The Senate Appropriations Committee has released a summary of a fourth continuing resolution, which would keep the government operating through March 4th at FY10 spending levels. The new CR comes after a failed attempt to advance a new spending package for FY11. The passage a CR through March 4th, as expected this week, would defer spending decisions on FY11 until the new Congress is sworn in. It is quite possible that a CR could be put into place for the entire current fiscal year, which would remove earmarks from the spending bills and level fund the government for a year. One piece of positive news in the CR was a commitment to maintain the maximum Pell Grant level at $5,550. A $5.7 billion shortfall in the program could have resulted in significant decreases in award levels.
News and updates
Congress Passes Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act
On Friday Congress passed an altered version of the existing Post 9/11 GI Bill, which is designed to address issues that arose with the previous legislation. The updated bill will:
– provide full tuition for those attending a public school in their home state and up to $17,500 in tuition payments for those attending private schools (this number will rise annually, based on the avg. cost of tuition).
– allow funds to be used for vocational schools, distance education programs, and on-the-job training
– cover 90,000 National Guardsmen and Reserves who were previously ineligible to apply for the benefit.
– Ensure that students who are taking classes online will be awarded a portion of the housing stipend, which can total more than $2000/month
– Allow a 10 year restriction for taking advantage of the benefit may be waived for spouses and dependents if they had to delay attending college in order to take care of a wounded service member
These changes will take affect in August and the VA is working to get their payment process streamlined by then to avoid any delay of these tuition payments — a problem that arose with the passage of the original legislation.
FY11 Appropriations Come to a Halt
Yesterday evening, Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) decided to pull the FY11 omnibus appropriations package from the Senate schedule.The move came after several committed “aye” votes decided that they could no longer support the legislation due to concerns about the overall cost and presence of earmarks. The next step in the FY11 process will likely be a 3rd short-term continuing resolution that keeps the government running at FY10 levels until February and leaves spending decisions to the new Congress.
It is expected that there will be even less support for an omnibus appropriations bill in the new Congress, which potentially sets the stage for a year-long continuing resolution or funding at even lower levels if the new House majority is successful in their push to roll back spending to FY08 levels -an idea opposed by the Senate leadership and President Obama. Additional details will be provided as they become available.
Rep. Adam Smith Likely Ranking Member on House Armed Services
Yesterday, the Democratic Policy and Steering Committee voted to recommend that Washington Congressman Adam Smith serve as the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. The vote essentially guarantees Congressman Smith the Ranking Member post in the 112th Congress. The Armed Services Committee has oversight of the operations of the Department of Defense as well as the national security functions of the Department of Energy.
UW Bothell Nursing Program on the Hill
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.