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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 Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on proposed fiscal 2014 appropriations for agencies, programs and activities under its jurisdiction.

Witnesses:
Sally Jewell, secretary of the Interior
David Hayes, deputy secretary of the Interior
Rhea Suh, assistant secretary of the Interior for policy, management and budget
Pam K. Haze, deputy assistant secretary of the Interior, Office of Budget, Finance, Performance and Acquisition

Senate Appropriations
2014 APPROPRIATIONS: INTERIOR AND ENVIRONMENT
9:30 a.m. May 7, B-308 Rayburn Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee (Chairman Simpson, R-Idaho) of House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on proposed fiscal 2014 appropriations for agencies, programs and activities under its jurisdiction.

Witnesses:
Neil Kornze, principal deputy director, Bureau of Land Management

Continue reading “This Week in Congress”

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.

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 occupation.
Sponsor: Sherrod Brown (D-OH)   Introduced: 3/11/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to Committee on Veterans’ Affairs   Cosponsors: 0

H.R. 1100: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve mental and behavioral health services on college campuses.
Sponsor: Janice Schakowsky (D-IL)   Introduced: 3/12/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to House Committees on Energy & Commerce and Education and the Workforce   Cosponsors: 12

H.R. 1178: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants for graduate medical education partnerships in states with a low physician-resident-to-general-population ratio.
Sponsor: Kathy Castor (D-FL)   Introduced: 3/14/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce   Cosponsors: 0

H.R. 1227: A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize certain aliens who have earned a Ph.D. degree from a United States institution of higher education in a field of science, technology, engineering or mathematics to be admitted for permanent residence and to be exempted from the numerical limitations on H-1B nonimmigrants (STAPLE ACT).
Sponsor: Erik Paulsen (R-MN)   Introduced: 3/15/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary   Cosponsors: 3
Paulsen Press Release

H.R. 1271: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit against income tax as an incentive to partner with educational institutions to provide skills training for students (Job Skills for America’s Students Act).
Sponsor: Mark Takano (D-CA)   Introduced: 3/19/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to Committee on Ways and Means  Cosponsors: 0
Takano Press Release

S. 646: A bill to create the National Endowment for the Oceans to promote the protection and conservation of United States ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems.
Sponsor:  Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)   Introduced: 3/21/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation   Cosponsors: 3 (including Senator Maria Cantwell)

The full text of these bills can be found by searching for their respective bill number at thomas.loc.gov

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

The Senate is now considering legislation that the House passed last week to maintain government funding and avoid a shutdown after the current continuing resolution (CR) expires on March 27^th. The current CR maintains funding for federal programs primarily at their FY12 levels, which meets the $1.043 trillion level agreed to in the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011.

The House-passed bill includes full-year bills for two appropriations measures – Defense and Mil-Con-VA.  The Senate package included these two and added bills for Agriculture, Homeland Security, and Commerce-Justice-Science. Included in these bills is additional management flexibility for implementing the sequester, but not relief from it. The remaining seven appropriations bills are wrapped up into a larger CR.

The Senate process has been somewhat stalled due to a slew of amendments added to the measure, but bill managers are expected to work over the weekend to develop a smaller list and prepare the bill for floor action on Monday. It would then be sent to the House for final approval. While the CR doesn’t expire until the 27^th, the deadline is realistically the end of next week before Congress departs for the Easter recess. Continue reading “Latest CR & Budget Update”