Friday, March 7, 2008

CAP Looks at Local Control

While the Senate continues its deliberate drafting on Title I Part A and Title II Part A of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, education pundits ponder the future federal role in education. It is all but certain that things will change, but how and when is quite speculative. Congressional Republican and Democratic leadership are both seeking a new approach without compromising the core principles of the law. This balancing act will be difficult and the challenge commands more focus than election year politics may allow. The quality of discussion in Congress, thus far in 2008, has been middling at best.

The discussion has been more interesting off Capitol Hill. For example, the American Enterprise Institute has been hosting many forum discussions of the changing federal role. On March 20th, the Education Sector is hosting a sold out forum on the evolving federal role in education, and, this week, the Center for American Progress released a thoughtful examination of the unique American “obsession with local control” in the new report Nationalize the Schools (… A Little)! It is significant that, despite the political orientation of these organizations, all are coalescing around a more nationalized system of education accountability, an accountability system quite unlike the current NCLB regime.

In Nationalize the Schools, Matt Miller makes his argument by providing the reader with a brief trip through history to identify the roots of local control. “A look at the history of local control as the organizing principle of schooling suggests that an approach that made perfect sense in the 1700s is crippling American education today.” It is crippling, in part, because there are 50 states and 15,000 school districts all setting their own standards and accountability measures, meanwhile the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is trying to coalesce these actions with NCLB’s objectives. It is not working, argues Miller.

In lieu of the current efforts, Miller suggests that the federal role should not be to micromanage the methods of accountability and interventions. ED should, instead, work with states to set rigorous national standards, increase the federal investment and provide a guaranteed baseline for funding per pupil, and to invest in research and development in order to promote innovation in teaching and learning techniques. Miller asserts, generally, that the new federal role must transcend the out-dated tradition of local control. He believes that ED needs to get serious about a new national role in standards and finance that will help the nation meet the challenges of today’s international economy.

The document is brief and, consequently, lacks many critical details, but was not designed for that purpose. Mr. Miller intended it to spark discussion in Washington and capture the attention of Congress. That is happening, albeit slowly, and it is an issue worth tracking in the coming months and years.

Resource:
Matt Miller, Nationalize the Schools (...A Little)! (Center for American Progress: March 2003), http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/03/nationalize_the_schools.html.
Author: DAD

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With Farm Bill Still Stalled, Nutrition Takes Center Stage

Negotiators have not made much progress regarding the Farm Bill this week. The chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry were able to unify against efforts by the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees to gain jurisdiction over certain Farm Bill programs, but they remain at odds with the White House regarding total spending for the bill. Meanwhile, school nutrition gained the spotlight early this week during a Congressional hearing and a legislative action conference.

The current Farm Bill, set to expire on March 15th, will likely be extended through April, as Congress seems unable to reach common ground with the Bush Administration. Despite her very outspoken opposition to an extension, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will allow for a month-long extension, but no more than that. Congressional leaders are growing exceedingly frustrated with the Administration over the Farm Bill negotiations. House and Senate leaders were able to reach a tentative agreement on spending that is $10 billion above baseline spending, $4 billion more than the level the White House supports.

Despite the White House’s concerns, if Congress can find acceptable offsets, President Bush may still sign the bill when it gets to his desk. However, President Bush and Sen. Harkin disagree on what constitutes an adequate offset. About $8 billion of the $10 billion in offsets would come from spending cuts on the Administration’s list. Congressional aides say Administration officials have put their stamp of approval on those spending cuts, but are not likely to support any additional offsets in spending that would require new taxes.

While the Farm Bill sits in limbo, school nutrition advocates descended on Capitol Hill this week, laying out their priorities for the remainder of the legislative session. The School Nutrition Association’s Legislative Action Conference made national nutrition standards a priority this week, but Congress seemed much more interested in the causes and effects of the recent beef recall. At a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on Tuesday, panelists came prepared to discuss efforts to ensure that all foods sold on school property are held to a high set of uniform nutritional standards. Members of the committee, however, continued to zero in on the beef recall, specifically grilling U.S. Department of Agriculture officials on the process by which they monitor the quality of beef processed in the United States.

Some advocates fear that their other messages were lost in the clutter, but the majority of advocates who came to Capitol Hill spent much of their time meeting with their Representatives and Senators, making sure that the delegation is well aware of the nutrition priorities of the various states.

Resources:
Catharine Richert and Adrianne Kroepsch, “Pelosi Won’t Back Farm Bill Extension,” CQ Today, March 6, 2008.
Geof Koss, “Key Farm Bill Players Cite Progress, Unity on Jurisdictional Rift,” Congress Now, March 6, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 6:41 PM 0 comments

ED’s Schoolwide Guidance Provides Key Insights

Last month, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released long anticipated guidance on the fiscal aspects of schoolwide programs. Schoolwide programs, as we know them today, have been a part of Title I since at least 1994. Yet, the fiscal aspects of the schoolwide requirements have remained something of a mystery as state education agencies (SEAs), local education agencies (LEAs) and schools have struggled to implement compliant schoolwide programs.

Section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) authorizes eligible schools to consolidate federal, state and local funds to upgrade the entire educational program of the school. A school is considered eligible if it has at least forty percent poverty and it completes a compliant schoolwide plan in accordance with section 1114.

ED’s new guidance finally provides insight into some of the trickiest schoolwide fiscal issues, such as the nature of consolidation, appropriate methods for accounting for consolidated funds and allowable charges in schoolwide programs. The guidance is included in the revised “Non-Regulatory Guidance on Title I Fiscal Issues” and is available at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/fiscalguid.doc.

1. What is consolidation?

According to the new guidance, consolidating funds in a schoolwide program simply means that the school treats identified funds as a single “pool” of money. In other words, the school must identify which programs are considered consolidated in its schoolwide plan and how much each program will contribute to the schoolwide pool. Those identified amounts will be considered the consolidated pool and must be used on allowable schoolwide activities.

The new guidance clarifies that schools do not need to literally combine their funds into a single account in their accounting systems. Rather, the term “pool” is used conceptually to indicate that the identified funds will be used to pay the costs of the schoolwide program without regard to the original source of those funds.

Because consolidation is a conceptual idea (as opposed to a literal combining of funds) the importance of identifying, in the schoolwide plan, the programs that will make up the consolidated pool becomes critically important. Only those funds that are specifically identified in the plan will be considered “schoolwide funds” subject to the schoolwide flexibility.

Unfortunately, identifying programs is easier said than done. Under Title I, Part A, LEAs are required to allocate funds to eligible schools. Thus, each school receives an allocation to support its school-level costs. Outside of Title I, Part A, however, most federal education programs do not contain a process for allocating funds to individual schools. Rather, SEAs allocate funds to LEAs for LEAs to spend in accordance statutory requirements. While LEAs may choose to allocate, or set-aside, some of its funds to pay allowable school-level costs, many LEAs spend the funds at the LEA level and provide services to schools.

If a schoolwide program school does not receive a distinct allocation, how should it identity the funds to be consolidated? In 2004, ED released a notice on schoolwide programs that clarified consolidation also extends to services, materials, and equipment purchased with federal funds and provided to a schoolwide program school.

Thus, schools should identify the services, materials and equipment they receive from the LEA as part of the schoolwide pool in order to make them part of the schoolwide program. Schools may need assistance from their LEAs to identify which services, materials and equipment were purchased with federal funds and are eligible for consolidation.

