00

Memorial Day congressional recess is about to end. Members return next week.

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President Obama's supreme court announcement will alter the calendar a bit. The senate will focus on that issue in an effort to get the nominee confirmed before the summer recess (that begins the first of August with a 4th of July time period thrown in where members go to the district/home state).

What does that mean? Well energy and climate change legislation could be delayed. The house has the Waxman/Markey bill that had hit a cap-and-trade speed bump. The senate has their own bills, as opposed to one in the house (see blog entry below on this issue), and work will continue on them. But still, these supreme court appointment can be time consuming. So it may be fall, if then, when a final energy package will be hammered out. And the shape and form of the package (one bill, two bills, 100 bills...) will still need to be determined. Tick tock.

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Hearings are starting to take place regarding FY 2010 appropriations. There is a lot of work to do before the August recess, so June and July will be busy appropriation months....well, they should be. From an A&M point of view, we'll respond to members regarding how supporting agencies like NSF, NIH, DOE, etc. affect our research efforts.

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More ...Obama Administration FY '10 Request

2009-05-12T16:42:00.005-05:00

OK, the folks at APLU have assessed the rest of the administration's budget request as it relates to federal agencies that support some of our efforts at A&M.

NOAA
For FY2010, the Administration has requested $4.5 billion for NOAA, which represents an increase of $110 million, or 2.5 percent, over level included in the FY2009 omnibus appropriations bill.

The FY2010 budget can be broken down into two accounts: $3.206 billion for Operations, Research, & Facilities (ORF); and $1.393 billion for Procurement, Acquisition, & Construction (PAC). These two accounts can be divided further into six project categories:

Satellites - $1.429 billion (21.3 percent increase)
Fisheries - $911.8 million (3.7 percent increase)
Research & Climate - $404.6 million (0.9 percent decrease)
Oceans & Coasts - $502.7 million (10.0 percent decrease)
Weather - $963.9 million (0.5 percent increase)
Program Support - $452.7 million (19.0 percent decrease)

The Satellites category received both the largest FY2010 funding request and the largest increase of any FY2010 funding request over the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriation. This category is mainly composed of satellite acquisition projects. In addition, NOAA requested $20.6 million for its Competitive Grant Program, an increase of $4.0 million from FY2009.

On a related note, in FY2009, NOAA also received $830 million in appropriations from the ARRA. Congress approved the NOAA spending plan for the ARRA appropriations on May 7, 2009. The $830 million will be divided into three groups: $230 million for habitat restoration, navigations services, vessel maintenance, and environmental reviews/consultations; $430 million for the construction and repair of NOAA facilities, ships, and equipment, and improvements for weather forecasting and satellite development; and $170 million for climate modeling activities.

The request for Office of Atmospheric Research (OAR), which is $404.6 million, can be broken down further in the following manner:

· Climate research: $209.8 million
· Weather and Air Quality Research: $63.9
· Ocean, Coastal, and Great Lakes Research: $107.4 million
· Information Technology, Research and Development, and Science Education: $13.1 million
· Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction: $10.4 million

The NOAA budget can be found on the following website: http://www.corporateservices.noaa.gov/~nbo/10bluebook_highlights.html.

NASA
The Obama Administration is seeking a total of $18.7 billion for the agency, an increase of approximately 5.1 percent over the amount included in the FY2009 omnibus appropriations bill.

The Science Directorate would be funded at $4.48 billion. The regular FY2009 appropriations bill allocated $4.50 billion to the directorate while ARRA added another $400 million. The budget proposes to fund the Aeronautics Directorate at $507 million; the regular FY2009 bill funded the directorate at $500 million with ARRA providing an infusion of $150 million.

Within Science, the Administration proposes to fund Earth Science at $1.41 billion (it received $1.38 billion in FY2009 and $325 million in the stimulus package) while it would support Planetary Science at $1.35 billion ($1.33 billion in FY2009). Astrophysics would receive $1.12 billion, compared to $1.21 billion for the current year, and Heliophysics would be funded at $605.0 million, compared to $591.6 million for the current year.

Additional NASA budget details are available at the following link: http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/344612main_Agency_Summary_Final_updates_5_6_09_R2.pdf.

USGS
In FY2009, the USGS received an estimated amount of $1.04 billion. Under the Administration budget proposal, the agency would receive approximately $1.10 billion in FY2010.

Additional details about the USGS budget are available at the following URL: http://www.doi.gov/budget/2010/data/greenbook/FY2010_USGS_Greenbook.pdf.

DOD
The initial A۰P۰L۰U summary of the budget documents explained the changes in request between the current year and FY2010 without actually providing the actual requests for FY2010. The Administration requests for the basic and applied research programs are as follows:

· Total Basic Research (“6.1”): $1.8 billion
· Total Applied Research (“6.2”): $4.25 billion

· Army basic research: $377.3 million
· Army applied research: $781.2 million

· Navy basic research: $531.3 million
· Navy applied research: $594.0 million

· Air Force basic research: $466.1 million
· Air Force applied research: $1.1 billion

· Defense-wide basic research: $423.6 million
· Defense-wide applied research: $1.78 billion

Approps Cont'd.

2009-05-08T10:10:00.003-05:00

Continuing on the Obama Administration approp recommendations, here's the non-S&T programs of note. Again, analysis provided by the able folks at the APLU.

Department of Education (ED)--A cornerstone of the Obama Administration higher education policy is its proposal to turn the Pell Grant Program into an entitlement program from its current status as a discretionary line item. The documents released today reaffirm this proposal and calls for the maximum award to be set at $5,550 for the 2010-2011 academic year. In addition to turning the program into an entitlement, the budget calls for the maximum to increase yearly at the same rate as the consumer price index (CPI) plus one percentage point.

The documents released today also reconfirm the Administration’s desire to end the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). The Administration proposes to originate all new federal student loans after July 1, 2010, through the Direct Loan (DL) program. In order to ensure that the Department has the capability to handle the new loan volume, the budget calls for the Department’s student aid administration budget to increase by $27 million to $870 million in FY2010.

While the Pell and student loan proposals have received the most attention from the community and the press, the Administration has proposed a set of changes to the current Perkins Loan Program. While the Administration has called for the size of the program to be increased to $6 billion, until today, many of the details about the Administration’s proposal were less clear.

The Department is proposing changes to the delivery mechanism of the program, moving away from the institution-based “revolving funds” model and to the same system that institutions currently use for Pell Grants and Direct Loans. The Perkins loans would be serviced by private companies that currently service the direct loans and FFEL loans acquired by the Department.

The distribution formula would be altered as well. It appears that the new proposal could include a number of new conditions that institutions must meet. The appendix states that the Administration “intends for this new formula to encourage colleges to control costs and offer need-based aid to prevent excessive indebtedness. It may also reward schools that enroll and graduate students from low- and middle-income families.” Furthermore, institutions would have the ability to determine student eligibility and the borrowers would continue to receive an interest of five percent, while the in-school subsidy would be eliminated. Institutions would be required to calculate and return to the federal government the federal share of the current revolving funds.

The budget also calls for a new mandatory five-year, $2.5-billion college access and completion fund. Funds would go primarily to states to improve graduation rates among high need students. States would be given the flexibility to fund and support programs.

With respect to other student aid programs, the Administration proposes to fund the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG) program at $757 million in FY2010, slightly below the current level. The budget also calls for the work-study program to be funded at $981 million, compared to the $1.18 billion in FY2009. The program, however, received $200 million in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) earlier this year.

