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News and updates

The Details Are Not Pretty (Part I)

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The details of the President’s FY2021 budget requests for various agencies of interest to UW are not pretty.  Let’s start with some of the details related student aid and higher education programs at the Education Department.

Programs Slated for Elimination

  • Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)– Currently funded at $865 million
  • GEAR UP– Currently funded at $365 million
  • Title VI/ International Education Programs– Currently funded at $76 million
  • Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN)– Currently funded at $23 million.

Other Education Department Proposals

  • The Pell Grant maximum would remain at $6,345.  The proposal seeks to fold the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant program into the Pell program.
  • In addition to eliminating the SEOG program, the budget proposals also seeks to cut the Federal Work-Study program from $1.18 billion to $500 million while also changing the allocation formula.
  • The president’s budget calls for turning the various TRIO programs into a single block grant program that would be administered by states.  The proposal calls for the total funds for this new block grant to be cut from $1.09 billion to $950 million.

Student Loans

  • On the loans front, all subsidized loans would be eliminated, meaning all federal student loans would become unsubsidized loans, including undergraduate loans.  The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program would be eliminated as well.
  • The department proposes to consolidate five income-driven repayment (IDR) into a single IDR program, with the repayment rate set at 12.5 percent of discretionary income.  The standard repayment cap would be repealed.  For those borrowers with only undergraduate loan debt, the remaining balance would be forgiven after 180 months of repayment, while those with graduate debt would have their balances forgiven after 30 years of repayment.
  • Loan limits would change under the budget proposal as well.  It calls for Parent PLUS loan limits for undergraduate students to be set at $26,500.  Graduate students would see their annual loan limits capped at $50,000 and the aggregate limits capped at $100,000 under this proposal.
  • In addition, the Administration wants to study the idea of turning the Office of Federal Student Aid into a separate, non-governmental entity.
  • The Administration also wants to explore the concept of requiring “postsecondary institutions that accept taxpayer funds to share in the financial responsibility associated with student loans.”

Institution of Education Sciences

The Administration proposes to cut IES by $58 million below the FY2020 level to $565 million for FY2021.  Within its budget, it is calling for the elimination of both the Regional Education Laboratories and the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems.

 

Budget Day!

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The Administration has released the annual President’s Budget Request (PBR) for FY 2021 today. The proposed budget includes $4.8 trillion in spending over the next year and would increase defense spending and include substantial cuts to domestic and social safety net programs.

The measure includes $740.5 billion for the military and a 5% cut in non-defense spending, to $590 billion.

The budget would balance the budget by 2035 and calculates $4.6 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade, including $135 billion gained through proposed drug pricing reform and $292 billion gained from cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicaid.

Of note, the FY 2021 PBR assumes the 2017 tax cuts will be extended after they expire in 2025, and that the economy will grow by 3% in 2021.

The FY 2021 PBR includes a number of the president’s political priorities, including $2 billion in funding for the construction of his signature border wall, a lower level than was requested a year ago, and funding to continue to build Space Force.

A high level overview of proposed R&D spending is here. 

The PBR does have significant investments in both artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum information science (QIS) . The “Industries of the Future” commits to double R&D spending in nondefense AI and QIS by 2022.

The FY 2021 Budget includes a significant increase in nondefense AI R&D across the federal government including:

  • This increase brings spending for AI R&D and interdisciplinary research institutes at the National Science Foundation to more than $850 million, which represents a more than 70 percent increase over the FY 2020 budget.
  • Energy’s Office of Science will invest $125 million in AI research, a $54 million increase over FY 2020.
  • USDA will provide $100 million for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program to enhance application of advanced technology, including AI, in agricultural systems.
  • NIH will invest $50 million for new research on chronic diseases using AI and related approaches.
  • DARPA is investing $459 million in AI R&D, an increase of $50 million from FY 2020, and the Department of Defense’s Joint AI Center is increasing its budget from $242 million in FY 2020 to $290 million in FY 2021.

Similarly, federal aggregate investment across key agencies for QIS R&D would increase by more than 50 percent relative to the FY 2020 Budget, putting QIS R&D on the path to double by 2022 including investment in:

  • NSF investment in QIS research will double to $210 million, an additional $105 million over FY 2020.
  • Energy’s Office of Science spending on QIS research will increase to $237 million, which will boost QIS efforts at the national laboratories and in academia and industry. This represents a nearly $70 million increase over FY 2020.
  • Additionally, $25 million for Energy’s Office of Science to support early stage research for a quantum internet.

However, with all PBRs there are cuts. Major savings from the PBR can be found here. 