2. How do you account for consolidated funds?

The new guidance provides several examples of how an LEA may account for funds in a schoolwide pool.

One option is to charge costs proportionally among the programs that make up the schoolwide pool. In other words, the program funds earmarked for the schoolwide pool may be used for any allowable schoolwide activity. Allowable schoolwide costs are then charged back to the contributing programs on a proportionate basis. In other words, if Title I, Part A contributed ten percent of the funds in the consolidated pool, 10 percent of the expenditures from the pool would be charged back to Title I, Part A.

Another option is to charge costs sequentially. In other words, charge costs to state and local funds first, and then to federal programs until those funds are exhausted. Charging costs to state and local funds first ensures SEAs and LEAs stay in compliance with federal cash management rules.

If consolidated funds remain unexpended at the end of the year, ED recommends that LEAs credit the unspent funds back to the contributing programs on a proportional basis.

3. What are allowable costs and how do schoolwide programs prove that funds were spent on allowable costs?

One of the most important clarifications in the guidance concerns the concept of allowable activities in a schoolwide program. Under section 1114, eligible schoolwide program schools may consolidate their federal, state and local funds to upgrade the “educational program” of the school. A schoolwide program school must identify its educational needs in the schoolwide plan by conducting a comprehensive needs assessment and describing the specific strategies it will use to upgrade the educational program in accordance with section 1114. The new guidance clarifies that federal funds contributed to a schoolwide pool may only be used on the educational activities described in the schoolwide plan. Further, costs charged to federal funds must be consistent with the federal cost principles set out in Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-87.

Thus, in order to be allowable, a cost paid with federal funds in a schoolwide program must be: (1) related to an educational activity that is included in the schoolwide plan; and (2) consistent with federal cost principles.

Federal funds cannot be spent on operational costs such as building maintenance and repair, landscaping, and custodial services. These costs are per-se non-educational; thus, they are not allowable.

This again highlights the importance of the schoolwide plan. Costs are only allowable to the extent they are linked to the educational needs and strategies identified in the plan. It is important to ensure a schoolwide plan is sufficiently detailed to include the educational costs the school will charge to the schoolwide pool and that the school’s budget is well aligned to the schoolwide plan.

The process of proving that a school has spent federal funds on allowable costs depends on how the school has chosen to consolidate its funds:

• If a school consolidates federal, state and local funds, the school does not need to trace its federal expenditures to allowable schoolwide costs. Once federal funds are consolidated with state and local funds they lose their identity as federal funds; thus, they do not need to be tracked to allowable educational costs. However, the school must demonstrate that, in the aggregate, there are sufficient state and local funds to pay for all of the non-educational costs charged to the schoolwide pool. Because federal funds lose their identity in this situation, any employee working exclusively on schoolwide activities and whose salary is charged to the schoolwide pool is not required to maintain any time and effort records.

This distinction between educational and non-educational costs is an important clarification. Title I, Part A contains a supplement not supplant provision, which generally means that Title I funds must be used only to provide additional services, staff, programs, or materials that could not be provided by the SEA or LEA absent the federal funds. In other words, federal funds normally cannot be used to pay for services, staff, programs, or materials that would otherwise be paid with state or local funds. ED has clarified that this restriction applies in schoolwide program schools, but that to demonstrate compliance an LEA simply must ensure that a schoolwide program school receives all of the state and local funds it would receive if it were not a Title I school.


The new guidance provides an additional nuance to this supplanting analysis. Under the new guidance, an LEA must not only provide a school with all of the state and local funds it is entitled to receive, it must ensure the school receives sufficient state and local funds it would otherwise need to operate the school in the absence of federal funds. Thus, LEAs will need to implement a methodology for identifying operational expenses within a schoolwide program school and ensure there are sufficient state and local funds in the schoolwide pool to pay for those expenses.

• If a school only consolidates its federal funds, and does not include any state or local money in the schoolwide pool, it is required to demonstrate the federal funds were spent on educational activities by tracing all costs charged to the pool to a specific allowable educational activity. Employees working exclusively on schoolwide activities and whose salaries are charged to the schoolwide pool must maintain a semi-annual certification. An employee who works on schoolwide and other activities must maintain a monthly personnel activity report.

• If a school operating a schoolwide program does not consolidate its Title I, Part A funds with any other federal, state or local funds, it is required to demonstrate the Title I funds were spent on educational activities by tracking all costs charged to Title I, Part A to a specific allowable educational activity.

Resource:
Non-Regulatory Guidance: Title I Fiscal Issues (United States Department of Education: Revised February 2008), http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/fiscalguid.doc.

Author: SLK

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Labels: , , , Posted by Legislative Department at 6:38 PM 0 comments

Congress Panels Pass Budget Resolutions

Both the House and Senate Budget Committees passed their respective budget resolutions (BR) yesterday, taking an important step in the Congressional fiscal year 2009 (FY09) appropriations cycle. The Senate committee approved the BR on a 12-10 party-line vote, while the House committee passed its measure by a vote of 22-16. The Senate budget would allow $18 billion above the President’s request for the twelve appropriations bills for FY09, and the House budget would top the Administration’s request by $22 billion.

The House and Senate bills differ over paying for a way to fix the alternative minimum tax (AMT), which, if left unchecked, could cost middle class Americans millions. House Democrats want offsets for the cost of a one-year patch, but the Senate BR assumes there will be no offset. Both the House and Senate budget plans show surpluses in fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2013, but Senate Democrats plan to offer an amendment on the floor next week that would dedicate that surplus to covering the costs of extending tax cuts targeted to the middle class. At the same time, Senate leaders are assuming that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts will expire in 2010, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates would increase government revenue by $683 billion over five years.

The House BR allows for a $7.1 billion increase over the President’s request and about 9% over FY08 for “function 500” spending, which covers the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. The Senate BR allows for $5.4 billion over the President’s request and an 8% increase over fiscal year 2008 levels. However, the BR is a non-binding resolution that sets spending caps for appropriators. As such, the levels in the BR do not necessarily reflect what will appear in final appropriations bills. If last year’s budget battle is any indication, the caps may become irrelevant, depending on how Congress decides to approach White House concerns.

While the Senate budget resolution does not include reconciliation instructions, the House budget proposal would include the AMT patch in reconciliation. The House measure also includes instructions for the Ways and Means Committee to produce a bill that would reduce mandatory spending by $750 million over six years, which could be used to move pending Medicare legislation. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, failed to add an amendment in the Senate that would require a reconciliation package that would produce net savings equal to 0.5% of total mandatory spending in the budget, or about $30 billion over five years.

The House is scheduled to debate the BR on the floor next week. The Senate may also bring its bill to the floor, depending on the schedule set by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Congress begins its Spring recess next weekend, giving both chambers one week to pass their respective bills and negotiate a joint BR, giving appropriators final spending caps for the remainder of the session. Yet, since Congress usually aims to have a finished BR by mid-April, Democrats may take advantage of the recess to ensure full party support before bringing a final joint BR to each chamber for a final vote.

Resources:
David Clarke and Liriel Higa, “Tax Cuts Front and Center in Senate Budget Committee’s Debate,” CQ Today, March 6, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 6:27 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

School Nutrition Advocates Push for National Standards

As negotiations on the Farm Bill continue, school nutrition advocates are preparing another push for national standards on foods sold in public schools. After Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) failed to get a national standards amendment on the Farm Bill, advocates focused efforts on expanding the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). Now that the bill is stalled in pre-conference negotiations, the School Nutrition Association (SNA) is planning a new campaign for national standards through independent legislation.