The complete set of the ED budget documents is available at the following URL: http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget10/index.html?src=rt.

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)--The Obama budget seeks $171.3 million for the NEH, which represents an increase of $16.3 million over the FY2009 appropriated levels. This sum includes $10 million to run the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs, currently administered by U. S. Commission of Fine Arts.

Additional information about the NEH budget request is available at the following URL: http://www.neh.gov/news/archive/20090507.html.

Appropriations First Steps

2009-05-08T08:43:00.027-05:00

The Obama Administration laid out yesterday the specifics regarding appropriations for FY '10--dollar amounts going to specific programs. Congress will take these recommendations and get after it. Now will Congress pass the 12 or so appropriation bills by the October 1 start of the new fiscal year? I'm laying 10-1...track record is not that good, but not totally out of the picture. Hey, if Mine That Bird, 50-1, can win the Derby then surely they can pass most of their approp bills on time...did I say 10-1?

Okay, the good folks at the APLU put this early analysis together (and if you're hard core, here's a link to the agencies and line item approp recommendations--http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Appendix/):

Overall S&T--The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has posted documents related to investments in science and research, including those addressing cross-agency priorities, at the following web address: http://www.ostp.gov/galleries/budget/FY2010RD.pdf. The Administration reaffirmed its commitment to double the budget of NSF, Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) by FY2016.

NSF--The preliminary budget documents available for NSF call for an overall increase of 8.55% over the FY2009 appropriations level, from $6.49 billion (which does not included ARRA funding) to $7.045 billion. Within that total, the Research & Related Activities (R&RA) account request is $5.853 billion, the Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) account request is $117 million, and the Education and Human Resources (EHR) request is $973 million.

New research program directions for FY2010 have yet to be released, but NSF has announced a proposal to increase graduate research fellowships from approximately 1200 to 1600.

The NSF website has not yet been updated with the detailed FY2010 budget documents, but the Administration has additional information about the NSF budget at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2010/assets/nsf.pdf

DOE--The Administration’s FY2010 DOE budget request reiterates the President’s pledge to double the federal investment in basic research at the DOE over ten years. The DOE Office of Science (SC) budget increases nearly four percent with a FY2010 request of $4.941 billion. Within the SC budget, the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) division request is $1.685 billion, a 7.2-percent increase.

The Department’s budget proposes a new cross-agency program, Energy Innovation Hubs, to be funded at $280 million. DOE hopes to fund eight multi-disciplinary Innovation Hubs, under initial five-year grants with a projected total of $35 million in grants the first year, to conduct research and development in the following areas: Solar Electricity, Fuels from Sunlight, Batteries and Energy Storage, Carbon Capture and Storage, Grid Materials, Devices, and Systems; Energy Efficient Building Systems Design; Extreme Materials; and Modeling and Simulation. Universities will be eligible to lead a Hub, which would be multi-partner (Universities, National Labs, and Industry) endeavors.

The DOE budget request states that the agency will continue to support the current 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), but does not call for a new EFRC solicitation. The agency will also continue to fund the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) with a budget request of $10 million for administrative purposes. The Administration’s budget assumes that ARPA-E will support research grants with the $400 million received in ARRA funding.

In addition, the budget request launches a new K-20+ science and engineering education initiative, RE-ENERGYSE (Regaining our ENERGY Science and Engineering Edge), with a $115 million budget request. Of note for higher education, the initiative would provide funding for graduate research fellowships, training grants to universities to establish multidisciplinary clean energy education programs, and grants for expanded energy-related research opportunities for undergraduates. The Office of Science’s Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists program would complement the RE-ENERGYSE initiative, with a request $20.6 million, an increase of 52 percent.

With respect to other DOE programs, the budget request includes the following funding levels:

· Office of Science Total: $4.941 billion (3.9 percent increase) *as compared to the FY09 Appropriation without the ARRA funding included.

· High Energy Physics: $819 million (2.9 percent increase)
· Nuclear Physics: $552 million (7.8 percent increase)
· Biological and Environ Research: $604 million (0.4 percent increase)
· Basic Energy Sciences: $1.685 billion (7.2 percent increase)
· Advanced Scientific Computing: $409 million (10.9 percent increase)
· Fusion Energy Science: $421 million (4.6 percent increase)
· Science Lab Infrastructure: $133 million (8.1 percent decrease)
· Workforce and Development: $20.6 million (52.2 percent increase)

Additional details about the DOE budget are available at the following URL: http://www.energy.gov/about/budget.htm.

NIH--The President’s FY2010 budget request includes $30.76 billion for NIH from the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. This represents a $442-million (1.46 percent) increase over the FY2009 regularly appropriated level (The budget request also includes $79 million from the Interior appropriations bill specifically for Superfund research) and follows up on the $10 billion infusion for the agency in the ARRA.

The NIH budget request includes funding for strategic priorities such as cancer research, autism research, nanotechnology safety research, and a new effort in bioethics.

The FY2010 request provides $6 billion for cancer research across the agency, an increase of $268 million (5 percent) over estimated FY2009 levels. This is the first of an eight-year plan to double cancer research funding.

The NIH portion of a Department-wide (Health and Human Services) initiative on autism research is by far the largest: NIH’s share, per the budget bequest, would be $141 million (an increase of $19 million, or 16 percent, over estimated FY2009 levels), with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Services Administration providing an additional $70 million.

Under the FY2010 budget proposal, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences would receive an additional $9 million for a new initiative in nanotechnology-related environment, health and safety research.

The Administration request also outlines $5 million from the Office of the Director to launch a new effort in bioethics. This commitment to bioethics research and training would be funded in coordination with the various Institutes and Centers and is proposed as an important undertaking to maintain and enhance public trust and confidence as NIH-funded research explores new frontiers in science, bioinformatics and biomedical and behavioral medicine.

NIH budget documents are available at the following URL: http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/UI/HomePage.htm.

USDA--The first Obama USDA budget would fund research and education activities at the agency at $622.9 million, a decrease of approximately $68.2 million, primarily as a result of reductions in “special grants.” Extension activities would see an increase of nearly $13 million to $487.0 million while integrated activities as a whole would be level-funded at $56.9 million.

The budget calls for significant increases for Institution Challenge Grants and the Secondary/2-year Postsecondary program and would create a new “Improved Rural Quality of Life Grants” program.

The following links may provide additional details about the USDA budget:

· http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2010/assets/agr.pdf,
· http://www.csrees.usda.gov/about/offices/budget/fy10_budget_table.pdf.

DOD--The Administration seeks to continue its overall commitment to basic and applied research in the defense budget as well, although it does not call for increases across the board. The numbers included in the analysis below represents comparisons between the FY2010 budget request and the FY2009 budget request, and not a comparison between the FY2010 request and the FY2009 final appropriation.
Overall basic research (“6.1”) would see an increase of $99.6 million, or 6 percent, over the FY2009 request while the budget proposes to virtually level fund all applied research programs (“6.2”) with a proposed cut of $1.7 million

The “R-1,” the document which details the DOD research budget, is available in its entirety at the following URL: http://www.defenselink.mil/comptroller/defbudget/fy2010/fy2010_r1.pdf.

Additional DOD budget-related documents are available at the following link: http://www.defenselink.mil/comptroller/Budget2010.html.

NASA--NASA is being assessed but budget documents are available at the following link: http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html.

