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Progress This Week

Congressional Schedule:  The House is in recess this week and the Senate is scheduled for recess next week (week of July 4th).  The House has another recess scheduled for the week of July 18th, and both chambers have recess scheduled for the month on August (August 8th through September 6th).

Debt Negotiations Continue:  Yesterday, President Obama used a White House news conference to urge lawmakers to “do their job” and make the “tough choices” needed to get the nation’s fiscal house in order as the August 2nd deadline for raising the debt ceiling approaches.  He said those choices might include a Medicare overhaul, cuts in defense spending, and increasing taxes.  Calling the early August date a “hard deadline,” Obama said lawmakers should scrap any recesses until they hammer out a budget deal.  The House has been in recess this week and has another recess schedule for the week of July 18th.  The Senate is scheduled to be in recess next week.

Appropriations Update:  The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold its first markup of FY12 spending legislation today, starting with the least controversial of the 12 annual bills — the measure funding veterans’ programs and military construction.   The House passed its FY12 Military Construction-VA bill on June 14th.  Additionally, the House has already approved FY12 bills for Agriculture and Homeland Security, and the Defense and Financial Services bills have been approved by committee and are ready for floor action. 

Pell Grant Program Vulnerable:  Amid a political climate in congress where virtually every corner of federal spending is in jeopardy, the Administration says it wants to protect Pell grants for low-income college students.   But the quasi-entitlement program faces a huge funding shortfall for FY12 and has become a tempting target for Republican budget hawks, who say that it is a prime example of overspending and “promises we can’t keep.”  Those close to talks on a debt reduction deal are saying little about which programs are likely to be on the chopping block, but education experts say the large increases required to sustain the Pell grant program make it particularly vulnerable.

The Pell grant program is one of the federal government’s largest education initiatives, and has been one of President’s top priorities.  The program faces a shortfall each year because it is partially funded through discretionary spending, not just mandatory dollars that would sustain it automatically.  With the economic difficulties of the past few years, more people are qualifying for the grant and more people are going back to school to earn degrees, leaving the program strapped for cash.  Program costs have more than doubled since 2008, from $16 billion to an estimated $35 billion in FY12.  In order to maintain the current $5,550 maximum award, lawmakers must make up for an estimated $11 billion shortfall.  Lawmakers in both parties are looking at proposals to restructure the Pell grant program to reduce costs, but those decisions are unlikely to be made until after the White House and congressional leaders negotiate a deficit reduction plan.

Bipartisan Support for Tax Reform:  Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee sounded a rare bipartisan note Wednesday on a tax issue.  They called for scrapping the current code and replacing it with a far simpler one that would help increase federal revenue.  Lawmakers said making it easier for individuals and businesses to pay taxes would go a long way toward closing the $300 billion gap between taxes actually owed and those that are paid.  The remarks came at the latest in a series of Senate Finance hearings on rewriting the tax code.

Congressional Pay Freeze:  Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have introduced nearly 20 pieces of legislation this year to try and slash or freeze their own paychecks for 2013.  Attacks on their six-figure salaries have become increasingly popular in recent years, as members face the wrath of constituents dissatisfied with the state of the economy and often plagued by personal financial challenges themselves.  With heated discussions under way on whether to raise the debt ceiling by August 2nd, several lawmakers have introduced bills that would nix any congressional increase in pay for every year that the government runs a deficit.  The last pay increase members received was in 2009, when they got a 2.8 percent raise.  The House and Senate have frozen their salaries for 2011 and 2012 at $174,000.  But pay raises for 2013 are still in order.  Members of Congress, under current law, automatically receive a cost-of-living pay adjustment each year unless they vote against it, as they’ve done each year since 2010. 

Immigration Reform Legislation Begins to Emerge:  On June 22 Senator Menendez (D-NJ) reintroduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 (S 1258).  As in past years, his legislation focuses primarily on issues such as border security and guest worker visas, but it also includes language that would exempt individuals with an “advanced degree” in a science, math, or engineering field from visa caps.  Meanwhile, on June 14 Congresswoman Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the Immigration Driving Entrepreneurship in America (IDEA) Act of 2011 (HR 2161), which would ease green-card applications for non-immigrants with advanced STEM degrees, but would also protect fair wages.  The primary legislative driver, however, for comprehensive immigration reform in the Congress is the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2011, also known as the DREAM Act of 2011, which does not address foreign nationals studying in a STEM field.  The DREAM Act has been reintroduced in both the House (HR 1842) and the Senate (S 952).

DOE Offers $120 Million to Support Innovative Manufacturing Processes:  As part the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership launched June 24th by President Obama, the Department of Energy is offering an investment of up to $120 million over three years to develop transformational manufacturing technologies and innovative materials.  The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership is a national effort bringing together industry, universities, and the federal government to invest in emerging technologies that will create high-quality manufacturing jobs and enhance US competitiveness.  For more information, see the funding opportunity announcement and the DOE press release.

Navy Increases Support for STEM EducationSecretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the Navy’s commitment to improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.  The Navy will increase funding for STEM education initiatives from $54 million in 2010 to over $100 million by 2015. The Navy views this as an investment in its future workforce.

DREAM Act Hearing in Senate

Although immigration reform remains a controversial topic in an increasingly volatile political environment, yesterday the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security held a hearing on the Development, Relief, and Education for Minors (DREAM) Act of 2011 (S 952). Several hundred “dreamers” attended and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, and Secretary of the Department of Education were among the witnesses.  While this bill has been reintroduced in each congress since 2001, this is the first ever hearing the Senate has held on the issue.

