Cassidy & Associates Higher Education Policy Update
June 2005
- Fiscal Year 2006 Budget and Appropriations
- Other House and Senate Activities
- National Service News
Fiscal Year 2006 Budget and Appropriations
The House and Senate have both been very active in moving forward with appropriations legislation for Fiscal Year 2006. The House of Representatives completed action on the FY06 Labor/Health and Human Services/Education Appropriations bill on June 24, 2005. Major funding items of note include:
- An overall appropriation of $56.7 billion for the Department of Education, and increase of $118 million over FY05.
- An overall appropriation of $1.9 billion for higher education programs (not including student financial assistance), a decrease of $179 million from FY05.
- An increase of $1 billion in student financial assistance programs, including an increase in the maximum Pell Grant from $4,050 to $4,100.
- Level funding of GEAR UP and TRIO programs.
- An overall appropriation for National and Community Service programs of $518 million, a decrease of $23 million from FY05. Funding for Learn and Service was reduced $5.1 million to $37.5 million.
The Senate is expected to consider its version of the Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill in July, with a subcommittee mark-up expected on July 12 and a full Committee mark-up on July 14. The Senate has a slightly larger budget allocation for the Labor/HHS/Education bill ($143.1 billion) than the House of Representatives ($142.5 billion).
Other House and Senate Activities
The House of Representatives is moving forward with reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. It is expected that the Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness will consider the largest bill that has been introduced as part of the reauthorization, H.R. 609, on July 13. This bill, the College Access and Opportunity Act
, was introduced by Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner and reauthorizes teacher preparation, institutional assistance, and student financial assistance programs.
The Administration has also come forward with its proposal for reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The proposal includes some controversial provisions, including the elimination of the Perkins loan program and variable interest rates for student loan programs. Read a complete section-by-section analysis of the proposal .
National Service News
As part of its Higher Education Act Reauthorization proposal, the Administration has advocated new provisions related to national service.
The proposal creates a new set-aside of 20 percent of Federal Work-Study funds to be used by institutions that wish to engage their students in community service activities. This proposal would replace the current provision of the HEA that requires all institutions to use 7 percent of their work-study funds to compensate students employed in community service jobs. Schools would apply for community service funds by means of a check-off on their annual applications for campus-based Federal student aid funds.
Another section of the bill would require the Secretary of Education to provide institutions of higher education and the appropriate public and private nonprofit agencies with information on effective practices in the creation and maintenance of high-quality community service and service-learning programs and technical assistance concerning the implementation of Federal Work-Study community service programs. The Secretary would be authorized to consult with the Corporation for National and Community Service in developing and disseminating this information and technical assistance.
Cassidy & Associates is a government relations firm located in Washington D.C. For more information on Cassidy and its services, contact Lisa Bos at 202/585-2885 or lbos {at} cassidy(.)com