FY '10 Budget

2009-04-29T08:08:00.004-05:00

Before Congress can appropriate a dime, they have to pass a budget resolution. That is basically instructions to the appropriations committees in the House and Senate on how much they can spend and not where to spend it. The House and Senate are both expected to hold their final votes on the conference report for the fiscal 2010 budget resolution today.

According to CQ, "though nonbinding, the budget resolution sets a framework for future tax and spending decisions. It includes controversial reconciliation instructions that would ease passage of legislation, sought by Obama, to overhaul the nation’s health care system and curtail the role of private lenders in the federal student aid program. "

Stay tuned for the financial aid issue. This is more policy than appropriations, hence will the Obama administration succeed in making Pell Grants an entitlement program. And while we're on the financial aid front, the movement to have a central lending program run out to the Dept. of Education grows. Currently universities can choose between being a private lending school or a direct (gov't) lending school. As more private carriers get out of the business or keep bundling loans and selling to the Dept. of Education, the direct lending issue will grow.

Recess is over.....

2009-04-17T16:05:00.004-05:00

Congressional recess that is. Well it's almost over, Monday they'll be back after being out for two weeks. They'll need to finish the FY 10 budget, maybe, and then move into the appropriations (actually handing out the money) process.

Also, energy bills will soon generate more attention. House Chairman Henry A. Waxman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Chairman Edward J. Markey of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee released a draft of their omnibus bill several days ago. This includes climate change. http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1560&Itemid=93

In the senate Senator Jeff Bingaman has several bills (unlike the Waxman bill, energy and climate change are handled separately here) drafted and can be found here: http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=EnergyBill.2009

Bottom line is energy will be discussed soon and to a greater degree.

Side note, President Murano has been asked to co-chair a national commission on energy. The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (formerly NASULGC) have created the Energy Initiative Advisory Committee to provide ongoing advice and help to congress and the administration on behalf of public universities. Gordon Gee, President of The Ohio State University is a co-chair with President Murano. Stay tuned!

Miscellany

2009-03-25T14:56:00.017-05:00

FY 2009--With the passage of the omnibus FY '09 appropriations bill, we now have a complete picture of R&D federal support for the near future. The AAAS does a really good job in laying out for us a big-picture assessment. Take a look....These increases serve as the base from which members of congress will work as they construct the FY 10 budget. Stimulus funds are NOT included in this--that's "one time" funding.

Stimulus update:

Federal agencies continue to post procedures relating to stimulus (ARRA) funding. The VPR's office has does a REALLY good job keeping on top of this. So if you're a PI or interested in what's out there, check that site. Here you go: http://rgs.tamu.edu/arra/arra.html

FY 2010:

Work on '10 begins. The House and Senate Budget Committees are working on the parameters for funding. Once complete Appropriations will start to put pen to paper. Now, where is the specifics on the Obama administration's budget? Still in development. I had heard that mid April we'd get some hard numbers. Now it appears it will be May--but that's only rumor.

Stay tuned.......

Senate Acts on FY 09

2009-03-11T08:55:00.002-05:00

Last night the senate voted to halt debate on the FY 09 Omnibus approps bill. Then by voice vote it passed the legislation. Next stop, the POTUS's desk.

Prize Patrol

2009-03-10T09:03:00.004-05:00

OK, it may not be the Publisher's Clearinghouse Prize Patrol, but there are some opportunities for researchers around the corner. Well, maybe. We'll see how many grant proposals are put on the street for competition. Some may be more in house (we're hearing that about DOE) and some may just expand the hit rate for existing submitted proposals (as in the case of NSF).

Federal agencies are still grappling with administering stimulus funds. So how can we keep track? Well the good folks in the A&M VPR office have set up a handy website that provides notice and links to agency information related to announcements and updates. Check it out.
http://rgs.tamu.edu/arra/arra.html

Misc.......

2009-03-10T08:37:00.003-05:00

Last night, the Senate voted down several amendments to the Omnibus FY 2009 approps bill--including one that would strip certain earmarks from the bill; 32-63 was the vote. Sen. McCain's amendment would have prevented funds being spent on earmarked projects not listed in the bill.

Final Senate vote is expected soon, possibly today. Will report back when this happens.

The POTUS issued an executive yesterday regarding research and the use of embryonic stem cells. Here's what it says: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Removing-Barriers-to-Responsible-Scientific-Research-Involving-Human-Stem-Cells

Not so fast my friend....

2009-03-06T14:11:00.002-06:00

Sorry Lee Corso, only phrase I could think of.....

FY 09 Omnibus has hit a bumpy road. Majority Leader Reid will allow more debate, i.e. he doesn't have the votes to halt debate and hence push a final vote on the package until next week.

The CR currently funding government will expire soon, so both House and Senate today voted to extend current funding through next Wednesday.

So what does that mean for higher education? Well, right now it's unclear. If the Senate amends the bill voted out of the House and the bill returns to the House for a vote, there could be some changes. Speaker Pelosi has stated that if the Omnibus returns to the House amended, she might just move to pass the CR for the remainder of the year--and the proposed increases noted below would go away. This is important because unlike the stimulus dollars, the FY 09 bill sets the base funding levels for agencies that will carry forward.

Stay tuned kids.

FY 2010

2009-03-03T16:40:00.001-06:00

OK, I was in DC all last week and I am WAY behind here...so I’ll provide in bite-size morsels. Now I’m hungry.

FY 2010. Yes, 2010. The president has laid out his “blueprint” meaning, I just got elected and I didn’t have time to put my full stamp with specifics. But the administration did lay out targets in areas that relate to higher ed. Hence, here are some priorities for the administration. Plus, OMB is still working on the details to be unveiled later this month. Congress will start hearings soon. The good folks at the AAU put together this summary:

National Institutes of Health
The only information on the National Institutes of Health in the budget outline is the inclusion of $6 billion to support cancer research. The document declares: “This funding is central to the President’s sustained, multi-year plan to double cancer research. These resources will be committed strategically to have the greatest impact on developing innovative diagnostics, treatments, and cures for cancer.”

National Science Foundation
The FY10 budget includes $7 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), compared to $6.49 billion in the FY09 omnibus appropriations bill. This represents an increase of $510 million, or 7.9 percent. While the budget offers no breakdown of proposed FY10 spending for NSF, the document does include the following among the President’s priorities:

· Supporting researchers at the beginning of their careers
The document states: “Ensuring America’s economic competitiveness requires that we develop the future scientific and technical workforce for our universities, national labs, and companies. To help accomplish these goals, the Budget provides substantial increases for NSF’s prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship and Faculty Early Career Development programs.”

· Supporting promising, high-risk research
The document states: “The Budget increases support for promising, but exploratory and high-risk research proposals that could fundamentally alter our understanding of nature, revolutionize fields of science, and lead to radically new technologies.

Department of Energy
No specific funding details are provided regarding investments in the Department of Energy Office of Science. The document does, however, emphasis the important role that basic science must play in developing alternative energy sources, stating: “As part of the President’s plan to double Federal investment in the basic sciences, the 2010 Budget, along with the $1.6 billion provided in the recovery Act for the Department of Energy’s basic science programs, provides substantially increased support for the Office of Science.” The document also states that the budget “expands graduate fellowship programs that will train students in critical energy-related fields.”

NASA
The FY10 budget proposes a $918 million, or 5.2-percent, increase over the House-passed FY09 omnibus appropriations bill for NASA. Total spending would be $18.7 billion, compared to $17.782 billion in the omnibus. The document does not include any details for the various NASA programs.