Next week, SNA is holding its annual Legislative Action Conference on Capitol Hill. In advance of this conference SNA released a statement that it will urge Congress to require science-based, yet practical, uniform national school nutrition standards to govern the sale of all foods and beverages available during the school day. SNA’s priorities include:

• Giving the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to regulate and enforce the sale of food and beverages outside of the cafeteria.
• Requiring all a la carte and competitive food sales to be consistent with the Dietary Guidelines, as is required for school meals.
• Requiring national uniformity for the school meal pattern throughout the country. Children in all states and local districts need the same nutrients to grow and to be healthy. The current lack of uniformity is increasing the cost of the programs.

As the Farm Bill made its way through the Senate last fall, Sen. Harkin attempted to attach an amendment that would have put similar standards in place. However, due to the overly-contentious debate over the amount of amendments that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) would allow, Harkin chose to forgo efforts to attach his amendment, allowing other Senators to advance their own priorities. The amendment’s language was based on S. 771, Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act, which Harkin introduced last year. Whether or not that legislation will move forward before the end of the 110th Congress remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Congressional leaders met with the White House this week to negotiate overall spending for the Farm Bill. Earlier this month, House leaders proposed $6 billion over baseline, and received the President’s support, so long as offsets did not include raising taxes. President Bush continues to oppose any tax increases, preferring to find offsets in the form of spending cuts. The House proposal did not receive a warm welcome among Senators, but the two sides negotiated an agreement for $10 billion above baseline. The Administration is refusing to sign onto the proposal until all of the offsets are out on the table. Lawmakers only have two weeks before the current Farm Bill expires.

Resources:
School Nutrition Association Press Release:
http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Index.aspx?id=2748.
Carol MacDonald, “Nutritionists Want Level Playing Field for School Foods,” Education Daily, February 27, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:48 PM 0 comments

Governors Pushing For Federal Aid

Although education did not receive much attention at this week’s National Governor’s Association (NGA) meeting in Washington, fiscal problems were a topic of great interest. Governors cited different reasons for their state’s financial troubles, but all of those in attendance at the meeting were looking to the federal government to provide support. Many Governors are already taking steps to ensure their state either survives or sidesteps tight budget crunches over the next few years, but many Governors are still hoping Congress and the President will provide a helping hand. Their pleas may fall on deaf ears.

Many of the Governors discussed the benefits of passing a second stimulus package that includes money for transportation projects and other state funding needs. Currently, as many as 18 states have deficits, totaling $14 billion in the current budget cycle, and 20 states forecast spending shortfalls for 2009 totaling $34 billion, when combined. Governors are also looking to Congress for a one-year reprieve from new Medicaid rules that the Bush administration is attempting to put in place. State officials and health providers vigorously oppose the changes, which they say will shift $13 billion in costs over five years to states at a time their own budgets are facing deficits because of the economic downturn. (For more on the Medicaid rules, see the article above).

While Congress may be ready and willing to acquiesce to the states’ requests, they may not be able. In light of the federal budget deficit, and the need for continued war funding, the President is unlikely to give-up the Medicaid cuts easily, cuts he claims will provide billions in savings for the federal government. The President is also unlikely to support another $20 billion package until the current one has a chance to demonstrate success. If the President is unwilling to yield on his tight fiscal constraints, then states may have to work out their own financial difficulties without federal aid.

Resources:
Eric Kelderman and Daniel C. Vock, “Govs Press for More Money on Real ID, Medicaid,” Stateline, February 25, 2008.
Andrew Welsh-Huggins, “Governors Battle with Tight Budgets,” Associated Press, February 25, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:47 PM 0 comments

CMS Moratorium Mêlées : Deux

On Tuesday, the Senate passed S. 1200, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2007. The comprehensive bill seeks to modernize the Indian health care delivery system and it includes a critical amendment by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) to prevent yet another proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from going into effect.

Mikulski’s amendment would prevent CMS from implementing rule CMS-2237-IFC “Medicaid Program; Optional State Plan Case Management Services.” The rule, issued on December 4, 2007, would restrict CMS payments for case management services offered to children with disabilities under their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) as required by the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and it would disallow the provision of case management when it is part of a child’s plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. (See 72 Fed. Reg. 68077-68093) (Dec. 4, 2007). This rule is scheduled to take effect on March 3, but Mikulski’s amendment would delay implementation until April 1, 2009.

This is the second critical moratorium on CMS rules that we are tracking. Congress passed the first in December, S. 2499, the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007. The bill, now Public Law No: 110-173, contains a moratorium on CMS’ rules to restrict Medicaid reimbursement payments to schools relating to coverage for rehabilitation services or school-based administration and school-based transportation. The moratorium runs until June 30, 2008 and there is heavy pressure on Congress to extend this moratorium into 2009 and beyond.

Despite the political opposition to CMS’ rules, CMS is dedicated to reducing its payments to schools and Congress is determined to prevent CMS action. To be sure, these moratorium mêlées will be important to Members of Congress this year. We will continue to monitor and analyze the events as they develop.

Resource:
72 Fed. Reg. 68077-68093) (Dec. 4, 2007), http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a071204c.html.
Judith Solomon, “New Medicaid Rules Would Limit Care for Children in Foster Care and People with Disabilities in Ways Congress Did Not Intend,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Revised February 8 2008, http://www.cbpp.org/12-21-07health.htm
Author: DAD

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:46 PM 0 comments

Obey: Compromise or Else

On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hosted a hearing on the President’s fiscal year 2009 (FY09) proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) brought Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings before the Committee, and, like the previous two years, the event was not pleasant for the Secretary.

Secretary Spellings defended the President’s flat funding for ED by stating, “we have limited resources” and the federal responsibility is to “ensure that taxpayer dollars are allocated in the most effective and efficient ways.” This meant cutting many “small or ineffective” programs while funding those programs the Administration believes are most effective. The President is requesting $59.2 billion in discretionary appropriations for ED, the same amount that Congress appropriated in 2008 and that does not account for inflation. The request proposes to eliminate or consolidate 47 ED programs, including zero funding for Career and Technical Education State Grants, Tech Prep Education State Grants, Even Start, Education Technology State Grants, and State Grants for Innovative Programs.

Members of the House Committee on Appropriations did not agree with the Administration’s request. Representative Barbara Lee (D - CA) and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) spent considerable time asking about many of the programs that were cut from the budget, noting that many of them affected students who were poor and minorities. Representative Dave Weldon (R-FL) made the point that the underfunding of Career and Technical Education has been a regrettable theme of this Administration, a point supported by Democrats and Republicans alike, including Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), Mike Simpson (R-ID), John Peterson (R-PA) and Tom Udall (D-NM).

Chairman Obey was less diplomatic and in no mood to negotiate over the proposed budget. He told Spellings to tell the President that either he negotiate with Congress to increase funding or Congress will wait until 2009, when he is out of the office, to resolve the matter. “I am not about to waste eight months of this Committee’s time,” Obey told Spellings, clearly still upset over last year’s budget standoff with the President. The question is whether the President “will act like an adult,” fumed Obey.

