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
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
October 26, 2011
President Obama announced today at a speech at the University of Colorado Denver, a new initiative called ‘Know Before You Owe’ designed to make college loans more affordable and reduce the financial burden on recent graduates – many of whom are struggling to find employment. The administration is essentially speeding up by 2 years, a… Read More
September 29, 2011
The House Appropriations Committee released their draft Labor-HHS-Education spending bill today in which they executed several spending cuts and revoked all additional funding for “Obamacare”. Some highlights: Health & Human Services The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is funded at $6.7 billion, a $1.5 billion increase over FY11 levels The National Institutes of Health… Read More
July 28, 2011
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing yesterday on the Department of Education’s FY12 budget. Secretary Duncan was the witness. In his opening remarks, Duncan expressed concern that America has gone from being a world leader in education to now being “middle of the pack”. He… Read More
February 16, 2011
The Department of Education has released the following summary of the President’s FY12 budget request for the agency: U.S. Department of Education Information Release 2/14/11 Deep cuts and efficiencies in several key education programs will help fund new education investments to keep American students competitive in the global economy under the proposed 2012 Obama administration… Read More
February 14, 2011
Today, President Obama released a $3.73 trillion budget request for FY12. The White House estimates that the request and projections for spending in the out-years would reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. Despite reductions in overall spending, the request contains significant increases for research and development as well as some education programs…. Read More