Department of Education
The budget includes the following proposals for student financial aid:

· Increase the maximum Pell Grant to $5,550 in the 2010-2011 school year (a $200 increase above the maximum grant funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the House-passed FY09 omnibus appropriations bill, and the mandatory funding approved by Congress in 2007;
· Index the Pell Grant to the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percent in order to maintain its value in future years;
· Convert the Pell Grant to a mandatory program “to ensure a regular stream of funding and eliminate the practice of ‘backfilling’ billions of dollars in Pell shortfalls each year;”
· Originate all new loans through the direct lending program;
· Create a “new modernized” Perkins Loan program; and
· Simplify the student aid application process.

Taxes
The budget includes the following proposals:

· Make permanent the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit, which was created by the Recovery Act and combined and strengthened existing tax incentives for attending college; and
· Further limit the benefits of itemized deductions (including for charitable contributions) for upper-income taxpayers, a provision that could affect charitable giving to colleges and universities.

Department of Defense
The budget document contains no information on funding of basic research at the Department of Defense.

Humanities
The budget document contains no information on FY10 funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities

Non-defense Discretionary Spending
The budget spells out overall non-discretionary spending totals for the next ten years. After rising to $675 billion in FY10, non-defense discretionary spending declines each year until bottoming out at $621 billion in 2013. While it begins to rise again, it does not reach the FY10 total until FY19. A portion of the post-FY10 decline may be attributable to the transfer of Pell Grant funding from discretionary to mandatory spending.

Stimulus Update

2009-03-03T16:25:00.002-06:00

OK, no real specifics regarding the stimulus. Agencies have set up websites relating to their plans for the "recovery funds." Mike Cronan in VPR found all these links. We'll send word out to the research community ASAP once info is ascertained. But until then, check in with the agencies that might be of interest:

Agency-Specific Information Related to the Recovery Act
Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/National Institutes of Health Acting Director: NIH's Role in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov/recovery/NSF Director: Statement on the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009
Department of Defense: http://www.defense.gov/recovery/
Department of Energy: http://www.energy.gov/recovery/
Department of Interior: http://www.doi.gov/recovery/
National Aeronautics and Space Administration: http://www.nasa.gov/recovery/
National Endowment for the Arts: http://www.nea.gov/recovery/
National Institute of Standards and Technology: http://www.nist.gov/recovery/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.noaa.gov/recovery/
American Association for the Advancement of Science: Final Stimulus Bill Provides $21.5 Billion for Federal R&D
American Council on Education: Economic Stimulus Resource Center

Implementation

2009-02-18T09:32:00.003-06:00

President Obama signed the stimulus bill (sorry I didn't blog when the senate voted it out, but hey it was all over the news...). So now what.

Implementation, that's what.

Here's what we know, or more likely, what we DON'T know:

1. Research. Each agency (see below) is scrambling to establish guidelines regarding the stimulus dollars. Some agencies, we've heard, believe that they have enough proposals in the queue or that received meritorious marks (yet no money to fund) that will comply with the stimulus goals. Some agencies may require RFP's, etc. So we're anxiously awaiting instructions. NIH is holding a meeting today so we might get a sense there. All agencies will need to get the money out fast. And keep a separate accounting of how the funds are expended. So any institution that receives said funds will need to keep this in mind. Stay tuned.

2. State stabilization funds. This is now a state issue. Governors across the country are looking at all that is associated with accepting these funds. Texas included. What we're interested in is this: If Texas agrees to accept funding that can be used for education purposes, how much will be allocated to higher education and for what purposes? Will keep you posted on that.

If anybody hears anything regarding how the federal research dollars may be spent at a particular agency, then email me. We're in the "fact finding" stage. Or is that RUMOR gathering stage?

One down, one to go...oh and a signature.

2009-02-13T15:39:00.002-06:00

The House today passed the conference committee report known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, HR 1. 246-183. OK, the economic stimulus bill. No Repubs voted for the bill. Seven Dems voted no, with one "present." The senate should take it up shortly. Word is the president wants to sign on Monday.

One aspect of the bill not covered in my last entry is the State Fiscal Stabilization funding. [The research and financial aid provisions are noted below]. $53.6 billion to be exact. $39.5 billion is set for elementary, secondary, and public higher education. Nearly $8.8 billion would be allocated for "other government services." No word on the State of Texas share.

There are some "strings" attached and we're just now getting the first reading of the bill so details are sketchy. Even though infrastructure funding was not allocated per se, these "stabilization" dollars could be utilized for construction if deemed appropriate at the state level.

Oh, new word for Beltway speak: "covered funds." In essence any stimulus funds are now defined in the bill as "covered funds." So throw this around, as in, "I have a really great NSF proposal I submitted recently that got high marks so I'm hoping it will received covered funds.'"

Oh, on that note: PI's pay attention. It is possible that most if not all, "covered funds," will be allocated to projects/proposals that are already in the queue. That is, projects that were deemed meritorious by an agency (NSF, etc.) but there were not any funds available. So it is entirely possible that there will not be any "new" RFP's, BAA's or the like issued in order to distribute funding. We've heard this about NSF, not too sure if that applies to NIH.

AGAIN, THIS IS JUST TALK and NOT FACT. We'll have to wait for agencies to issue instructions.

Whew......

Well. That was quick.....

2009-02-12T07:25:00.003-06:00

Ok, we have a deal. Struck late yesterday afternoon. Well, among the leadership--House, Senate and WH. Rank and file members are taking it all in today.

So what's in it? A conference committee report has not been released. But the press releases have. Speaker Pelosi issued one and here are some areas that affect higher education:

Investing in Scientific Research (More than $15 Billion)
o Provides $3 billion for the National Science Foundation, for basic research in fundamental science and engineering – which spurs discovery and innovation.
o Provides $1.6 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which funds research in such areas as climate science, biofuels, high-energy physics, nuclear physics and fusion energy sciences – areas crucial to our energy future.
o Provides $400 million for the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to support high-risk, high-payoff research into energy sources and energy efficiency in collaboration with industry.
o Provides $580 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including the Technology Innovation Program and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
o Provides $8.5 billion for NIH, including expanding good jobs in biomedical research to study diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and heart disease.
o Provides $1 billion for NASA, including $400 million to put more scientists to work doing climate change research.
o Provides $1.5 billion for NIH to renovate university research facilities and help them compete for biomedical research grants.
Extending Broadband Services
o Provides $7 billion for extending broadband services to underserved communities across the country, so that rural and inner-city businesses can compete with any company in the world.
o For every dollar invested in broadband, the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment.

Some other general educational provisions were noted, yet it is not altogether clear higher education's role (sans the financial aid piece) in some of this--infrastructure for one:

Preventing Teacher Layoffs and Education Cuts by the States
o Prevents teacher layoffs and other cutbacks in education and other key services, by establishing a $53.6 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, including $40.6 billion to local school districts using existing funding formulas, which can be used for preventing cutbacks, preventing layoffs, school modernization, or other purposes; $5 billion to states as bonus grants for meeting key performance measures in education; and $8 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.
Making College More Affordable
o Increases the higher education tax credit to a maximum of $2,500. Also makes it available to nearly 4 million low-income students who had not had any access to the higher education tax credit in the past – by making it partially refundable.
o Increases the maximum Pell Grant by $500, for a maximum of $5,350 in 2009 and $5,550 in 2010.
o Adds $200 million to the vital College Work-Study program.