Resources:
http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_lhhse.shtml
“U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings Testifies Before House Appropriations Subcommittee,” United States Department of Education, Press Room, February 26, 2008, http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/02/02262008.html
Author: DAD

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:44 PM 0 comments

Farm Bill Deadline Looming (2/22/2008)

Perhaps the most pressing matter in Congress when it returns will be to pass the Farm Bill before it expires on March 15th, at which point the old 1949 agriculture law will take effect. Despite the fact that House and Senate leaders have been working for weeks on reaching an agreement, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer remains skeptical that they can reach a deal that the White House will accept before the deadline. In support of his presumption, House and Senate leaders continue to disagree on the overall spending levels for the bill, and have yet to meet on the particular provisions of many of the programs in the bill. Even if an agreement on overall spending is reached, there are a lot of details that still need to be ironed out before the bill is ready for a final vote and the President’s signature.

After receiving veto threats from the White House, House leaders proposed a Farm Bill that only goes $6 billion above baseline spending, a proposal that they claim the President supports. However, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is not satisfied with such a small increase for the nation’s largest agricultural bill. Harkin made a counterproposal that authorizes spending at more than $12 billion above the baseline. The Administration has stated its opposition to Harkin’s proposal, which does not give the Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman much bargaining power with his House counterparts. However, to get a final bill to the President, the Senate will have to agree to the proposed spending levels, and Sen. Harkin is very influential among both parties in the Senate.

While the House and Senate leaders debate the overall spending, there has been very little talk about the programmatic details of the various titles of the bill. Congress must still choose which expansion of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program it will choose to present to the President. A majority of advocacy groups support the Senate language, which will expand the program into all 50 states, authorizing $225 million for the next fiscal year. Under this proposal, all 50 states would receive 1% of the annual appropriation, with the remaining 50% doled out on a population basis.

The Senate language does not include any set aside for administrative use, though the House’s expansion calls for a 5% set aside. The issues will not be resolved until the leaders can come to terms on funding for the bill. They have just two weeks before the deadline arrives, at which point the law will revert back to the 1949 legislation, or Congress will have to pass a temporary extension of the current Farm Bill.

Resources:
Geof Koss, “Agriculture Secretary Sees Closing Window for Farm Bill,” Congress Now, February 21, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:43 PM 0 comments

WIA Remains on the Backburner (2/22/2008)

One item that seems to have fallen off of Congress’s radar is reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). When Congress returns next week, the House Education & Labor Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will be looking to finish work on reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA). HELP Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) also listed No Child Left Behind as one of his top priorities for 2008. Meanwhile the WIA, which was scheduled for reauthorization in 2003, remains untouched this year.

After the 109th Congress failed to reauthorize the law, the 110th began preliminary measures towards a final reauthorization, but did not follow up with subsequent efforts. The White House offered its own WIA proposal last year. Under that proposal, funds appropriated for the WIA Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth Programs and the Employment Service would be consolidated and allocated to states as a single funding stream for Career Advancement Accounts (CAA) and employment services for job seekers and employers. The proposal seeks to increase education and training opportunities for American workers, provide greater flexibility to states and local areas, and strengthen the One-Stop Career Center system.

This proposal is mirrored in the President’s fiscal year 2009 budget proposal, which has been largely dismissed by the majority in Congress. The House held two hearings last summer regarding the WIA, but aside from a bill proposed by the Republican minority in the House, Congress did not produce any meaningful legislation. This year is not looking any more promising. Committee staff in both the House and the Senate admitted that the WIA is not currently a top priority for the 110th. Unless those priorities are shifted, the WIA is not likely to be reauthorized this year.

Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:43 PM 0 comments

HEA Faces Tough Conference (2/22/2008)

When Congress returns from the week long recess on Monday, one item of unfinished business that remains on its to-do list is reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA). Both chambers passed their own versions of the HEA, which is currently operating under an extension through March 31st. Due to some contentious issues between the two bills, pre-conference negotiations continue to delay the release of a final conference report. The Senate passed S. 1642 on July 24th, while the House just recently passed H.R. 4317on February 7th. Although both bills passed by overwhelming majorities (354-58 in the House, 95-0 in the Senate), the two bills still need to find common ground before a final conference report is released.

S. 1642 would:

• Increase the amount of information that schools and lenders must provide to students, including up-front disclosure of loan rates and terms and data on total school costs, and would ban lenders from giving schools financial aid funds or any other perks to get on a preferred lender list;
• Direct the U.S. Secretary of Education to assess costs that drive tuition increases and examine ways to contain costs and track pricing trends, alerting schools that the government will monitor tuition increases and consider ways to curb them; and
• Require colleges and universities to draft codes of conduct governing relationships with lenders, shorten the application form for federal student aid, and authorize a pilot program to allow students to learn the total aid they can expect to receive up to two years in advance.

H.R. 4317 would:

• Give the U.S. Education Department (ED) significantly more authority to regulate private student loans, as part of a broad set of provisions — prompted by last year’s investigations into illegal inducements given to colleges by lenders — aimed at cracking down on the behavior of lenders and college officials in making loans to students;
• Bar ED from issuing regulations governing higher education accreditation, designed to ensure that colleges are measuring student learning outcomes;
• Set a ceiling on the maximum Pell Grant of $9,000, and allow students to receive Pell Grant funds year-round, instead of just during the traditional academic year; and
• Require States to maintain their financial support of higher education and allow ED to withhold some funds to States that cut their college appropriations — an idea endorsed by some college officials but strongly opposed by many state legislators.

Conferees have yet to meet on the two bills, but negotiations between key staff members and members of Congress continue to take place behind closed doors. Members of Congress seemed intent on finishing the HEA this year, something they have been unable to do since 1998. While appropriations will likely be the top priority in the next few months, Congress may move quickly to get a final bill to the President before the March 31st deadline.

Resources:
Stephen Langel, “Senate Unanimously Approves Higher Ed Reauthorization,” Congress Now, July 24, 2007.
Stephen Langel, “House Easily Approves Higher Ed Reauthorization; Conference Up Next,” Congress Now, February 7, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:42 PM 0 comments

NCLB Still Alive in the Senate (2/22/2008)

The clock continues to run on the re-authorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). When the Senate returns to work next week, it will have about three weeks, until the next recess on March 17, to introduce language on the critical pistons of the law: Title I, Part A and Title II, Part A. That is not a hard deadline, but a self-imposed target set by the staff in the Senate education committee. Last year, the Senate released many parts of its bill for public discussion, but the committee did not release those critical sections due to their complexity and, more important, the rancorous political atmosphere that followed the release of the House Discussion Draft. Most expect the Senate language on accountability to be considerably more flexible than was the House draft.

According to Roberto Rodriguez, Education Adviser to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP), Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), the Committee will try to craft language that grants local educational agencies and state educational agencies more authority to use other indicators of academic success beyond the current status model and growth models. Likewise, Rodriguez reports that the subsequent interventions of section 1116 will also incorporate greater differentiation. While the details are currently scarce, the full picture of the reauthorization debate will be more clear in the coming weeks.

Author: DAD

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:40 PM 0 comments

Appropriations is Top Priority this Spring (2/22/2008)

Congress is set to begin work on fiscal year 2009 (FY09) appropriations as soon as it returns to Washington next week. Both the Appropriations and Budget committees are preparing to flesh out their proposals for the next fiscal year’s funding levels. A number of the Administration’s Cabinet Members have already testified before Congress regarding White House budget proposals, and House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) is planning another hearing for next Tuesday.