Programs proposed to be eliminated include:

  • Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant and education programs including:
    • Sea Grant
    • the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
    • Coastal Zone Management Grants
    • the Office of Education
    • the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund
  • ED: Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
  • ED: Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)
  • ED: Title VI International Education
  • Energy: Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy program
  • HHS: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  • EPA: ENERGY STAR program
  • EPA:  Extramural Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants
  • NASA:  Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)
  • USGS:  Cooperative Research Units

Programs proposed to be significantly  cut include:

  • ED: TRIO Programs that would transition from a set of competitive grant programs into a single student supports block grant to $950 million (-$145 million)
  • ED:  Federal Work-Study (FWS) to $500 million (-$680 million)
  • Energy:  applied energy research and development (R&D) programs focused on nuclear, fossil, renewables, efficiency, and electricity to $2.8 billion (-$2.48 billion)
  • HHS;  Center for Disease Control (CDC) cut to refocus on “core mission” of only investigating infectious disease to $813 million (-$427 million)
  • HHS: HRSA, Health Workforce Programs, cut by half by eliminating 14 health professions training programs  but keeping NURSE Corp and National Health Service Corp
  • HHS:  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to $190 million ($153 million)
  • Interior:  U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ecosystems research to $127 million (-$125 million), including significant cuts to the Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASC)
  • EPA: Geographic Programs to $331 million to fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and South Florida program and maintain limited funding for the Chesapeake Bay program (-$179 million)
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting to $30 million (-$435 million)
  • Institute of Museum and Library Services to $23 million (-$229 million)
  • National Endowment for the Arts to $30 million (-$132 million)
  • National Endowment for the Humanities to $33 million (-$129 million)

Federal Relations will continue to work through the OMB and agency materials on the Administration’s FY2021 proposal.

President’s Budget Request Expected Monday

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The Administration is expected to released its annual budget request for FY2021 on Monday, February 10th, which is on time. The President’s Budget Request, known as the PBR outlines the Administrations’s spending goals and priorities for the coming fiscal year. Each federal agency will release more detailed breakdowns of their budgets subsequent to the PBRs release.

Once the PBR is released, the busy Congressional budget and appropriations season begins in Washington, DC. The appropriations process is lengthy usually lasting through the summer.

For a full rundown of the appropriations process, see our guide.

Court Rules in Favor of Students Against USCIS

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On August 9, 2018 USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) published a memo titled Accrual of Unlawful Presence and F, J, and M Nonimmigrants which would have altered how unlawful status is calculated for certain visa holders. In the end, some foreigners would have their unlawful status retroactively applied and thus be subject to 3 or 10 year bars to admission.

On Thursday, Judge Loretta C. Biggs, US District Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, issued a nationwide injunction blocking the memo from taking effect. Judge Biggs ruled that USCIS failed to follow the Administrative Procedure Act by not allowing notice-and-comment period, and regardless, the memo would be found inconsistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act.

More details here.

 

What We’re Reading this Week (February 3rd-7th, 2020)

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Trump Acquitted: Divided along party lines, the Senate voted to acquit President Trump on both impeachment charges. Although notably Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) was the only Republican to vote in favor of conviction, Democrats still didn’t have the backing to remove the President. The acquittal ends months of impeachment proceedings, although the House Democrats have promised to continue investigating the President’s alleged wrongdoings. More at Politico.

Coronavirus Fears: Trade with China and travel throughout Asia has been slowed down by the proliferation of coronavirus. The first death outside China, in the Philippines, was reported. Although it was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organizations, officials caution the public to be wary of misinformation and avoid unnecessary panic. Read at Washington Post.

Iowa Debacle: The Iowa caucuses, the first primaries of the Presidential Elections, ended in disarray for Democrats as technology failed and they were unable to produce a clear winner until late the next day. Candidate Pete Buttigieg was deemed the winner, very narrowly beating Bernie Sanders, although some outlets declined to name a winner due to the irregularities. The next primary will be on the 11th in New Hampshire. More at Politico.

Debt Relief for Disabled Vets: The Department of Education plans to forgive student loans for some 2,500 disabled veterans by July 2020. Some argue that while this is a positive step, more can be done. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) signaled the Department should discharge loans for many more people whose disabilities will likely prevent them from working. More at Inside Higher Ed.

Whistleblower on Coronavirus Dies: Anger erupted on Chinese social media after the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, who contracted coronavirus while treating patients in Wuhan. Dr. Li was one of the first doctors to warn of the emergence of coronavirus, and he was apparently quickly censored by the Chinese government for being outspoken with his concerns. More at NYT.

UK Appoints First Female Ambassador to the US: Dame Karen Pierce, currently serving as the UK Permanent Representative to the UN, has been appointed the UK Ambassador the US. She is a career diplomat and will be the first female to hold the position in Washington. Dame Karen replaces Sir Kim Darroch, who resigned after emails calling the Trump Administration “clumsy and inept” were leaked thereby damaging his ability to carry out his job. Read at BBC.