Jan 15: The 110th Congress reconvened today. The FY08 omnibus appropriations bill was signed into law on December 26. Visit NACAC's Advocacy for Students page to view a chart of NACAC priority programs and their funding levels in the omnibus compared to the original House and Senate appropriations bills.
2007
Dec 20: The FY08 omnibus bill is ready for the President's signature. The President is expected to approve the package because it includes the $70 billion he requested for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill passed the House by a vote of 272 to 142, and the Senate by a vote of 76 to 17.
Dec 17: The House is considering today a new omnibus bill that will fund all remaining Cabinet departments for FY08. The bill is much closer to the President's overall spending ceiling, but the House version does not include the war funds requested by the President. Those funds are expected to be added by the Senate tomorrow. The final bill is expected to be approved by the House and sent to the President by the end of the week, when the current CR expires. Visit NACAC's Advocacy for Students page to see how the omnibus bill numbers compare to the original FY08 House and Senate bills.
Dec 14: Congress has approved a week-long CR (continuing resolution) to keep the government funded until next Friday, in order to extend negotiating time on the FY08 omnibus appropriations package. The package will probably cut more than $900 billion from eleven different bills to reach the President's recommended funding ceiling. Allocations on individual programs and in individual agencies will probably not follow the President's recommendations. Any increases over FY07 in the education bill will likely be concentrated on Pell, IDEA, and Title I.
Dec 11: President Bush threatened to veto the latest appropriations package yesterday, insisting that the bills for the remaining Cabinet agencies not exceed his overall spending request. House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) is leading efforts to create a new package that eliminates all earmarks to meet the President's budget request. Read more about the appropriations process from National Journal.
Nov 14: President Bush has vetoed HR 3043, the FY08 education appropriations bill. The vote to override the veto has been scheduled for tomorrow. Use NACAC's Legislative Action Center to contact your Representative and urge them to support HR 3043 as critical investment in America's educated workforce and global competitiveness. Pass the alert on to your colleagues!
Nov 9: The House of Representatives has again approved the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill, this time separately from the Veteran's Affairs bill. Following the Senate's actions on November 7 to separate the two bills, the House approved the education bill by a vote of 274 to 141. Visit the Library of Congress online to see how your Representative voted. The next step for the bill is the White House. President Bush maintains his veto threat. Use NACAC's Legislative Action Center to urge the President to sign the FY08 education funding bill into law.
Nov 8: The Senate yesterday approved the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill separately from the Veteran's Affairs bill by a vote of 56 to 37. This forces the House of Representatives to vote on each bill separately, despite having approved them both as a package on November 6. A handful of Republicans who had voted for the bills at the chamber level have changed positions in these most recent votes, in response to the President's objections to the Labor-HHS-Education bill. NACAC remains in support of the conference report for providing much-needed increases for college access programs while maintaining a modest, fiscally-responsible increase of 4.8% over FY07 levels.
Nov 7: The FY08 education appropriations conference report was approved by the House yesterday by a vote of 269 to 142. Visit the Library of Congress online to see how your Representative voted. The Senate will take up the bill today, which combines the funding bills for the departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and Veteran's Affairs. A procedural vote in the Senate may force a separate vote on the Labor-HHS-Education bill.
Nov 6: The FY08 education appropriations conference report is ready for floor consideration in both chambers. The conference report provides funds for a $4,435 Pell maximum (a $125 increase), $858 million for TRIO (a $30 million increase) and $318 million for GEAR UP (a $15 million increase). The conference report also provides $50 million for ESSCP, making those funds available to high schools for the first time.
The President has maintained his veto threat on this bill, although Congressional leaders have removed the Defense Department appropriations bill from the package. Use NACAC's Legislative Action Center to contact the President and urge him to sign this bill into law.
Nov 1: Conference negotiators are set to approve a $700 billion spending package that includes the FY08 appropriations bills for Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, and Veterans' Affairs. The package will likely be ready for floor debate next week. The President is sticking to his veto threat because the Labor-HHS-Education bill exceeds his recommendations for FY08 by about $10 billion. The House bill (larger overall than the Senate version) represents a 3% increase over FY07 spending.