As soon as specifics are released, I'll post......

Now what?

2009-02-11T07:51:00.005-06:00

OK, the senate has passed their version of the stimulus package (see below). In essence it's the Collins/Nelson amendment. The senate has named their conference committee members--Inouye, Reed, Bacus, Grassley, Cochran and Reid.

Usually higher education issues are not high profile, under the radar. However, the education infrastructure provisions that were struck in the Collins/Nelson amendment will be a MAJOR issue during conference committee negotiations.

And it's public...from today's National Journal CongressDaily:

"The Senate bill creates about 400,000 jobs less than our bill; over 300,000 of those jobs are in school construction, higher education and K-12," said House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller. "If this was a jobs bill, this was a huge mistake to take this out." Miller added that several senators have called him to ask that the House restore the funding.

The House will name their conferees soon, like today, and get after it.The goal is to have a final package by the Feb. 16 President's Day recess.

Developing...

Collins/Nelson

2009-02-09T07:44:00.003-06:00

In an effort to reduce expenditures in the senate stimulus bill, Sen. Collins (Maine) and Nelson (Neb.) crafted an amendment that cut $83 billion from the original bill (floor amendments were not addressed in their recommendations). There appears to be enough votes to adopt the amendment and hence the entire package to move the bill to the house.

Several highlights that affect higher education:

Maintains the original amount in the bill for Pell Grants;

Reduces the amount allocated to the National Science Foundation (NSF) by $200 million;

Eliminates the $3.5 billion for higher education infrastructure;

Reduces the size of the "State Fiscal Stabilization Fund" by $40 billion;

Cuts Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) by $50 million.

Cuts NASA $200 million;

Sustains the NIH $6.5 billion addition made on the Senate floor for total funding of $10 billion;

Cuts DOE office of Science $100 million for advanced computing, leaving a total of $330 million for lab construction.

The senate is scheduled to vote on the amendment this evening and possibly on the entire bill Tuesday.

Stay tuned!

Stimulus Update

2009-02-05T09:57:00.002-06:00

HR 1, the stimulus bill is still being debated on the senate floor. Many amendments are being offered--few are passing. The plan, or Chairman Inouye's plan, is to get the bill voted off the floor by Friday. The ultimate goal is to have a final conference committee report, the house and senate compromise, voted on by the 16th.

Right now it is uncertain if these time lines will be met, but this is the plan.

Several senate amendments are being offered that relate to higher education. Once a final package is adopted, that is IF it is adopted, in the senate I'll provide that info.

Stay tuned....

More Stimuli

2009-01-30T14:31:00.005-06:00

More details on the senate stimulus package is now available. Here's the committee report language--basically an explanation of what's in the bill.
http://appropriations.senate.gov/News/2009_01_28_American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Plan_Report.pdf?CFID=4316236&CFTOKEN=19420428

For a nice, concise side-by-side analysis of the higher education related sections in both the house and senate bill, go to this article from Inside Higher Education.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/01/28/stimulus

Now Its The Senate's Turn

2009-01-28T08:25:00.002-06:00

The Senate has come up with its own version of a stimulus package. For an overview of the non-tax related portions (spending that is) here's the committee's release:

http://appropriations.senate.gov/News/2009_01_27_Senate_Appropriations_Committee_Approves_American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Plan.pdf?CFID=4081109&CFTOKEN=98619761

In essence, this is how it affects us:

Senate Appropriations Stimulus Package:
Overview on Higher Education Related Issues

Infrastructure Improvements:
· School Modernization: $16 billion to repair, renovate and construct public schools in ways that will raise energy efficiency and provide greater access to information technology, and $3.5 billion to improve higher education facilities.

· National Science Foundation (NSF) $350 million for scientific infrastructure.

Research
· National Science Foundation (NSF) Research: $1.4 billion total for NSF including: $1 billion to help America compete globally; and $50 million for competitive grants to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

· National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): $1.5 billion total for NASA including: $500 million for Earth science missions to provide critical data about the Earth’s resources and climate; $250 million to enable research and testing of environmentally responsible aircraft and for verification and validation methods for complex aerospace systems and software; $500 million to reduce the gap in time that the U.S. does not have a vehicle to access the International Space Station; and $250 million for repair, upgrade and construction at NASA facilities.

· National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): $1.2 billion total for NOAA, including $772 million to construct and repair NOAA facilities, equipment and vessels; to $80 million to reduce the Nation’s coastal charting backlog; $70 million for supercomputer infrastructure for climate research; and $300 million to restore critical habitat around the Nation.

· National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): $575 million total for NIST including: $357 million for renovation of NIST facilities and new laboratories using green technologies; $218 million for scientific and technical research at NIST to strengthen the agency’s IT infrastructure; provide additional NIST research fellowships; provide substantial funding for advanced research and measurement equipment and supplies; increase external grants for NIST-related research.

· The Department of Energy’s Science program sees $430 million for laboratory infrastructure, for construction, and for advanced computing development.

· $3.5 billion to conduct biomedical research in areas such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and stem cells, and to improve NIH facilities.

· $1.1 billion to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, NIH and the HHS Office of the Secretary to evaluate the relative effectiveness of different health care services and treatment options.

Financial Aid
· Pell Grants: $13.9 billion to increase the Pell Grant maximum award and pay for increases in program costs resulting from increased eligibility and higher Pell Grant awards. The bill supports an increased Pell Grant maximum award of $281 in the 2009- 2010 academic year and $400 in the 2010-2011 academic year. This aid will help 7 million students pursue postsecondary education.

NEW DAY IN DC

2009-01-22T08:50:00.007-06:00

OK, the 111th Congress has convened. Committee assignments are being doled out. A new president has been sworn in, twice, and the cabinet officials and czars are practically in place. So what now?

For us, follow the money. Policy issues will emerge thereafter.

So where are we?

FY '09--Appropriations has been put to bed. We just haven't seen the effects. Congress adjourned last year without officially funding the remaining part of the year--outside of defense and homeland security that is. Staff have finished the bill and a vote is expected probably after the stimulus package vote.

Stimulus--treat this as a supplemental to FY '09 even though we don't actually know what's in '09. And some of '10 too since funds will be spent later this year if a package is approved. So what's in it? The House Democrats are pushing an $800 billion plus package. A nice summary from the committee is found in their report language. This passed last night out of committee and expect on the floor next week. http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/RecoveryReport01-15-09.pdf

For higher education, one can break down the package this way:

Infrastructure

Research, S&T R&D

Financial Aid

General State support.

1. Infrastructure is mainly a $6 billion repair and renovation allocation to the states based on student full time equivalents. Some "green" requirements attached. No "new" construction. Other infrastructure projects are noted at NSF, NIH but these are mainly for existing approved projects that were simply not funded due to lack of money.

2. R&D. Lot's of direct and indirect stuff. The good folks at the AAAS put this together:

AAAS estimates that the just-released House version of the 2009 stimulus appropriations bills contains $13.3 billion in federal research and development (R&D) funding out of a total $550 billion in federal spending. Of that amount, $9.9 billion would go to the conduct of R&D and $3.4 billion for R&D facilities and capital equipment.

