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Category: Higher Education

But Will He Sign It?

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Following the Senate’s lead from last week, the House cleared yesterday the massive spending package that combines the annual Labor-HHS-Education and Defense spending bills by a vote of 361-61.  The Senate approved it by a vote of 93 to 7.  The bill also includes a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund through December 7 the other agencies and programs whose funding bills are not signed into law by next Monday.

Earlier this week, there had been some uncertainty about whether the president would actually sign the package because it did not contain the funding his wants for a border wall along the Southern border.  It now appears that he will indeed sign it.

The CR could now apply to a larger number of bills– seven– than originally hoped for.  House and Senate negotiators have spent the last several weeks trying to reach a compromise on a combined package of four more appropriations measures and it remains uncertain at this point whether an agreement can be reached and signed into law before the House recesses on Friday.  Among the bills under discussion are those that would fund the departments of Interior and Agriculture.

Senate Agrees to Domestic-Defense Appropriations Package

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As expected, the Senate adopted last Thursday an appropriations package made up of the two largest spending bills, the Labor-HHS-Education and Defense measures.  The Senate approved the $856.9-billion package by a vote of 85 to 7.  While the House cleared its version of the Defense bill, it has yet to move on Labor-HHS.

Among other items, the Senate bill would fund the NIH at $39.1 billion in FY2019, an increase of $2 billion over the FY2018 level.  During the floor debate, several amendments of interest were adopted, including:

  • An amendment from Roy Blunt (R-MO), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) that would transfer $5 million from the NIH Office of the Director to the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services “for oversight of grant programs and operations of the National Institutes of Health, including agency efforts to ensure the integrity of its grant application evaluation and selection processes.”
  • A Blunt-Murray amendment authorizing the Department of Education to allow institutions of higher education to service outstanding Federal Perkins Loans.

Two Biggest Spending Bills Likely to See Senate Movement

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After the Senate returns from its abbreviated August recess this Wednesday, it is expected to start debate on the two biggest spending bills, the Defense and Labor-HHS Appropriations Bills. The Senate will most likely combine the two measures into a single package, which, if passed, would include a total of approximately $857 billion in total spending for defense, health, education, and labor programs.

The House, which remains in recess through Labor Day, has made no announcements regarding its plans for the two bills.

 

House Democrats Unveil HEA Legislation

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To counter the House Republican proposal to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA), the House Democrats today will introduce their own version of a reauthorization bill.  The Democrats’ package, the Aim Higher Act, will serve as their messaging document moving forward.  It is not expected to move through the legislative process.

A number of documents related to the legislation are available:

  • a detailed summary of the bill produced by the Democrats on the Education and the Workforce Committee is available here;
  • the committee Democrats have also produced a “fact sheet”; and
  • a press release about the measure is available here.

The House Republicans’ bill, the PROSPER Act, was passed by the Education and the Workforce Committee late last year but has not yet come to the floor for a vote as the committee chairwoman has not been able to generate enough support for its passage.

Labor-HHS Spending Bill Clears House Committee

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After an all-day markup, the FY2019 House Labor-HHS-Education bill was cleared by the Appropriations Committee last night. The committee’s adoption of the bill means that 11 of the 12 spending bills have cleared the House Appropriations Committee; the Senate committee has cleared all of its bills.

The 13-hour markup was contentious at times, with heated debates on a number of issues, including child separation.  Of the roughly 50 amendments offered and debated during the session, a significant number of them focused on child separation practices at the border.

Although the bill has now cleared the committee process, it is unclear at this point whether it will see floor action in the near future.

A copy of the bill is available here and the accompanying report is available here.