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Category: Budget

UW Bothell Nursing Program on the Hill

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UW Bothell with Jay Inslee

UW Bothell Nursing Program Director Dr. Mary Baroni (pictured front right) and  faculty member Dr. Suzanne Sikma (pictured back right) came to DC last week to attend and present at the Global Alliance for Leadership in Nursing Education and Science (GANES) conference. They were joined by program alumni Florentina Culiac (pictured center) and Gail McLean (pictured left) who also presented at the GANES conference. The UWB Nursing Program has benefited from significant federal support for student scholarships, primarily through the efforts of Congressman Jay Inslee (pictured) and Senator Patty Murray. The scholarships have enabled the training of nursing faculty resulting in increased educational opportunities for community college nursing students around the state, and ultimately increasing the number of practicing nurses.

The UWB contingent participated in meetings on Capitol Hill to thank the two offices for their support and to discuss the future of the program.

Senate Moves Tax Package Forward (Updated 12/17)

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**2nd Update 12/17** The packaged has been fully approved by Congress and is heading to the President’s desk, where it will be signed this afternoon.

** Update ** Today, by a vote of 81-19, the Senate voted to pass the much discussed tax-extenders package. The bill now goes to the House for a vote. The $893 billion package would provide an extension of various Bush-era tax cuts that were set to expire at the end of December. The package includes several items of note to our community, including:

Tax incentives that would be extended for two years through 2012

  • Section 127 Employer-provided education benefits
  • Coverdell education savings accounts
  • Student loan interest deductions
  • American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC)

Tax incentives that would be extended for two years through 2011 (they expired in 2009)

  • Deductions for qualified educational expenses
  • Research and development credit
  • Ability to “roll over” assets in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) to charitable organizations, including institutions of higher education

Additional items of note for employees

  • Sales tax deduction in states with no income tax -retroactively for 2010 plus 2 additional years
  • Social security payroll tax reduction from 6.2% to 4.2% of income for one year

Although the tax package will leave the Senate with rare bipartisan support, it’s path in the House is less clear. House Democrats have promised to amend the legislation, primarily the estate tax portion, which could send it back to the Senate. Senate Republicans have already signaled that they are unlikely to support House modifications. Nonetheless, it is expected that some form of a final deal will be struck by the end of the week -so that tax rates do not increase at the beginning of the year.

FY11 Omnibus Spending Bill Increasingly Possible (Updated 12/17)

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**12/17 Update: Now increasingly unlikely, as several committed votes in favor have switched

Today, in a step towards closing out the FY11 appropriations process, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its omnibus appropriations package. The package would enable modest increases to federal research agencies that the University of Washington draws competitive grant support from. Additionally, the package contains support for several UW specific projects. Items of note from the Senate omnibus are listed below. The package will require 60 votes in the Senate in order to overcome a filibuster. At present, it appears that Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) has the votes necessary to advance the legislation. However, the process is far from a done deal. A final outcome should be clear by the end of the week, when the House hopes to adjourn for the year.

UW Specific Projects in the Senate Omnibus

  • Puget Sound Littoral Sensing- $4.96 million
  • National Tidal Energy Test Platform- $3.76 million
  • Healing in Bone & Eye with Sphere-templated Polymers- $1.2 million
  • Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft Structures (AMTAS)- $750,000
  • Dental Education in the Care of Persons with Disabilities (DECOD)- $570,000
  • Small Business Development Center (Tacoma)- $265,000

Agency Funding Levels of Note in the Omnibus

  • Commerce-Justice-Science Section
    NSF: $7.34 billion (an increase of approximately $400 million from FY10)
    NOAA: $5.5 billion (an increase of approximately $800 million from FY10)
    NIST:
                    – Technology Innovation Program: $70 million
                    – Manufacturing Extension Program: $125 million
  • Interior-Environment Section
    USGS: $1.2 billion (an increase of approximately $900 million from FY10)
  • Labor-HHS-Education Section
    NIH: $31.8 billion (an increase of about $750 million from FY10)

*Additionally, $5.7billion is provided to fill a shortfall in the Pell Grant program, which was created by increased eligibility

Second Temporary Spending Measure Likely (Updated)

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**12/3 Update: Congress has approved a CR (referenced below) that will last through 12/18, allowing lawmakers additional time to attempt an omnibus spending bill that would closeout the FY11 appropriations process.**

The House of Representatives is close to a vote on a second continuing resolution (CR) that would continue the level funding of government operations through December 18th. The first CR, which expires on Friday 12/3, was necessitated on October 1st when Congress failed to pass appropriations bills in time for the beginning of the new fiscal year. A CR typically provides temporary level funding to allow Congress more time to complete the appropriations process.

At this point, Senate leaders are still pushing to complete the FY11 appropriations process with an omnibus spending bill before Congress adjourns for the year. Such a move would preserve expected increases for research agencies such as NSF and NIH, as well as congressionally directed appropriations (also knows as earmarks) for this cycle. However, emboldened by election wins and increased numbers in the next Congress, Republicans are far less interested in moving forward with FY11 appropriations bills that do not reflect their priorities.  It remains possible that Democratic attempts to pass an omnibus spending bill will be filibustered in the Senate, requiring the issue to be punted to the new Congress -where agency/program increases and funding for special projects will be met with significant skepticism.

US Senate to Vote on Earmark Ban

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The Senate postponed until this morning a vote on a measure that would ban all earmarks for the next three years. The chamber will vote on an amendment to food safety legislation proposed by Senator Coburn (R-OK) that would create a Senate rule effectively prohibiting the chamber from considering any measure containing earmarks.  Coburn’s amendment would require two-thirds of senators present and voting for approval, and it’s unlikely his proposal will meet that threshold.  Read moreabout Coburn’s amendment.

UPDATE:  Earlier today, the Senate passed the most significant overhaul of federal food safety regulations in seven decades, which would expand the FDA’s power over the food supply.  The House should take action before the end of the week and send the measure to Obama for his signature.  During the debate in the Senate, senators effectively killed any further talk about a binding three-year ban on congressional earmarks.  But since earmark projects have nothing to do with food safety, and amendments to a bill are supposed to be germane after cloture is invoked, two-thirds of the Senate would have had to agree to even allow an up-or-down vote on the proposed earmark curb.  Instead, the tally was a decisive 39-56 against allowing a vote on the earmark ban amendment.