Rep. Obey, also the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education, is having Secretary Margaret Spellings testify before his subcommittee regarding the President’s budget requests for education. One issue that is sure to get the subcommittee’s attention is the President’s request to return Reading First funding back to the FY2007 levels. Rep. Obey cut the program considerably for fiscal year 2008, citing mismanagement and conflicts of interest with those responsible for administering the program. Spellings will also have to justify the 47 education programs that are targeted for elimination, a move that has not been popular with either party in Congress.

Meanwhile, the House and Senate Budget committees are set to begin their work on drafting the FY09 budget resolution (BR), which will set the spending caps under which appropriators are directed to operate when deciding funding for the various programs. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and House Budget Chairman John Spratt (D-SC) have already stated that this year’s resolution will look much like last year’s BR, ignoring the President’s requested levels. Despite this apparent defiance, Congress is not in any better position than it was last year, when the President forced the majority to bring its total level of spending closer to his lower, requested levels.

The President continues to have enough support in the House to sustain a veto, giving him an edge over the Democratic majority, especially when he does not have to worry about reelection, unlike members of Congress. Leaders in Congress may not want to risk the backlash from failing to pass appropriations bill before the elections in November. In the past, the blame for government shutdowns has fallen squarely on Congress’s shoulders.

Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:39 PM 0 comments

New Teacher Policy Program at ED (2/15/2008)

On Monday, the United States Department of Education (ED) announced a new program, the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship. The program is designed to improve education programs and policies by strengthening the connection to classroom practices, recognizing and retaining motivated and innovative public school teachers, and providing them the opportunity to expand their leadership roles outside of the classroom. The program will have two tiers of participation: Classroom Fellows and Washington Fellows.

Classroom Fellows will serve their regular teaching contracts within their districts, and will be paid to perform additional Fellowship duties for ED. Washington Fellows will serve as full-time federal employees in Washington, D.C. from summer 2008 through June 2009, placed in appropriate positions within the Department of Education to work on education program development and implementation.

Highly Qualified K-12 teachers, as defined under No Child Left Behind, of all subjects from public schools who have spent at least three years in the classroom are eligible to apply. Potential candidates for the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship should visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/applicant.html for further information. Up to 20 Classroom Fellows and up to 5 Washington Fellows will be named by summer 2008.

Resource:
“Teaching Ambassador Fellowship,” United States Department of Education, http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/applicant.html.
Author: DAD

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:38 PM 0 comments

Negotiations Moving Forward on Farm Bill (2/15/2008)

Those responsible for the Farm Bill may be moving closer to final passage of the long awaited legislation. Although no formal conference has taken place, House and Senate leaders are working on producing a bill that can clear both houses of Congress as well as the White House. Both House and Senate leaders have created final proposals to negotiate over, hoping they can produce a final conference report before March 15, when the current Farm Bill expires.

Earlier this week, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson (D-MN) and ranking member Robert W. Goodlatte (R-VA) released a new proposal that would come in at $6 billion above baseline spending for the five-year legislation, which authorizes federal agriculture programs. Peterson claims the White House will support the spending levels in his proposal. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), on the other hand, has countered with his own proposal. Harkin’s measure mirror’s Peterson’s, but includes funding levels that are about $12.5 billion above baseline spending.

All parties involved want additional funding, but any such legislation will face a veto threat from the White House. Despite the significant behind-the-scenes negotiating that is taking place, there is little talk regarding the nutrition provisions of either proposal. A majority of school nutrition advocates support the Senate’s expansion of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program. Unfortunately, the talks are currently focused on payments to farmers, one of the most controversial sections of the bill.

Sen. Harkin and his staff plan to work through the weekend, hopefully coming up with a compromise with the House by Sunday. If he is successful, a conference report could make it through Congress shortly after they return from the week-long President’s Day recess. This may allow Congress to get a bill to the President before the March 15 deadline.

Resources:
Geof Koss, “Harkin Demands More Farm Bill Spending Than House-Backed Level,” Congress Now, February 14, 2008.
Catharine Richert, “Lawmakers Meet to Move Revamped Farm Legislation Closer to Fruition,” CQ Today, February 14, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:38 PM 0 comments

President Signs Stimulus Package (2/15/2008)

President Bush signed H.R. 5140, a $168 billion economic stimulus package, on Wednesday. The package is intended to help stimulate the economy, which many economists believe is heading into a recession, by putting more money back in the hands of consumers. Regardless of the legislation’s success, H.R. 5140 will have further implications on Capitol Hill as Congress heads into the fiscal year 2009 (FY09) budget cycle.

Marquee provisions in the bill include rebate checks to workers earning at least $3,000, whether or not they pay income taxes. The size of rebate payments are based on taxes paid last year, but will be shown as a credit for the 2008 tax season. Anyone without a Social Security number will not be able to receive one. While lawmakers and economists disagree on the probable benefits of the package, all interested parties agree that the bill’s quick package may not bode well for FY09 appropriations.

President Bush and Congressional Republicans signed on early to support the stimulus package, showing a very rare period of partisan cooperation. However, that period will end, specifically regarding federal funding, as soon as the House and Senate Budget Committees meet next month to draft the FY09 budget resolution. The President will remain staunch on his requested funding levels.

For fiscal year 2008 (FY08), the President vetoed the Labor-HHS-Education bill because it came in at nearly $12 billion over his request. He levied similar threats to all bills that year that he felt were too far above his request. The Democratic majority in the House was not strong enough to override his veto. The situation for FY09 is not any different.

The President will likely remain unmovable on his funding levels once again, and he still has enough Republican support in the House to sustain a veto. The fact that the President and his supporters in Congress signed off on $168 billion over two years for the stimulus package means that the Administration will be even more stringent on spending for the remainder of the year.

Resources:
Jay Heflin, “President Signs Stimulus Package Into Law,” Congress Now, February 13, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:37 PM 0 comments

Congress Ready to Begin Budget Work (2/15/2008)

President Bush began the fiscal year 2009 (FY09) budget cycle last week when he released his budget request. The wheels are beginning to turn in Congress, and the House and Senate Budget Committee plan to begin work shortly after they return from the week-long President’s Day recess. Despite conceding a lot of ground to the President’s request last year, the Democratic majority in Congress is claiming that it will begin the same fight it lost last year.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Ken Conrad (D-ND) is promising to turn a budget resolution (BR) out of committee that closely resembles last year’s resolution. Sen. Conrad plans to mark up the BR on March 5th and 6th. Although the House has not scheduled a mark up, House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-SC) intends to begin work around that same time. Meanwhile, Democrats continue to lambast the President’s budget request, claiming it underfunds too many important domestic priorities.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is criticizing cuts to the children’s health insurance program and various higher education grants, including elimination of the Perkins loan program, which provides money for low-income students to attend college. She is estimating that the President’s budget would cut about $900 million from higher education programs. Rep. Spratt also joined in by referring to Bush’s budget cuts as “draconian,” especially regarding cuts to entitlement programs. However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson argued that entitlement reform would help raise revenue by nearly $2 trillion a year.

Once both chambers have passed their own BRs, the bills will go to conference and they will put together a joint BR. Once that is approved by both the House and the Senate, it will set caps on discretionary spending, meant to guide Congressional appropriators, who begin work shortly after a joint BR is passed. Since the BR is only used for Congressional purposes, it does not require the President’s signature. Spratt and Conrad hope to have the BR ready in early April, allowing appropriators to begin work shortly after the Easter recess.

