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Month: July 2009

Post-9/11 GI Bill to Take Effect

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Tomorrow, Saturday August 1st, the Post-9/11 GI Bill goes into effect. It has been dubbed the most extensive educational assistance program for veterans since the original GI Bill was signed into law in 1944.  The new bill provides education benefits for servicemembers who have served on active duty for 90 or more days since Sept. 10, 2001. These benefits are tiered based on the number of days served on active duty, creating a benefit package that gives current and previously activated National Guard and Reserve members the same benefits as active duty servicemembers.

The UW Office of Federal Relations will be closely monitoring implementation of the program, as members of the WA Congressional delegation have articulated an interest in helping to address policy challenges in this area -as they arise.

Overview of the Post-9/11 GI Bill

FY10 Agency/Program Appropriations Figures Emerging

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As the House and Senate prepare for their August recess, agency/program funding levels for FY10 are becoming more clear. Below, please find a chart that captures funding for some agency/programs of particular note. It should be noted that final figures will not be determined until this fall.

In Millions of Dollars

Agency  Program FY09 ARRA FY10 PBR FY10 House FY10 Senate
Agriculture Agriculture and Food Research Initiative 201.5   201.5 210.0 295.2  
  Hatch Act Funds 207.1   207.1 215.0 215.0  
  Smith Lever Funds 288.5   288.5 295.0 300.0  
  Evans-Allen Program 45.5   45.5 48.0 49.0  
  EFNEP 66.0   66.0 68.0 68.1  
  McIntire-Stennis 27.5   27.5 28.0 30.0  
NSF Agency 6,490.0 3,000.0 7,045.0 6,936.0 6,936.0  
  Research and Related Activities 5,183.1   5,733.2 5,642.1 5,618.0  
  MREFC 152.0 400.0 117.3 114.3 122.3  
NOAA Agency 4,365.0   4,473.0 4,602.0 4,770.0  
  Sea Grant 55.0   55.1 63.1 63.1  
  OAR 396.7   404.6 419.8 419.8  
NASA Science Mission 4,503.0   4,477.0 4,496.0 4,517.0  
  Aeronautics Research Mission 500.0   507.0 501.0 600.0  
NIST Technology Innovation Program 65.0   70.0 70.0 70.0  
  Manufacturing Extension Program 110.0   125.0 125.0 125.0  
Defense 6.1 Basic Research 1,842.0   1,798.0 1,929.0 N/A  
Energy Office of Science 4,716.0 1,600.0 4,900.0 4,944.0 4,942.0  
  ARPA-E 15.0 400.0 10.0 10.0 10.0  
  Innovation Hubs – – 280.0 35.0 0  
  RE-ENERGYSE –New     115.0 7.5 0.0  
USGS USGS 1,043.8 – 1,097.8 1,105.7 1,104.3  
NEH NEH 155.0 – 161.0 170.0 161.0  
NEA NEA 155.0   161.0 170.0 161.0  
EPA Science and Technology 790.1   842.3 849.6 790.1  
Education Pell Grant Maximum (Not in millions of $) 4,850.0 5,350.0 5,500.0 5,550.0 5,550.0  
  TRIO Programs 848.1   848.1 868.1 848.1  
  GEAR UP 313.2   313.2 333.2 313.2  
  Javits Fellowship Program 9.6   9.6 9.6 9.6  
  GAANN 31.0   31.0 31.0 31.0  
  Fulbright-Hays 14.7   14.7 15.2 14.7  
  COE Veteran Student Success –New       8.0 N/A  
NIH Agency 30,300.0 10,400.0 30,838.0 31,336.0 30,800.0  
VA Medical and Prosthesis Research Programs 510.0   580.0 580.0 580.0  
State Paul Simon Study Abroad -New     N/A N/A N/A  
               

HHS Recovery Act Funding Available to Expand Health Professions Training

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HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the availability of $200 million to support grants, loans, loan repayment, and scholarships to expand the training of health care professionals.  The funds are expected to train approximately 8,000 students and credentialed health professionals by the end of fiscal year 2010.  Today’s funds are part of the $500 million allotted to HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to address workforce shortages under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The $200 million will be directed to the following program areas:

  • $80.2 million for scholarships, loans, and loan repayment awards to students, health professionals, and faculty. Of those funds, $39 million will be targeted to nurses and nurse faculty, $40 million to disadvantaged students in a wide range of health professions, and $1.2 million to health professions faculty from disadvantaged backgrounds.
  • $50 million in grants to health professions training programs. Funds will be used to purchase equipment needed to expand programs and improve the quality of training.
  • $47.6 million to support primary care training programs. These funds will support the training of residents, medical students, physician assistants, dentists and individuals, many of whom will practice in underserved areas.
  • $10.5 million to strengthen the public health workforce. Funds will support public health traineeships and increase the number of individuals trained through preventive medicine and dental public health residencies.
  • $10.2 million to increase the diversity of the health professions workforce.
  • And $1.5 million to support the efforts of state professional licensing boards in reducing barrier to telemedicine.

HRSA is using a competitive process to award all funds. Some awards will be made over the next several months.  In addition, funding opportunities for some programs will be announced over the next several months, giving applicants adequate time to prepare materials.  The remaining $300 million in ARRA workforce funds is being used to expand HRSA’s National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarships and loan repayment for primary care providers who serve in health professional shortage areas.  In addition, HRSA received $2 billion through ARRA to expand health care services to low-income and uninsured individuals through its health center program.

FY09 and FY10 Administrative Savings

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On Monday, the Administration announced that federal agencies had met the goal set by President Obama of finding at least $100 million in administrative savings from their agency budgets.  The 77 cost-savings measures identified by agencies would yield $102 million in savings this fiscal year (FY09) and about $140 million in savings in fiscal 2010.  Most of the proposals pertain to asset management (e.g., facilities, equipment, and vehicles), energy and other resource usage, meetings and travel, procurement and contracting, and productivity or process improvements.  The largest is a Pentagon plan to save $52 million in 2010 by using commercial jet fuel, but the vast majority would provide just modest savings.

Read the complete list of proposed savings.