Oct 30: Conference negotiations for the FY08 education appropriations bill is underway. The President has threatened to veto the bill, which will likely be packaged with appropriations bills for the Departments of Defense and Veteran's Affairs. Use NACAC's Legislative Action Center to urge the President to sign the FY08 education appropriations bill into law.
Oct 24: The FY08 education appropriations bill was approved by the Senate yesterday by a vote of 75 to 19. A motion to recommit the bill to the Appropriations Committee (which would essentially kill it) failed by a vote of 54 to 40. An amendment passed to provide $10 million for the America COMPETES Act, which became law on August 9.
Oct 18: The Senate continues floor debate on S 1710 (HR 3043), the FY08 labor/hhs/education appropriations bill. The President has threatened to veto the bill for exceeding his budget recommendation. Read the Statement of Administration Policy on S 1710. NACAC supports S 1710 for its investment in need-based student aid and early awareness programs, including GEAR UP, TRIO, and ESSCP. Visit our Advocacy for Students page to see how the Senate bill's numbers compare to the House bill.
July 31: President Bush will meet with Congressional leaders from both parties tomorrow, to discuss several issues before Congress, including the FY08 education approprations bill, which the President has threatened to veto. The House has passed their version by a nearly veto-proof margin; the Senate has yet to act on its bill beyond the committee level. The Senate version has provided $2 billion less for education programs, and deals with the Pell Grant in reconciliation legislation, rather than in the appropriations bill. Senate leaders still intend to bring the bill to the floor at some point.
July 23: On Thursday, July 19, the House of Representatives approved the FY08 appropriations bill with a vote of 276 to 140, just 14 votes shy of a "veto-proof" margin. Nineteen Representatives did not vote. Also on Thursday, the Senate passed the Higher Education Access Act, the Senate's version of education reconciliation, by a vote of 78 to 18. The House passed their version on July 12. NACAC has voiced support for both versions, but will share specific recommendations with the conference committee once conferees are named.
July 18: The House will continue consideration of HR 3043 today, the FY08 education appropriations bill. The President's veto threat has been reinforced by the Statement of Administration Policy, an official statement from OMB (Office of Managment and Budget) regarding the administration's position on legislation. Although the administration's chief objection is that the bill includes "irresponsible and excessive" spending, the bill enjoyed wide bipartisan support at the subcommittee and full committee level, and represents a 3% overall increase over last year. NACAC supports the bill because it provides a $390 increase in the maximum Pell Grant (bringing the total to $4,700), as well as significant increases for GEAR UP, TRIO, and ESSCP, the only federal program that provides funds for school districts to hire more school counselors.
July 17: The FY08 education appropriations bill will be debated on the floor of the House today. Please use NACAC's Legislative Action Center to contact your members of Congress and urge them to vote yes on HR 3043.
July 13: The House Appropriations Committee marked up the FY08 labor-hhs-education bill on Wednesday, July 11. Three amendments were approved by the full committee, adding funds for special education, vocational education, and Safe and Drug Free Schools. Although the bill is under a veto threat from the President for exceeding his budget requests, the bill enjoyed strong bipartisan support in the full committee, with education subcommittee ranking member James Walsh (R-NY) noting that a bill under his chairmanship would look very similar.
Floor consideration for this bill is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18. Please continue to contact lawmakers using NACAC's Legislative Action Center in support of this bill.
July 11: The House Committee on Appropriations will markup the FY08 appropriations bill for Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education today at 10:00 am. Visit the committee online to view a webcast of the markup. Please continue to contact lawmakers in support of the House appropriations bill, as the bill is scheduled for floor debate late next week.
July 9: The House will reconvene tomorrow (July 10). The House Appropriations Committee will take up the FY08 labor-hhs-education appropriations bill this week, and it is tentatively scheduled for floor debate next week. Use NACAC's Legislative Action Center to contact your member of Congress and urge them to support the House subcommittee's bill.