The three agencies highlighted in the America COMPETES Act of 2007 and President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) would do extremely well in the stimulus appropriations bill. The National Science Foundation (NSF) would receive $3.0 billion; the Department of Energy's Office of Science (DOE OS) would receive $2.0 billion; and Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would receive $520 million; nearly all of these supplementals are for R&D activities. The $5.5 billion allocated to these three agencies would finally put all three budgets on track to double over the next 7 to 10 years as envisioned in the ACI, America COMPETES, and Obama campaign promises.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would receive $3.9 billion in the stimulus appropriations bill, divided roughly evenly between research and infrastructure (construction and maintenance of facilities). The stimulus funding would turn around a NIH budget that has been in decline since 2004. The Department of Energy's (DOE) energy programs would also be a winner with $2.0 billion for R&D and related activities in renewable energy and energy conservation, with billions more for DOE in weatherization, loan guarantee, and clean energy demonstration funds. And the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) would receive $600 million, mostly for R&D.

3. Financial Aid, from the report language: "Pell Grants provide need-based scholarships for undergraduate students. Under the economic recovery bill, the (discretionary) maximum Pell Grant would increase by $500, from $4,360 to $4,860 for the 2009-2010 academic year. With the additional $490 in mandatory funding, the total Pell maximum would be $5,350. The cost of a $500 Pell award increase, plus retiring prior year shortfalls, is now $15.6 billion over two years, based on interim updated CBO economic assumptions and applicant growth, as more students are applying and qualifying for more assistance. These additional funds will provide immediate financial relief to an additional 800,000 students..."

"College Work-Study provides funds to colleges, which must be matched with 25 percent non-
Federal funds, to support low and moderate-income undergraduate and graduate students who
work while attending school. In addition, each participating institution must use at least 7 percent of its Work-Study allocation for payments to students employed in community service activities, such as community-accessible childcare and assistance for disabled students. Providing increased funding would increase the number of students working in local communities. The additional funds in the economic recovery bill, when combined with institutional matching funds, will result in a total of $613 million that will be available to support an estimated 200,000 new students in fiscal years 2009 and 2010."

4. And last, general state support. $79 billion to the state to help their own budgets. Apportioned by population. 61% must go to K-12 and HE. Each governor must request the funds to receive the allocation.

The senate is working on their own package.

STAY TUNED!

2008-11-12T09:29:00.005-06:00

Inside Higher Education provides this overview of our president-elect's stance on higher education as gleamed through the campaign.

Obama on Higher Ed
Many higher education leaders had hoped to see college issues, or education generally, emerge as a major issue in the 2008 race. That never quite happened. And with the war in Iraq and the collapse of the economy, that may not be surprising. But over the course of two years leading up to his election, Sen. Barack Obama has given many policy addresses and issued many proposals about education that may guide his work in office — at least after he deals with the economy, Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are some of the highlights:

Loan programs: Obama responded to a scandal last spring about student loan programs by proposing a series of reforms. In a May 2007 proposal, he called for eliminating subsidies to lenders and pushing all borrowing into the direct lending program. He said that eliminating subsidies would allow for a significant boost in support for Pell Grants. At around the same time Obama made his proposal, similar ideas were unveiled by Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, who were at that time emerging as top competitors in the race for the Democratic nomination. In part because all of the leading candidates were more sympathetic to direct lending than to the guaranteed loan program, and the Republicans at the time were largely ignoring higher education issues, there was little sustained debate about these proposals.

Access to higher education: While Obama started with a focus on loan programs, he went on to issue more detailed proposals on college access, saying repeatedly that he worried about the challenges families faced paying for college. Included in his college access plans:

A fully refundable tax credit to cover the first $4,000 in college costs — enough for two years of community college tuition in most cases — for everyone. The only requirement would be 100 hours of public service a year; this could be performed in the summer or between semesters.
Simplification of federal aid applications. (There has been some progress on this issue, which attracts bipartisan support, since Obama spoke on it and prior to the election.)
A pledge to keep Pell Grant maximums rising at the level of inflation or higher if possible.

Community colleges: Obama has proposed a new grant program that would provide funds to community colleges to conduct more thorough analysis of the types of skills and technical education that are in high demand from students and local businesses; to create new associate of arts degree programs that cater to emerging careers; and to reward institutions that graduate more students and also increase their numbers of transfer students to four-year institutions.

Science and technology: During the campaign, the president-elect repeatedly linked investments in science and technology to improvements in the economy, and he made a number of specific proposals. Obama has called for expanded financing of federal research programs, with special efforts for those academic scientists starting their careers; the creation of new programs to improve math and science education and to attract more students to them — with special efforts to recruit minority and female students to fields where they have been underrepresented; and special efforts to promote research and education related to climate change and health care. Obama has backed stem cell research and opposed Bush administration limits on such funds.

Further, he has pledged to “restore the basic principle that government decisions should be based on the best-available, scientifically valid evidence and not on the ideological predispositions of agency officials or political appointees.” A more philosophical outline of Obama’s views on the link between education, science and economic competitiveness may be found in his speech in June at Kettering University.

Affirmative action: Obama has repeatedly said that affirmative action should not be eliminated, but he has suggested a combination of class and race as factors. In a 2007 interview with ABC, asked if his daughters will deserve affirmative action when they apply to college, he said that they “should probably be treated by any admissions officer as folks who are pretty advantaged.” Further, in Obama’s Philadelphia speech on race, he noted with sympathy the frustrations of some while people “when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed.” But in that speech, as in others, Obama has also repeatedly stressed that the economic and educational gaps between some minority individuals and others are real and need attention.

While presidential candidates prepare policies on issues such as education and research, they also end up speaking on other higher education issues when they are asked surprise questions on the campaign trail or in debates, or when they happen to be campaigning in an area that is focused on a particular issue. In these situations, Obama has:

Called for colleges to lift bans on Reserve Officers Training Corps programs. Obama opposes the military’s discriminatory policies against gay people — the source of much campus opposition to ROTC. But in an appearance at Columbia University in September, he said that “the notion that young people here at Columbia or anywhere, in any university, aren’t offered the choice, the option of participating in military service, I think is a mistake.”

Criticized the cost of college textbooks and professors who assign their own books. In an appearance in Texas, he said: “Books are a big scam.... I taught law at the University of Chicago for 10 years, and one of the biggest scams is law professors write their own text books and then assign it to their students. They make a mint. It’s a huge racket.”

Backed the right to attend community college for those without legal status to be in the United States. Obama spoke on this issue in North Carolina, where this has been the subject of much debate. In an interview, he said: “For us to deny them access to community college, even though they’ve never lived in Mexico, at least as far as they can tell ... is to deny that this is how we’ve always built this country up.”

Money, Money, Money, Money

2008-10-07T14:05:00.002-05:00

Before the Wall Street financial crisis hit the Hill like Hurricane Ike, congress and the president addressed the federal budget--well a temporary fix for the most part.

Last week the president signed into law the FY09 continuing resolution (CR). [Note last blog entry below]. This will fund the federal government through March 6, 2009. After the new session of Congress begins in January we should have a better idea of how they will go about funding the rest of FY 09...or at least that's the plan.

In short, the CR freezes funding for most federal agencies at their FY08 levels during that period, including those federal agencies of major interest to A&M researchers: the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science, and NASA.

Regarding financial aid, the CR includes an additional $2.5 billion to help address a projected $6 billion shortfall in the Pell Grant program over three academic years (07-08, 08-09, 09-10) and maintain the maximum award at its current level. Some $750 million of the appropriated amount is a down payment on the shortfall.

