February 13, 2013
During his State of the Union address last night, President Obama announced a new College Scorecard that would help students and parents make better decisions about which college to attend. The College Scorecard allows you to enter the name of a college of interest or select factors that are important in any college search. You… Read More
February 6, 2013
According to Politico.com, President Obama will nominate current REI President and CEO Sally Jewell to lead the Interior Department. Sally is also a current member of the UW Board of Regents. If confirmed, Sally would replace current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who held the post throughout Obama’s first term. Salazar announced last month that he… Read More
November 28, 2012
As the Los Angeles Times is reporting, three republican senators introduced an alternative version of the Dream Act on Tuesday that would give legal status for young immigrants brought to the US unlawfully as children. The effort, called the Achieve Act and launched by retiring senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) and… Read More
September 18, 2012
Schedule: Both the House and Senate are out until Wednesday in observance of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. When they return, the Senate will take action on the 6-month continuing resolution. Both chambers are expected to recess at the end of the week and not return until after the November elections. OMB Sequester Report:… Read More
July 25, 2012
Today US Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) released a detailed analysis of the impact of sequestration on dozens of health, education and labor programs. The report includes State level information on funding cuts and details the impact in every State. The report will be featured at a rally this afternoon in DC with non-defense groups. Read the report… Read More
July 19, 2012
FY 2013 Continuing Resolution: Several Republican lawmakers are advocating for an early vote on a stopgap spending bill for FY 2013 that would keep the government running into early next year, leaving contentious funding decisions for the next Congress. Most believe they are betting that they’ll have more power next year – possible control of… Read More
July 12, 2012
The House is likely to mark up their Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill on July 18, although no official announcement has been made. The $150 billion bill is the only one of the 12 annual spending bills not yet approved by House appropriators. At $150 billion, the measure would be about $7 billion below current spending.
July 2, 2012
Both the House and Senate are in recess this week for the Fourth of July holiday. Late last week, both chambers demonstrated that they can advance legislation by reauthorizing federal highway and transit programs for two years and preventing Stafford student loan interest rate increases. Also last week, the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care… Read More
June 29, 2012
The House and Senate both will take action today on the conference agreement to HR 4348, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The agreement reauthorizes federal highway, transit, and other surface transportation programs through September 30, 2014, at current funding levels with inflationary increases for certain programs. It consolidates or… Read More
June 27, 2012
On Tuesday, Senate leaders announced that they reached a deal to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, but they are still determining whether to attach that “deal” to a measure that would reauthorize highway programs, which is still being negotiated. Congress must take action on both issues –… Read More