Resources:
Vicki Needham, “Conrad: Fiscal 2009 Budget Will Resemble 2008,” Congress Now, February 12, 2008.
Jay Heflin, “Spratt Questions Wisdom of Bush Budget's Parameters,” Congress Now, February 13, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:36 PM 0 comments

Facility Financing Comes to the Forefront (2/15/2008)

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a two-panel hearing on school facility financing, entitled “Modern Public School Facilities: Investing in the Future.” The first panel comprised of Members of Congress who have introduced school facility legislation or are involved with the issue. The second comprised of
school facility practitioners and policy experts.

In panel one, eight members of Congress testified on either the importance of the federal role in school facility matters or the inappropriateness of federal involvement. Predictably, the matter fell along party lines. Indicative of those in favor of an expanded federal role, Representative Bob Etheridge (D-NC), a former Superintendent of North Carolina’s public schools, discussed his bill, H.R. 2470, the America’s Better Classrooms Act.

He made the point that inadequate school facilities are not a function of improper management or lackluster efforts. The problem stems from an explosive demand on facilities that outpaces the efforts to keep with the demands. “School officials are striving to provide first class educational opportunities with infrastructure that has not kept up with the times,” said Etheridge. “Simply put, our schools are busting at the seams.”

The Republican testimonies reflected concerns over the fiscal implications of further expansion of the federal role in education. The opportunity cost concerned Representative Mike Castle (R-DE) most. He observed that the federal government has not met many of its current funding obligations, such as fully funding No Child Left Behind, the Individuals with Disabilities Act, and meeting various other requirements imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Taking on yet another commitment may not be feasible, he testified. But the concerns over inflated construction costs overshadowed the polite opportunity costs argument.

Republicans spent significant time on the impact of the Davis-Bacon law upon construction costs. The Davis-Bacon mandate applies to any bill that receives federal dollars for construction or renovation. It requires that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors on all construction and minor remodeling projects to be paid local prevailing wages as determined by the Secretary of Labor. The calculation of the prevailing wage, however, is a matter of debate.

As explained by Representative Steve King (R-IA), the law artificially increases labor costs up to 22% and overall construction costs up to 9%. Because of this increased cost, the Republicans panelists made it clear that they would reject any legislation that would force the Davis-Bacon mandate on school construction and re-modeling. The heated discussion on this debate made it clear that the future of any facility finance bill in Congress this year will turn on its interface with the Davis-Bacon requirements.

The second panel provided the Committee with a practitioner’s view of the federal role in school facility financing. Six panelists informed the Committee about their work in the field and how the federal government has supported their work.
For example, Kathleen Moore, the Director of the School Facilities Planning Division of the California Department of Education, discussed the impact of facilities on student achievement and teacher retention, California’s school facilities needs and successful federal facility programs and the need for continued and expanded federal assistance.

Notably, Moore discussed two federal programs that have helped California: the Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program and the Federal Renovation Program. Both, she testified, are models for federal involvement. The QZAB program is a strong model for providing tax credits that allow LEAs the benefit of interest free financing on bonds and the Federal Renovation Program is a good model of a grant that targets urgent repair and renovation.

“The physical condition of school facilities impact student achievement and experience as well as teacher retention and community vitality,” testified Moore. “A quality school facility is but one component necessary for successful learning. Alone it is no silver bullet, but together with rigorous standards, qualified teachers and system accountability, it can positively impact educational outcomes.”

The hearing made two things clear. First, the current role in federal facility financing has been critical for many schools and districts. Second, the expansion of the federal role is possible in this session of Congress, but they must resolve the partisan split if any new bills hope to move forward before the elections in November.

Resources:
School facility bills before Congress.
H.R. 3021, the 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, introduced by Representative Ben Chandler (D-KY);
H.R. 3902, Public School Repair and Renovation Act, introduced by Congressman David Loebsack’s (D-IA);
H.R. 3197, the School Building Enhancement Act, authored by Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ);
H.R. 2470, the American’s Better Classrooms Act (ABC), sponsored by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charlie Rangel (D-NY).
Author: DAD

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:34 PM 0 comments

House Committee Personnel News (2/8/2008)

This week, U.S. House Education and Labor Committee Ranking Republican Howard ”Buck" McKeon (R-CA) announced the departure of Vic Klatt, the Committee’s Republican Staff Director. McKeon named Sally Stroup as Klatt's successor. Vic has been a long time friend of the Firm and we wish him the best moving on. Sally is also a friend of the firm and so we congratulate her on the move as well. We look forward to working with her and her staff in the coming years.

Resource:
“McKeon Announces Education & Labor Staff Changes,” Committee on Education and Labor, Republicans, February 5, 2008, http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=409.
Author: DAD

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Posted by Legislative Department at 5:32 PM 0 comments

President is Calling for WIA Changes (2/8/2008)

President Bush released his fiscal year 2009 (FY09) budget proposal on Monday, February 4th. His $3.1 trillion budget calls for a number of program eliminations and cuts, though some specific programs would receive slight increases. Among his proposals, the President is calling for considerable changes to the funding mechanisms under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). As a practical matter, the Administration understands many of its proposed changes will not be adopted on Capitol Hill, so President Bush is proposing an alternative plan to fund WIA programs under the current law.

The Administration’s primary proposal for WIA funding includes collapsing the funding from various programs into one large funding stream. Under this plan, funding for adult, dislocated worker and youth employment and training activities is eliminated. That funding is then funneled into Career Advancement Accounts (CAAs).

CAAs are “self directed” accounts of up to $6,000 over two years that would be available to adults and out-of-school youth entering or re-entering the workforce or transitioning between jobs, or incumbent workers in need of new skills to remain employed or to move up the career ladder. This would also replace the current system of separate training programs serving a single state grant for the provision of employment and training services.

Experience has taught the Administration that Congress does not always fall in line when it comes to the President’s budget request. Under the assumption that they lack support in Congress, the White House is also proposing alternative funding levels for the eliminated programs. If Congress decides to continue funding the separate programs, the Administration’s desired funding levels are:

• $712 million for Adult Employment and Training Activities;
• $1.2 billion for Dislocated Workers Employment and Training Activities; and
• $840.5 million for Youth Activities.

Most expect Congress to continue the separate funding streams, though the final funding numbers are still likely to reflect the President’s desired funding levels if they reject the CAA proposal.

Author: SAS

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Labels: , Posted by Legislative Department at 5:31 PM 0 comments

OESE Invites Applications for New Award (2/8/2008)

On Monday, February 4th, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) posted a notice inviting applications for new awards using fiscal year 2007 funding for Enhanced Assessment Instruments. The purpose of this program is to enhance the quality of assessment instruments and systems used by States for measuring the achievement of all students. ED estimates that $7.5 million is available for this program, with an individual award running between $500,000 and $2,000,000. Eligible applicants include state educational agencies (SEAs) as defined in section 9101(41) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and consortia of such SEAs. Applications are due by April 4, 2008. You can view the listing in the Federal Register at:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20081800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-1983.pdf.