Funded for the full fiscal year “minibus” of three national security full-year appropriations bills—Defense, Homeland Security, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs.
Within the Department of Defense (DOD) bill, funding for basic research (budget function 6.1) is $1.842 billion, a 12.7-percent increase above FY08 and higher than either the House or Senate subcommittee-approved levels.

Let's Get Fiscal

2008-09-23T14:41:00.001-05:00

With the federal fiscal year ending next Tuesday, this is what we know:

1. There will be some humongous bailout for troubled financial firms.

2. Congress must approve funding to keep federal agencies and programs running beyond September 30 into the new fiscal year (FY09). That process is in flux.

3. What’s being discussed is a “minibus,” instead of an “omnibus,” of the three national security appropriations bills (Defense, Homeland Security, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs) and a continuing resolution (CR) to fund agencies and programs covered by the remaining nine appropriations bills. The combined measure would also fund a number of other priorities, such as disaster relief, etc. The minibus of three appropriations bills is expected to run for the entire fiscal year and increase funding for national security agencies and programs above their FY08 levels. The CR, as currently drafted, would run through March 6—and the start of a new Administration and Congress—and freeze funding for most of its agencies and programs at their FY08 levels.

Now of course this could all change.....developing.

Science Policy Anyone?

2008-09-15T19:45:00.003-05:00

You wonks that are having trouble sleeping at night not knowing the presidential candidate's position on science and technology issues pressing the nation, restful slumber is around the corner!

OK maybe not. But the science related issues don't always emerge in the national debate so here's a link to questions that should be of interest to most university researchers and those that care about science policy in America.

http://www.sciencedebate2008.com

HEA Implementation

2008-09-15T14:26:00.002-05:00

Couple of points relating to the new higher education act. The federal education department will be holding hearings across the country regarding the implementation of the act and rules the department may create. If anyone on campus has any comments regarding implementation--now mind you that does not mean we can voice if we think the new law is good, bad or ugly; rather the implementation of the law as passed and signed by the president--then please let me know.

For a really nice side-by-side analysis of the new law's key provisions, here's a link to the AAU site noting issues of interest. http://www.aau.edu/education/Comparison_HEA_Conf_Side-by-Side_09-02-2008.pdf

So, what's in this zillion page bill?

2008-08-21T16:03:00.005-05:00

The good folks at ACE have put together a summary of the major provisions of the new HEA--it became law on Aug. 14 after President Bush signed it.

For the mildly curious, here's a PDF of the analysis. And as always, if you have any questions please let me know.

http://www.acenet.edu/e-newsletters/p2p/ACE_HEA_analysis_818.pdf

Off to the President's House.....

2008-08-01T07:40:00.005-05:00

Last night both House and Senate voted favorably for the Higher Education Act reauthorization. No word on what the president will do...developing.

So what does it all mean and what does higher education say about all of this? Under the unmbrella of ACE the major university associations sent this letter to the leadership of the House and Senate (http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=LettersGovt&CONTENTID=28138&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm)

Peter McPherson, NASULGC President sent out a nice overview of the compromise legislation--the good and the bad. Here it is...

After more than five years of work and for the first time since 1998, the Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bill passed both the House and Senate today. The House adopted the measure by a vote of 380 to 49. The Senate followed suit tonight and passed it by a vote of 83 to 8. The President is expected to sign the legislation.

The bill includes provisions that will benefit students. It implements year-round Pell Grants and reauthorizes critical student aid programs, such as the Pell program, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Perkins Loans, Federal Work Study, Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships (LEAP), TRIO, and GEAR UP programs.

As a result of your active engagement and outreach to your representatives and senators, the final bill addresses or at least partially mitigates many of the concerns that we in the academic community had with earlier versions of the bill. These changes and improvements would not have been possible without the significant input of NASULGC members weighing in with Congress. While we saw positive changes during the legislative process, the legislation still contains some of provisions that we do not like.

Changes to bill language regarding accreditation represent a significant accomplishment for the community. The bill language would now explicitly prohibit the Secretary of Education from dictating standards for accrediting agencies to use in academic areas.

In other areas, the bill tempers many of the earlier proposals but problems remain. Examples including the following:

· Institutions in the top 5 percent with respect to increases in tuition and fees or net price would be required to file reports with the Secretary explaining the causes and the steps they will take to address cost. Additional cost-related reporting requirements in another part of the bill were dropped. Although this represents a significant improvement from previous language, we argued against the whole set of cost-related provisions.

· The final bill also includes a modified version of a "multi-year tuition calculator" that would be created and maintained by the Secretary. In its simplest terms, the mechanism would allow students and their families to create nonbinding estimates of future tuition and fee levels based on the changes over the past three years. It is not yet clear how this will work.

· The expansive "Coburn language" on use of federal funds was modified so that the language only applies to federal HEA funds.

· Progress on "peer-to-peer" (P2P) was made. The final language requires institutions to certify that they have a "plan" in place to combat illegal file sharing, but the bill language and accompanying report language provide some institutional flexibility in terms of the elements of such a plan. There is no longer a technology mandate as in earlier versions of the bill and the overall role of the Department of Education in this issue has been significantly minimized. In addition, while the bill directs institutions to offer alternative downloading services, the language includes the qualifier "to the extent practicable," The report language for the bill may provide additional flexibility for institutions. A big concern with these provisions is that they may become the basis for further inappropriate federal intrusion in the future.

· The bill also contains language on textbooks that would place new requirements on both publishers and institutions. Institutions would be required, "to the extent practicable," to make available to the public via the Internet information about the course materials, such as International Standards Book Numbers (ISBNs), author(s), title, publisher, and copyright dates in a proactive manner.

· With respect to the broad range of new reporting and data disclosure requirements, a number of the community's recommendations were accepted, but some remain.

Although the bill continually improved throughout the legislative process, it still remains flawed in many ways. The cumulative impact of new regulations and rules on colleges and universities may not be quantifiable but will still be considerable. The stated overarching goal of this reauthorization was to reduce college costs for students. And yet, the net impact of these new unfunded mandates placed on our institutions seems to run counter to that objective. Consider the following examples:

· The final bill requires institutions to keep track of their alumni with respect to their employment and pursuit of graduate education by seeking illustrative examples. Although a formal information system is not called for, all colleges are aware of the problems regarding the tracking of alumni.

· The final bill creates duplicative requirements on colleges and universities with respect to reporting foreign gifts.

· We also know that the current federal graduation rates are flawed. Yet, the final bill calls for the disaggregation of graduation rates by student aid status.

Finally, when the House and Senate conferees met to finalize the bill late Tuesday, they adopted language that would mandate that states maintain a certain level of funding ("state maintenance of effort") for their public colleges and universities in order to remain eligible for a new program. The impact of this provision remains to be seen.

The final bill has provisions we support and those with which we have problems. Due to your tremendous involvement and assistance, we were able to improve and mitigate many of the truly unacceptable items. After the bill gets signed into law, the next step will be to work with the Department of Education and Congress to ensure that the implementation of this bill is carried out as smoothly as possible.

Again, thank you for your assistance throughout this experience.

HEA Update

2008-07-30T08:18:00.002-05:00

They started in 2003. After many false starts it now appears House and Senate conferees have reached an agreement on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Last night votes were taken on a final package that is planned to be voted on before members scat for the summer.

The legislation in not put per se, but here are some issue of interest as reported from the good folks at NASULGC:

With respect to accreditation, the language would prohibit the Secretary from dictating standards for accreditors to use in academic areas.