June 20: The Senate appropriations subcommittee met yesterday, to markup their FY08 spending bill on the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education. Working with a smaller pool of money than their House counterparts, the subcommittee provided small increases for college awareness programs, including providing $40 million for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP), making high schools eligible for ESSCP funds for the first time. Visit NACAC's Advocacy for Students page to see how the Senate's numbers compare with the House, the President's budget, and NACAC's recommendations.
Although the subcommittee's bill did not include an increase in the maximum Pell award, Senate leaders intend to address the Pell Grant in the Senate's reconciliation bill, which is being considered by the Senate education committee this morning.
June 11: The FY08 appropriations process is underway. On June 7, the House Appropriations subcommittee for education, health, and labor approved their FY08 spending bill. The bill's $153.7 billion price tag is $12 billion above the President's request, which the White House warned may attract a veto.
Despite that threat, the bill enjoyed strong bipartisan support at the subcommittee level. The Department of Education gets $61.7 billion for FY08 in the committee's draft, $5.5 billion above the President's request. No Child Left Behind would be funded at $25.6 billion, 975 million more than the President's request. The subcommittee also restored funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP), which the President eliminated in his budget, by nearly doubling it's FY07 level to $61.5 million. Visit NACAC's Advocacy for Students page to see how all of NACAC's priority programs fared.
May 4: The Committee for Education Funding (CEF) joined with the Coalition for Health Funding today in a joint letter to Congressman David Obey (D-WI), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, regarding the start of the FY08 appropriations process. NACAC is a member of CEF, and signed on to the letter requesting a $14 billion increase over FY07 levels for the appropriations bill that funds education, health, and labor programs.
Jan 30: Congress is finally on the road to completing FY07 funding, with a joint resolution filed yesterday by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Senate chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV). Fiscal year 2007 began last October, but the 109th Congress failed to complete FY07 funding. Congress is expected to consider the new joint resolution tomorrow. If passed, the resolution would keep many programs at FY06 levels, but would increase the maximum Pell Grant by $260, bringing the total to $4,310 from it's five-year stagnation at $4,050.
2006
Nov 16: The House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (CR) yesterday that will fund the government at FY06 levels until December 8. Congress has recessed for Thanksgiving and will reconvene on December 5. The 109th Congress is expected to adjourn for good by December 15.
Nov 14: The final session of the 109th Congress convenes this week. It's likely that only the unfinished appropriations bills will be addressed by this session. The remaining bills will likely be rolled into one or several catch-all "omnibus" bills. The other possibility is a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government at last year's levels.
Oct 2: The 109th Congress has adjourned, with plans to return November 13 to finish 10 appropriations bills, including the education appropriations bill, and other unfinished legislation. The current continuing resolution (CR) will expire on November 17.
Oct 2: The 109th Congress has adjourned, with plans to return November 13 to finish 10 appropriations bills, including the education appropriations bill, and other unfinished legislation. The current continuing resolution (CR) will expire on November 17.
Sept 28: Congressman Mike Castle (R-DE) and twenty four other Republican members of Congress sent a letter to Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) yesterday, reminding him of a promise to add $7 billion to the FY07 appropriations bill that covers education, health, and labor programs. A similar addition was made to the Senate appropriations bill. Neither house has completed action on the education/health/labor bill.
Sept 27: Congress is expected to finish only two of twelve appropriations bills before the November elections. Target adjournment is this Friday, but with ten funding bills pending, the 109th Congress will return for a lame duck session following the elections. A continuing resolution (CR) was passed today that will keep the government running at this year's funding levels until November 17.
July 24: The Senate Appropriations Committee met last week and made no improvements to the subcommittee's bill. Chairmen Arlen Specter (R-PA) called the bill a disappointment, and “the disintegration of the appropriate federal role of health, education and worker protections”. He and ranking member Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) have vowed to add $2 billion for education programs when the bill is considered on the floor of the Senate.