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:30 PM 0 comments

HHS Proposes Final Rule on TANF (2/8/2008)

On Tuesday, February 5th, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted a final rule regarding reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program. This final rule implements changes to TANF required by the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 (Pub. L. 109–171). The DRA reauthorized the TANF program through fiscal year 2010 with a renewed focus on work, program integrity, and strengthening families through healthy marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood. This final rule becomes effective on October 1, 2008. You can view the Federal Register posting regarding the final rule at:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20081800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/08-455.pdf.

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:30 PM 0 comments

Reading First FY08 Cuts (2/8/2008)

On January 29th, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings sent a letter out to all the State Superintendents detailing the impact of the near 61% fiscal year 2008 reduction to Reading First. The letter lamented the loss of the funding, and recommended alternative funding sources that local educational agencies (LEAs) could use; consistent with statutory requirements, to improve literacy instruction in grades K-3. Any questions regarding the letter should be sent to Reading First Director Joe Conaty, who has been heading the office since October of 2006.

What will become of Reading First in fiscal year 2009 (FY09)? President Bush requested Congress to restore the funding to $1 billion, back to fiscal year 2007 levels; but one year ago, appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) promised not to replace the spending cuts until the U.S. Department of Education (ED) answered for the program’s mismanagement. Whether ED has done so to the satisfaction of Obey is not known, but there is considerable support for the program among the state chiefs and education advocacy organizations in Washington. They are asking Congressional appropriators to support the restoration of the program in FY09, but the outcome is far from clear.

This is, after all, President Bush’s program and Chairman Obey is still not on good terms with the President due to a series of political standoffs last year and his recent Executive Order trying to reduce or eliminate earmarks, the protected prerogative of appropriators in Congress. Appropriation hearings begin later this month. At that time, the prognosis for Reading First will become clearer.

Author: DAD

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Labels: , Posted by Legislative Department at 5:29 PM 0 comments

CMS Moratorium Political Strategies (2/8/2008)

The countdown to June 30th continues. That is the day when the moratorium on the rules issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expires. Congress passed the moratorium last December as a part of the S. 2499 (now Public Law No: 110-173), the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, and it prevents CMS from implementing regulations that would restrict payment under title XIX of the Social Security Act for rehabilitation services or school-based administration and school-based transportation. It reads:

SEC. 206. MORATORIUM ON CERTAIN PAYMENT RESTRICTIONS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall not, prior to June 30, 2008, take any action (through promulgation of regulation, issuance of regulatory guidance, use of Federal payment audit procedures, or other administrative action, policy, or practice, including a Medical Assistance Manual transmittal or letter to State Medicaid directors) to impose any restrictions relating to coverage or payment under title XIX of the Social Security Act for rehabilitation services or school-based administration and school-based transportation if such restrictions are more restrictive in any aspect than those applied to such areas as of July 1, 2007.

Many in Washington are now racing against the clock. Led by a the American Association of School Administrators and the National Education Association, a broad coalition is working with members of Congress to draft legislation that will, at least, extend the moratorium until 2009 when the administration turns over and Michael O. Leavitt is no longer the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The coalition is working with the members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Finance Committee, the committees with jurisdiction over the matter, to first draft legislation and then to find a bill sponsor and co-sponsors.

Yet, the problem is not with support for the action, but with finding sufficient budget offsets for the legislation. The Democratic leadership in the House is still operating under Pay Go rules, which require that any new funding must be offset either through program cuts or raising taxes. Whether such legislation would require an offset, and the cost of that offset, is now under discussion. Once that is resolved, any newly drafted CMS moratorium bill would not move on its own but be attached to another piece of legislation that will be signed by the President, although the question of who the President will be at that time is also part of the strategy debate. We are actively taking part in this process and will report on any progress as it occurs.

Resources:
Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, S.2499, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.2499:, (chose option 1).
Elicia J. Herz, CRS Report for Congress: Medicaid and Schools (Congressional Research Service, updated December 20, 2007), http://opencrs.com/document/RS22397/.
Author: DAD

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Labels: , Posted by Legislative Department at 5:26 PM 0 comments

House Passes HEA Reauthorization (2/8/2008)

Last night, the House passed H.R. 4317, which reauthorizes the Higher Education Act (HEA), by a vote of 354-58. By passing the bill, the House finally caught up with their counterparts in the Senate, who passed their own HEA reauthorization bill last summer. Although the conference date has yet to be set, both chambers are pushing for quick negotiations, despite a possible veto threat. Lawmakers are aiming to have the bill signed into law by March 31st, when the current HEA extension runs out.

As the House worked their way through the twenty-seven amendments offered on the House floor, eventually accepting all but one, higher education advocates began to see the possibility of the first HEA reauthorization in roughly ten years. Although there was a contentious debate regarding the level of funding for Pell grants, the bill received overwhelming bipartisan support. The House bill goes beyond the matter of college affordability, which was addressed in the College Cost Reduction Act, signed into law last year. The bill would:

• Give the U.S. Education Department (ED) significantly more authority to regulate private student loans, as part of a broad set of provisions — prompted by last year’s investigations into illegal inducements given to colleges by lenders — aimed at cracking down on the behavior of lenders and college officials in making loans to students.
• Dictate that colleges craft plans for giving students legal ways to download movies and music, and explore technologies to stop illegal peer to peer file sharing. This provision had been strongly opposed by several college groups, especially since those promoting it based their arguments largely on data about campus downloading that have since been shown to be seriously flawed.
• Bar ED from issuing regulations governing higher education accreditation, designed to ensure that colleges are measuring student learning outcomes. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings vehemently opposes the provision and will try to alter it when House and Senate negotiators meet to craft a compromise version of the Higher Ed Act legislation in coming weeks. The legislation would also create a new federal position, an “ombudsman,” to intervene in disputes related to accreditation.
• Extend to three years from two the period the federal government uses to calculate the rate at which student loan borrowers default, but delay implementation of the change until 2012.
• Set a ceiling on the maximum Pell Grant of $9,000, and allow students to receive Pell Grant funds year-round, instead of just during the traditional academic year.
• Require States to maintain their financial support of higher education and allow ED to withhold some funds to States that cut their college appropriations — an idea endorsed by some college officials but strongly opposed by many state legislators.
• Under the Academic Competitiveness Grant Program, make grants for low-income students available to part-time students and those seeking certificates as well as degrees.
• Take the Education Secretary out of the business of deciding whether high school programs are of sufficient academic rigor to quality students for the grants, leaving that decision instead up to state officials.
• Mandate that textbook publishers expand the information they provide to faculty members about pricing and changes from past editions. Colleges would be required to include more information about required books in the course schedules to help students shop for books more cost effectively.
• Crack down on diploma mills by directing ED to publish lists of accredited institutions and accreditation agencies.
• Make it easier for students to get information about their financial aid awards and generally simplify the process by which students — particularly those from low-income families — can qualify for federal financial aid.
• Establish a loan fund to help colleges and universities damaged or otherwise impaired by natural disasters such as the 2005 hurricanes in the Gulf Coast.
• Toughen standards for teacher education programs.

Despite the number of amendments, there are only minor differences between the House and Senate versions. This should allow conferees to get a reconciled bill to their respective floors for a vote by the end of the month.

The final hurdle is a possible veto threat from the Bush Administration. The White House issued as Statement of Administration of Policy yesterday saying it “strongly opposes” this legislation because it limits the U.S. Department of Education’s authority, creates numerous expensive and duplicative programs and wrongly conditions receipt of federal grant funding on tuition price. Despite the President’s opposition, Congressional leaders continue to expect the bill to become law this year, due to the large support base on Capitol Hill.

