FA

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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.