June 11, 2012
On Thursday, the National Academies of Science will officially release a report entitled “Research Universities and the Future of America: Ten Breakthrough Actions Vital to Our Nation’s Prosperity and Security.” This report is being billed as a follow-up report to the National Academies report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, which in 2007 issued a clarion… Read More
June 8, 2012
House appropriators say the traditionally controversial Labor-HHS-Education appropriations measure could move forward in committee in June. Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee Chairman Denny Rehberg (R-MT) said Thursday that he would like to unveil his measure when the House returns from its recess the week of June 18th. Last year, the measure was not marked up by the House… Read More
May 8, 2012
The Senate will take up a measure today that would prevent subsidized student loan interest rates from doubling this July. While both parties agree that they want to stop the rate hike from going forward, Senate republican leadership indicated Monday that they will likely filibuster the democratic measure because it opposes the proposed offset. Senate… Read More
May 7, 2012
Congress returns to work today after a week-long recess period. The Senate convenes at 2:00pm and continues debate of the student loan interest rate bill. The House is also in at 2:00pmwith votes expected around 6:30pm. This afternoon, the House Budget Committee will mark up two bills: The Sequester Replacement Act of 2012 (HR 4966)… Read More
April 23, 2012
President Obama used his weekly address to call on Congress to prevent student interest rates from doubling in July. He believes that we should be doing everything we can to put higher education within reach for every American because “at a time when the unemployment rate for Americans with at least a college degree is… Read More
March 26, 2012
Last week, Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), unveiled his FY2013 budget resolution calling for an overhaul to the tax code and deeper reductions in spending. Among Ryan’s proposals was limiting the growth of federal financial aid for college students, focusing it on low-income students. More specifically, Rep. Ryan proposes a budget that: Eliminates the in-school interest… Read More
February 17, 2012
The Obama Administration’s FY13 budget, released on February 13, reflects a continuing commitment to increased federal investments in research and education. The budget would increase funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF); the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science and ARPA-E; and the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) in the Department of Agriculture,… Read More
February 3, 2012
The White House is seeking input from colleges and consumers about a draft “College Scorecard” that would provide prospective students with information about a college’s cost, graduation rate, average debt burden, loan-repayment rate, and job-placement rate. The scorecard, which President Obama announced in a speech at the University of Michigan last week, is designed to… Read More
February 2, 2012
Automatic spending cuts, or sequestration, was established through the Budget Control Act passed by Congress last August and is set to go into effect January 2013. The sequestration process has great implications for all federal discretionary programs, including most – if not all – of federally funded research programs. Below is a link to a… Read More
January 27, 2012
Details are beginning to emerge on Obama’s proposal to make college affordable. He spoke to this during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, and again today at an event at the University of Michigan. US Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan has also been talking about this issue since late last year, and… Read More
