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Category: 2015 UW Agenda

FY 2015 Appropriations Process in Question

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) effectively ended debate for now on the FY 2015 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations after he was unable to reach an agreement with Republicans over amendments. The CJS bill funds NSF, Census, NIJ and other agencies. The CJS bill, which was being considered as part of a “minibus” including two other “non-controversial” funding bills, was largely seen as a bellwether for gauging the Senate’s appetite for passing funding bills before the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30th and before the November midterm elections.

This all comes just days after the Senate Appropriations Committee indefinitely postponed consideration of their FY 2015 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill, which includes funding for NIH and Pell Grants. The Senate Labor-HHS-Education subcommittee approved the bill by a voice vote earlier this week and was expected that the full committee would hold a markup on today. There has been no information provided on whether the action will be rescheduled.

It seems that the fate of the FY 2015 appropriations process is unknown; it is unclear when or if either bill will be taken back up in the Senate. And it is becoming more and more clear that we will see a continuing resolution (CR) in September. We will keep you posted on these and other developments.

FY15 Appropriations Update

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The unexpected primary election loss by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) could have repercussions on the FY15 appropriations process. Cantor will step down as Leader on July 31st and then serve the remainder of his term. The GOP will hold elections next week to determine who will succeed Cantor as Majority Leader, and that person may have a different opinion on how best to move forward – or not – with FY15 appropriations.

Cantor had been helpful to House appropriators by allowing them floor time with few restrictions on amendments so that they may advance their bills. This is due in large part because the current GOP leaders supported the December budget deal that established overall spending levels for FY15. However, if a more conservative leader emerges from the party’s right flank, which includes members who opposed the spending accord, the individual might have little interest and support for moving FY15 spending bills. Instead, the new leader may favor a continuing resolution (CR) that would keep current funding in place for FY15 and allow for new negotiations in the next Congress, when the GOP might control both the House and Senate.

Meanwhile, the Senate continues to move their FY15 spending bills through the process. Next week they hope to move a package of three largely non-controversial FY15 spending bills as part of a new strategy of clustering funding measures in an effort to save floor time and build bipartisan support. Commerce-Justice-Science, Transportation-HUD, and Agriculture are the three bills to be “clustered” next week.

Unfortunately, the Senate postponed further action on their Labor-HHS-Education measure yesterday. This tends to be the most controversial bill in the appropriations process because it funds many domestic programs that Republicans do not support.

While it is still too early to know for sure, it is looking more and more likely that Congress will approve a CR sometime before the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30th. They will then recess until after the mid-term elections and then return to DC for a lame duck session to complete the FY15 appropriations process – the fate of which will depend on the outcome of the November elections.

Student Loan Bill Fails in Senate

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The Senate failed to invoke cloture this morning and will not move forward on Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) bill to refinance student debt. The Senate voted of 56-38, which is less than the 2/3rds required to move forward.

Cloture Filed on Student Loan Bill

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Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)  filed a cloture motion on proceeding to the student loan bill (S 2432) that would allow borrowers to refinance their old student loans at the current lower interest rates.

The cloture vote would occur on Wednesday.

Cloture, under the Senate rules, ends debate on the bill and allows for final passage. To evoke cloture and proceed, two thirds of Senators must for cloture and agree to end debate.

This would be the first political test for the measure.

Obama Aims to Ease Student Debt

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President Obama announced today a new executive order aimed at easing student borrowers’ debt loads by capping repayments at 10 percent of their monthly income. Obama also made student loans the focus of his weekly address on Saturday, saying he’d be taking action this week.

The executive order will expand on a 2010 law, the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act, that capped borrowers’ repayment. The law left a hole in eligibility for people with older loans — anyone who borrowed before October 2007 or stopped borrowing by October 2011, which is approximately 5 million borrowers — were not eligible for the cap. The executive order will close the hole, but relief, however, would not be available until December 2015. The time is needed for the Department of  Education (ED) to propose and put new regulations into effect.

In addition, the President will announce that ED will renegotiate contracts with companies that service federal loans to give them additional financial incentives to help borrowers avoid delinquency or default.  Further, both ED and Treasury will work with the nation’s largest tax-preparation firms, H&R Block and Intuit Inc., to ensure that borrowers are aware of repayment options and tax credits for college tuition.

Finally, the President is expected to urge the swift passage of S 2292, the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act. The measure introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) last week and has been championed by people like Senators Murray and Cantwell. The measure would would allow an estimated 25 million Americans to refinance student loans, federal and private, at lower interest rates. Reduced interest payments would cost the government about $58 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but the legislation would raise $72 billion by imposing a new tax on some high-income individuals.

Fact Sheet on the Legislation Available here.

Bill Text Available here.

The Senate is expected to consider Warren’s bill (as S 2432) this week, but the measure has little chance of consideration by the House.