On the cost front, the language would base "net price" on the "cost of attendance." The various "college affordability and transparency lists" would be based on both "tuition and fees" as well as "net price." Institutions in the top five percent of each category with respect to increases in tuition and fees or net price would be required to file reports with the Secretary explaining the causes and the steps they will take to addresses cost. Additional cost-related reporting requirements in Title VIII have been removed.

The conference report also includes a modified version of a "multi-year tuition calculator" that would be created and maintained by the Secretary. In its simplest terms, the mechanism would allow the public to create nonbinding estimates of future tuition and fee levels based on the changes over the past three years.

The bill also contains language on textbooks that would place new requirements on both publishers and institutions. Institutions would be required, "to the extent possible," to make to the public information about the course materials, such as International Standards Book Numbers (ISBNs), author(s), title, publisher, and copyright dates.

The "Coburn" language has been modified so that the language only applies to federal HEA funds while the ban on use of federal funds for lobbying, which is current law, remains in place.

With respect to the broad range of new reporting and data disclosure requirements, it appears that many of the recommendations of the community were accepted. At the same time, however, the language on the disaggregation of graduation rates by income level remains. Also, institutions would still be required to provide illustrative examples of the employment and graduate education pursuits of their employees.

Progress on "peer-to-peer" has been made as well.

The Chronicle of Higher Education adds:
"But lobbyists for traditional institutions have been more measured in their praise of the bill. While they appreciate the new grant programs and accreditation protections, many resent the increased federal oversight that the bill would bring. Under the bill, colleges would be required to disclose everything from their policies on illegal downloading of music and video files to the details of their arrangements with lenders.

More Paperwork
Colleges are also grumbling about the bill's new reporting requirements, which they maintain would increase their costs at the same time Congress is pressuring colleges to hold the line on tuition growth.
Under the bill, the secretary of education would publish annual lists of the institutions with the highest and lowest tuition and fees, and net prices, by sector, as well as lists of the institutions with the largest percentage increases in net price and in tuition and fees over the previous three years. Institutions appearing on the percentage-based lists would be required to report to the education secretary on the factors that contributed to their price increases and the steps they were taking to hold down costs.
Still, nonprofit colleges can claim some victories. In the weeks leading up to Tuesday's conference, they persuaded lawmakers to drop language that would have required them to notify students and employees within 30 minutes of an emergency and to report any gift over $250,000 that came from a private-sector corporation (though lawmakers left in such a reporting requirement for gifts from foreign governments if the money was to be used for a center receiving funds under the bill).
Colleges also persuaded lawmakers to abandon a requirement that institutions whose net tuition and fees outpaced their sector's average submit a report to the secretary and provide the secretary with certain tax documents from the previous three years.
And while lawmakers retained a controversial requirement that colleges offer students music and video through subscription-based services, they provided a possible out, adding "to the extent practicable" to the language. Still, the language is considered a coup for the entertainment industry, which contends that illegal downloading on college campuses costs it millions of dollars. The bill also would require colleges to use technology to curtail copyright infringement on their campuses.
The compromise bill also contains some good news for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which was created more than two decades ago to counsel Congress and the Education Department on student-aid issues. The House version of the bill would have abolished the influential committee, but the final version preserves it."

Will report back when the conference committee report is out.

A&M in the House!

2008-07-22T13:36:00.002-05:00

Literally. Well, U. S. House of Representatives that is. Specifically the Science and Technology's Research and Science Education Subcommittee. Interim VP for Research Jim Calvin sat on a panel before the committee to discuss international research (academic relationships) between American universities and foreign universities, entities or governments. Sort of "Diplomacy through Science." The committee is quite interested in NGO's (Non-governmental organizations) and international agreements in science and technology.

Dr. Calvin highlighted for the committee the need for a mechanism to stabilize funding, long-term between the American and foreign entity. Often gaps in funding occurs when one of the two partners hit a funding snag or disruption which often delays a project or jeopardizes it.

For a recap of the hearing, here's the link. Good job Jim!

http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2259

Approps FY '09--Summer Status

2008-07-10T13:59:00.002-05:00

Conventional wisdom--no FY '09 appropriations until early spring in '09. Likely continuing resolution until after the election to see what happens in November elections--POTUS and congressional makeup. Regardless, April seems to be mentioned as when a non-CR type of approp bill(s) may emerge.

In case you're keeping score, here's where things stand as of today. I have spared the day-by-day, ebb and flow of the FY '09 approps process thus far because of what I just wrote above. However these House and Senate actions are not exercises in futility in that the parameters for decisions will be set based upon what's done before the election.

Here's a link to R&D and higher ed interested agency status thanks to the kind folks at AAU that consolidate the info into a nice table. Membership has its privileges. http://www.aau.edu/budget/09Priorities.pdf

FY '08 Supplemental--It's Done!

2008-07-01T15:02:00.003-05:00

The president signed the FY '08 supplemental appropriations bill. If you want to read what's in the entire package here's the House Approp's Committee release--a nice synopsis of what got in http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/EmergencySupplemental6-19-08.pdf

Again, $400 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE), and NASA. The breakdown is noted in an earlier blog.

One area not discussed earlier is Veteran's financial aid. Included in the package are provisions to update and expand the Montgomery GI Bill and provide current veterans with college tuition, room and board. Veterans who have served on active duty for three years since Sept. 11, 2001, are eligible for a full four-year college education. More than 1.6 million veterans have served since 2001 and about 450,000 veterans are expected to make use of the new GI bill. Veterans will be able to transfer their education benefits to their spouses and children under a provision added to garner additional support.

FY '08 Supplemental--More Stuff

2008-06-25T08:08:00.002-05:00

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring the FY 2008 Appropriations supplemental bill up tomorrow. CongressDaily, Roll Call, etc. are reporting that the senate will adopt the house measure with the numbers noted below in the 19 June blog.

After passage, and it is predicted to pass unamended, it goes to the president. Now he has said he'd veto the bill if it contained too may "ornaments on the tree"--again, this is the bill to fund the war effort. So we'll wait and see.

Why is this important? First, the NSF is Texas A&M's primary source of federal research dollars. Second, A&M has over 100 researchers that utilize the department of energy national labs for their work--and with the case of Lawrence Livermore we're on the recently configured management team with the University of California.

Will update accordingly....

FY 2008 Supplemental--Help is on the way, we hope.....

2008-06-19T15:42:00.002-05:00

In FY 2008 (our current FY) Dept. of Energy, NSF, etc. did not fare as well as the research community had hoped. Numerous layoffs at several national energy labs, which affects some A&M researchers, plus the slowdown at NSF sends a pall over R&D in the country.

Today, the House released information for forthcoming vote likely to be enacted a measure to help address the measure. It's attached to the DoD supplemental bill that primarily funds the war effort. There is a veto threat. But before that, the bill must be approved by the Senate.

Here are the numbers as to be voted on by the House:

The measures include $400 million in funding for science. The breakdown of the science funding is as follows:

--$150 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
--$62.5 million for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science
The DOE is instructed to utilize this funding to eliminate all furloughs and reductions in force which are a direct result of budgetary constraints.
--$62.5 million for DOE Environmental Cleanup
--$62.5 million for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
--$62.5 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF), of which:
--$22.5 million would be directed to research, with $5 million for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)
--$40 million would be directed for education, with $20 million allocated to the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program and $20 million is to develop a new Program to encourage top college juniors and seniors majoring in STEM fields.

The supplemental also includes the veteran's education provisions supported by the higher education community.