The DREAM Act would grant citizenship to young individuals on the following basis:

  • The individual must have been continuously physically present in the US since at least 5 years prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
  • The individual was 15 years of age or younger on the date that they initially entered the US.
  • The individual has been a person of good moral character since their entry into the US and has not been convicted of a felony.
  • The individual has been admitted to an institution of higher education in the US or has committed 2 years to military service
  • The individual is 35 years of age or younger on the date of enactment of the Act.

Senators Durbin, Leahy, and Schumer have long been champions of the DREAM Act. Senator Durbin called it a “simple act of American justice” and expressed frustration at the fact that we allow foreigners into the US on visas to attend American universities and then send them back to their home countries to work for and develop businesses that compete against American companies, yet we have so far been unwilling to take steps to retain gifted and talented young people who intend to stay in the US and contribute to our own society and economy.

Those senators opposed to the bill expressed several concerns throughout the hearing:

  • It would allow individuals with misdemeanors, which in some states can include violent crime, to still be eligible for the DREAM Act

Response by Ret. Colonel Margaret Stock (currently an immigration lawyer): The Immigration and Nationality Act contains a definition for ‘good moral character’, which includes a lengthy list of offenses, including those that opposing senators are concerned about, which would render an individual ineligible. Also, including this statute in the bill prevents the ability of DHS to waive this requirement.

  • The cost of implementation is high and enactment of the bill would be harmful to the economy

Response by Secretary of DHS, Janet Napolitano: She believes that the Department currently has enough resources and finances to implement the bill with little or no effect on other programs. It would also allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to prioritize immigration goals and would free up strained resources.

Response by Secretary of Arne Duncan: a 2010 study from UCLA, estimated that the total number of students who would benefit from the DREAM Act could generate between $1.4 and $3.6 trillion dollars over their working lifetime, which would increase the revenue for the federal government generated by taxes.

  • The DREAM Act will encourage further undocumented immigration

Response by Secretary Duncan: The opportunities it would provide are not prospective or unlimited. Only young people who were already here for five years before the legislation is enacted into law would be eligible for lawful permanent resident status, and the period in which they could apply for adjustment under the DREAM Act is limited. Those who arrive after that time would not be eligible.

While immigration reform, particulary the DREAM Act, has seen considerable bipartisan support in the past there remains significant differences between what both sides are looking for in the bill. This is especially true in the House, which introduced a similar bill last month (HR 1842) and support is deeply divided along party lines.

Sustainable Communities Grant Announcement

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the availability of up to $175 million in livability grants to help urban, suburban and rural communities develop transit options to better connect people to where they live, work and play.  Local transit agencies will be able to compete for livability dollars from the pool of up to $175 million. The competitive grant program will begin accepting applications when announced in the Federal Register during the week of June 20.

Read more here.

Department of Education releases Fiscal Year 2011 Grants Forecast

The document lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the Department of Education has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards and provides actual or estimated deadline dates for the transmittal of applications under these programs. The lists are in the form of charts — organized according to the Department’s principal program offices — and include programs and competitions they have previously announced, as well as those they plan to announce at a later date.

Note: This document is advisory only and is not an official application notice of the Department of Education. The Department expects to provide updates to this document starting in the first week of November in a fiscal year and continuing through the following July.

Department of Education FY11 Grants Forecast

The Week in Review

Calendar:  The House is preparing to begin its Fourth of July holiday recess today and is slated to return July 5, while the Senate remains in session throughout next week before their scheduled recess during the week of July 4th.

Deficit Negotiations Stalled:  Attempts by Congress and the White House to broker a budget deal that would allow for raising the debt ceiling stalled Thursday as two key Republican negotiators walked away from the table, blaming the impasse on Democratic demands for tax increases.  Debt reduction talks now move up to the highest levels, between President Obama and House Speaker Boehner, as had been expected to occur eventually. In a press conference yesterday morning, Boehner said that to reach an agreement by the end of this month “the president is going to have to engage,” while also adding that “tax hikes are off the table.” Boehner also reiterated that House Republicans would not agree to raise the debt limit “without serious spending cuts and reforms to the way we spend the American people’s money.”

House Science Committee Examines NOAA’s Climate Service:  On Thursday this week, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing to review the Administration’s FY12 budget request proposal to reorganize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create a Climate Service. NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco was taken to task by the committee chair for her agency’s slow response to committee member’s questions over the past several months.  Read more at the House Science Committee web page.

Defense Appropriations Moves Forward:  On Thursday, the House began work on its FY12 Defense appropriations bill.  Numerous objections were raised by the White House regarding funding levels for various activities, citing insufficient funding for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for high-priority science and technology programs, acquisitions of certain satellites and classified programs, and for the Air Force’s Rockey Systems Launch Program. Additionally, the White House objects to language in the bill that would limit the use of funds to transfer detainees held at the US Naval base in Guantanamo Bay. Floor debate on this bill will resume when the House returns from recess.

Patent Overhaul Approved in House:  The House passed a broad overhaul of the US patent system Thursday, after overcoming opposition to changes in provisions related to patent office fees. But the changes will make it harder for the House and Senate to agree on a final compromise on the legislation. The bill would reform how the US Patent and Trademark Office is funded and how it regulates inventions. Despite the ultimate 304-117 victory in the House, the bill has a dim future in the Senate where a handful of Senators have already expressed their opposition to the bill.

FY11 Funding for University Link:  The Federal Transit Administration has announced its FY11 New Starts and Small Starts funding.  The agency is doling out money to eight existing full funding grant agreements, four full funding grant agreement projects listed as pending, six projects recommended for future full funding grant agreements, and nine Small Starts recommended for funding.  Sound Transit’s University Link LRT Extension will receive $110,000,000 as expected.