CR and Sequester Update

Posted on October 29, 2012

Members of Congress are discussing the possibility of approving a continuing resolution (CR) for the entire fiscal year to avoid partisan political battles and a possible government shutdown. Appropriators continue to press for completing this year’s spending bills in a lame-duck omnibus, but it’s more likely that they will be left for the next Congress. However, leaders in the 113th Congress are likely to be immersed in fights over the debt limit and tax policy next spring and may well opt for another six-month CR that would cover the rest of the fiscal year. The current CR (PL 112-175) expires on March 27, 2013.

On the sequester front, President Obama is speaking with confidence about a “grand bargain” on raising taxes and reducing the deficit that could be reached within six months if he’s re-elected. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is reiterating his plan to increase defense spending and repeal the 2010 health care overhaul law to help balance the budget. Obama’s allusion to a six-month timeline for a budget agreement suggests that he agrees with many lawmakers and outside observers who say that a large deal will be impossible in a lame-duck session of Congress. Some lawmakers and analysts have said Congress should agree to a small package of budget cuts and establish the framework of a bigger package in the lame duck.

There are just eight days until the election, the result of which will certainly shape the agenda for the lame duck session and early months of the next Congress.

Source: CQ Budget Tracker

Higher Ed Agendas Under Obama or Romney

Posted on October 25, 2012October 25, 2012

President Obama’s campaign recently released a brochure detailing how he might approach education issues during a second term. And there are now several articles popping up, including a comprehensive one from Inside Higher Ed, that look as how either an Obama second term or a new President Romney would look like.

Based on his first term, a second Obama term seems likely to bring greater scrutiny and regulation to all aspects of higher education. But the President is equally likely to continue his strong support for federal financial aid programs and his emphasis on college access and completion for low-income students, at least within the constraints of tight federal budgets. A Romney administration would likely propose changes to federal financial aid eligibility and student loan repayment options, but could offer some relief on reporting regulations.

Though they might handle it differently, neither administration is likely to go easy on colleges in terms of accountability. The focus of either administration would certainly be on rising tuition and questions about quality and value.

Sequestration Update

Posted on October 22, 2012October 23, 2012

Even though Congress is in recess until after the November elections, efforts to find a solution to the so-called “fiscal cliff” continue among members of the Senate. A bipartisan effort aimed at avoiding scheduled increases in taxes and automatic, across-the-board spending cuts early next year are taking shape in Senate, with attention focused on replacing the fiscal cliff with an alternative deficit reduction package in the lame-duck session this December. The efforts are focused on establishing a framework for deficit reduction that would replace the scheduled cuts, or sequester, and tax increases before the end of this year and then require the next Congress to come up with alternative spending cuts and revenue increases to tame the deficit in 2013. This effort is led by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

Despite this and other discussions currently underway, Congress is far from agreement on a deal to prevent sequestration from taking place in January. President Obama reiterated his pledge last week that he would veto any legislation that would allow tax cuts to continue for the wealthiest Americans, while House Republicans have already backed extending all tax cuts through 2013 and support cuts in entitlement spending to avert the sequester. It is still too early to tell what the final outcome might be, but it does seem like everyone at least agrees that the sequester would be bad for the economy and should be avoided. I just worry that the alternative will be just as challenging for research universities.

2013 Higher Ed Agenda

Posted on October 10, 2012October 17, 2012

Inside Higher Ed published a good article in today’s edition that details the higher education issues facing the next Congress. Budget issues will continue to be the most pressing issue confronting lawmakers when they convene the 113th Congress in January. Additionally, Congress will need to deal with looming student loan interest rate increases (July 2013), a shortfall in the Pell Grant Program beginning in 2014, and reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). This article sets the stage for our advocacy efforts in 2013.

Sequester Could Cost Washington State Nearly $1.7 Billion by 2017

Posted on September 27, 2012October 17, 2012

AAAS just published some new estimates of sequestration impacts on science budgets through 2017. The report gets into individual agencies (in some instances, directorates) and states, and includes both a balanced scenario and a nondefense-only scenario. Washington state could lose nearly $1.7 billion dollars in federal R&D funding over the next five years. You can read the full report at http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/fy2013/SeqBrief.shtml.