July 18: The Senate Appropriations subcommittee on education met today to determine funding levels for key education programs for FY07. The maximum Pell Grant was level-funded for the fifth year in a row, and zero increases were provided for Work Study, SEOG, LEAP, and a host of other education programs. The full committee will meet on Thursday, July 20.
June 26: The Senate Appropriations Committee has met and set a lump sum of $142.8 billion for education, labor, and health programs for FY2007. This number is $5 billion above the President's request, but is only a 1.1% increase over last year. The next step is for the education subcommittee to determine funding levels for individual programs using the lump sum as a spending cap. The full House has yet to act on its education appropriations bill.
June 14: The House Appropriations Committee approved its FY07 appropriations bill yesterday, cutting education, labor, and health programs by $1.66 billion and completely eliminating 56 programs. The committee proudly announces these "savings" in its press release, along with the news that the bill also includes $1 billion in "Member projects." What that $1 billion is specifically spent on will not be revealed until the conference report, expected late summer or early fall.
The bill does include a $100 increase in the maximum Pell Grant, the only increase in five years, bringing the award up to $4,150. If the grant kept pace with inflation, it would be worth $4,982 today. Unfortunately that small increase was funded by severe cuts to other programs, including a $12.7 million cut to the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP).
The next step is floor debate, scheduled for next week. Use NACAC's Legislative Action Center to contact your member of Congress and urge them to vote against this bill as harmful to education.
June 12: The House Appropriations Committee will meet tomorrow to approve the subcommittee's proposal for education, health, and labor funding for FY2007. Contact your legislators today and tell them to restore funds to the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP). Use the national student-counselor ratios and NACAC's issue brief on counseling for more information.
June 7: The House appropriations subcommittee met today to determine FY07 funding levels for education, health, and labor programs. The subcommittee bill cuts ESSCP by $12 million. Contact your legislators today to urge them to restore ESSCP! Visit NACAC's Advocacy for Students page to see how the subcommitte's proposal compare to previous years and NACAC's recommendations, and for resources on the value of school counseling.
June 2: Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) is collecting signatures from her fellow Senators for a letter urging Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) to honor the $7 billion added to the Senate's budget resolution. When the Senate reconvenes next week, work will begin on FY07 appropriations. Use NACAC's Legislative Action Center to write your own letter to your Senator and urge them to join Senator Snowe.
May 31: Congress is now in recess, and will reconvene on June 6. Continuing with the FY07 appropriations process will be high on the agenda. Read a dear colleague letter from Congressman Ric Keller (R-FL), encouraging investment in the Pell Grant for FY07. The letter is signed by 142 members of Congress, more than triple the number that signed a similar letter from Congressman Keller last year.
May 5: The House Appropriations Committee has released 302b allocations for FY2007. This allocation is a lump sum used by the subcommittees to determine spending levels for individual programs. The 302b for education, labor, and health programs is 3% higher than the President's request, but only 0.6% higher than last year's 302b.
Jan 13: Click here to read legislative analysis of the FY2006 education appropriations bill and hurricane relief provisions for schools. Click here to see a chart prepared by the Committee for Education Funding that compares FY05 and FY06 funding for select education programs.
2005
Dec 23: The FY2006 appropriations bill for education is ready for the President's signature. The bill provides no increases for need-based student aid or early awareness programs, and leaves the maximum Pell Grant at the same level for the fourth year in a row. Click here to see how this year's funding levels compare with past years.
Dec 19: Click here to read CEF's letter to lawmakers encouraging them to vote against an FY06 appropriations conference report that level funds or cuts education progams. CEF, the Committee for Education Funding, is an organization of more than 100 education groups, including NACAC, dedicated to providing adequate funding for education programs.
Oct 28: The Senate has passed their FY06 education appropriations bill. The maximum Pell Grant, GEAR UP, and other need-based education programs were all level funded. The House education committee has increased cuts to education programs to $18.1 billion to meet the FY06 reconciliation package. Contact Congress and encourage them to not balance the budget or pay for disaster relief on the backs of students.