May 22, 2013
The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared a comprehensive immigration reform bill late yesterday afternoon after a week of considering over 200 amendments. The bill, drafted by a bipartisan groups of Senators dubbed the ‘gang of eight’ would, among other things; expand the annual cap of H-1B visas to 110,000 from the existing cap of 65,000, raise… Read More
May 21, 2013
Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, testified before the House Committee on Education and Workforce today. During the hearing, House Chairman Klein specifically asked Secretary Duncan to clarify the Administration’s position on the student loan issue. The Republican attempted to elicit an endorsement from Duncan of their bill, HR 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act,… Read More
May 21, 2013
Dr. Ernest Moniz was sworn in as Energy secretary in the department’s cafeteria this morning. Moriz was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate on May 16. Moniz, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist, begins with bipartisan endorsement after his 97-0 confirmation. His predecessor, Steven Chu, also won unanimous confirmation in 2009 before battling with GOP lawmakers over… Read More
May 16, 2013
In what appears to be an ever escalating battle, the National Science Foundation (NSF) today officially refused to comply with a request to supply reviewer comments to five grants questioned by House Science, Space and Technology Chairman, Lamar Smith (R-TX). On April 25th, Chairman Smith sent a letter to the NSF, which asked for an… Read More
May 7, 2013
Below are some upcoming congressional hearings scheduled that we will be keeping our eye on and may be of interest to the UW community. TUESDAY, May 7, 2013 Senate Appropriations 2014 APPROPRIATIONS: INTERIOR AND ENVIRONMENT 10:30 a.m. May 7, 124 Dirksen Bldg. Subcommittee Hearing Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee (Chairman Reed, D-R.I.) of Senate… Read More
April 11, 2013
Yesterday, President Obama released his FY14 budget request — nearly two months later than required by law. Much of the delay was blamed on the sequester and the prolonged FY13 appropriations process that resulted in a year-long continuing resolution (CR). In a typical year, the President’s Budget Request (PBR) kicks off the annual appropriations season,… Read More
March 28, 2013
White House spokesman Josh Earnest announced today that the FY14 President’s Budget Release has been pushed back two more days and will now drop on April 10th.
March 27, 2013
A roundup of bills introduced in the last week that may be of interest to the higher education community: S. 514: A bill to amend Title 38, United States Code, to provide additional educational assistance to veterans pursuing a degree in science, technology, engineering, math, or an area that leads to employment in a high-demand… Read More
March 15, 2013
This has been a productive week in the world of Congressional Budgets and Appropriations. Congress is wrapping up work on a CR to keep the government funded through the end of the fiscal year on September 30th and both House and Senate Budget Committees unveiled their FY14 budgets this week. FY13 Spending Package Nearing Passage… Read More
March 13, 2013
A roundup of bills introduced in the last week that may be of interest to the higher education community: S. 440: A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for loan forgiveness for early childhood educators. Sponsor: Mark Begich (D-AK) Introduced: 3/4/2013 Last Major Action: Referred to Senate Committee on Health,… Read More