Resources:
Stephen Langel, “House Easily Approves Higher Ed Reauthorization; Conference Up Next,” Congress Now, February 7, 2008.
Doug Lederman, “House, Focusing on Cost, Approves Higher Education Act,” Inside Higher Ed, February 8, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:22 PM 0 comments

ED Releases New Title I Fiscal Guidance (2/8/2008)

This week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued non-regulatory guidance regarding various Title I fiscal issues. This non-regulatory guidance updates Section E of the Title I fiscal issues guidance released in May 2006 and addresses consolidating funds in schoolwide programs. In addition to revising the introduction to Section E, this guidance adds several new questions that clarify the purpose for consolidating funds in a schoolwide program, provides more detail on what it means to consolidate funds in a schoolwide setting, and describes how an LEA might account for State, local, and Federal funds that are consolidated in a schoolwide program. This guidance does not impose any requirements beyond those that the law specifies.

Any requirements referred to in this guidance are taken directly from the statute and the Title I regulations, with citations provided throughout. The examples shown in this revised guidance illustrate possible ways to account for Federal funds in a schoolwide setting and do not constitute endorsement of the processes shown or imply that there is a requirement to use those processes. The guidance in this document supersedes all prior non-regulatory guidance issued by ED concerning Title I fiscal issues

You can view the new guidance at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/fiscalguid.doc.

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Labels: , , , Posted by Legislative Department at 5:21 PM 0 comments

Farm Bill Negotiations Hit Funding Snag (2/1/2008)

Lawmakers continued negotiations with the White House regarding the Farm Bill this week. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, is working on various compromises, but claims there is still a standoff regarding funding for the bill. Conferees are not likely to bring a conference report out until they can find common ground with the administration, which means multiple non-controversial programs may suffer the consequences.

The first disputes between the two chambers of Congress, as well as the White House, dealt with payments to farmers and other farm subsidy programs. While Sen. Harkin believes that a deal is near on these issues, the White House continues to object to the amount of funding in both proposals, most of which is paid for through various tax increases. Without eliminating specific tax breaks, lawmakers may not be able to find enough funding for the various programs under the Farm Bill, but President Bush is already threatening to veto any legislation that increases taxes. Although the Senate passed its Farm Bill by a veto-proof majority of 79-14, there is very little support in the House for the Senate version of the bill.

While negotiations between all the parties continue, programs like the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) expansion may suffer. The program is universally supported, but is not considered vital to the bill’s final passage. If conferees are forced to make cuts in order to reach a consensus, programs like this are often the first to go. School nutrition advocates are continuing to push for the program’s inclusion, but Sen. Harkin and his colleagues will make the final decision.

Resources:
Geof Koss, “Harkin Sees Room for Compromise on Farm Payments, but Funding Standoff Lingers,” Congress Now, January 31, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: , Posted by Legislative Department at 5:20 PM 0 comments

House Set to Pass HEA (2/1/2008)

The House is finally set to move forward with its version of the Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization next week. The House Rules Committee will sift through proposed amendments on Wednesday, and set the ground rules for debate, expected to begin on Thursday. If the House is successful in passing the bill on Thursday, conferees could meet the following week, possibly getting the bill to the President before the end of the month.

The House Education and Labor Committee passed an HEA bill last November, but the delayed appropriations cycle pushed most other initiatives onto the backburner. Over the past few weeks, Senate leaders, who passed their HEA legislation last summer, pushed for their House colleagues to pass a bill so the two chambers can go to conference. The House committee bill would:

• Streamline the federal student financial aid application process;
• Make textbook costs more manageable for students by helping them plan for textbook expenses in advance of each semester;
• Allow students to receive year-round Pell Grant scholarships;
• Strengthen college readiness programs;
• Increase college aid and support programs for veterans and military families;
• Improve safety on college campuses and help schools recover and rebuild after a disaster;
• Ensure equal college opportunities and fair learning environments for students with disabilities; and
• Strengthen our nation’s workforce and economic competitiveness by boosting science, technology, and foreign language educational opportunities.

Once the bill passes through the House, conferees can begin negotiations on a final reauthorization package. Depending on how quickly the two chambers can come to an agreement, members of the higher education community may see final legislation by the end of the month. HEA reauthorization, which is roughly five years overdue, could be a key victory for Democrats, who failed to reauthorize No Child Left Behind (NCLB) last year. While there is some cautious optimism regarding NCLB’s chances for reauthorization this year, Democrats can help pad their track record by finally passing an overhaul of the nation’s higher education system.

Resources:
Libby George, “Higher Education Law Overhaul Could Give Democrats a Legislative Win,” CQ Today, January 14, 2008.
Niels Lesniewski, “House Rules Planning to Take Up College Opportunity and Affordability Act on Feb. 6,” Congress Now, January 29, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:19 PM 0 comments

Congress Begins Work on Stimulus Package (2/1/2008)

Congress began work on an economic stimulus package this week. House leaders negotiated an agreement with the White House on a $145 billion package that would focus on tax rebates for individual income earners as well as investment incentives for businesses. Although the House passed its bill on Tuesday, the Senate continues debate on various additions to the House package, much to the chagrin of House leaders and President Bush.

Last week, the President and House leaders showed a rare sign of cooperation by agreeing to the $145 billion stimulus plan. The President and Congress do not usually see eye-to-eye when it comes to any sort of spending legislation, but both sides believe a stimulus package is necessary to ward off a recession. After a series of meetings, President Bush, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) negotiated a deal which they labeled as, “timely, targeted, and temporary.” No one bothered to run this agreement by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee passed its own stimulus package out of committee, with various additions to the House version. The Committee package would extend unemployment benefits, provide more help for businesses losing money, add $5.6 billion in tax breaks for renewable energy, provide payments to coal companies and add payments for low-income workers. The plan is under heavy criticism from House Democrats and Republicans in both chambers. The White House also warned Congress not to attach too many additional provisions to the negotiated plan.

Despite the opposition, Sen. Reid plans to hold a vote on the committee’s language, though he expects the vote to fail. Afterwards, Reid is planning a series of votes to make two specific amendments to the House package, expanding low-income heating assistance and adding rebate checks for low-income seniors and disabled veterans who would not qualify under the House bill.

Senate Democrats remain hopeful that Republicans will not want to go on record voting against low-income voters, seniors, and disabled veterans during an election year. Unfortunately for education advocates, funding for school construction and repair projects is not on the table under any of the current proposals.

Sen. Reid plans to complete work on the package next week, so Congress can have a final version to the President by February 15. House leaders expect the President will sign the bill, assuming Senate amendments are kept to a reasonable level. Once the President signs the package, the bipartisan efforts displayed over the last week will likely fade away, especially after the President releases his fiscal year 2009 budget proposal on Monday.

Resources:
Richard Rubin, “Senate Narrows Stimulus Bill Changes,” CQ Today, January 31, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:18 PM 0 comments

President to Release FY09 Budget on Monday (2/1/2008)

Next Monday, the President will release his proposed fiscal year 2009 budget (FY09) and the United States Department of Education (ED) will host its own FY09 unveiling event later in the afternoon. Given the President’s new found focus on fiscal discipline, most expect that the President will either keep funding for ED flat from FY08 or reduce it slightly. The odds now favor nearly flat funding because ED may have inadvertently released FY09 state program allocations. An alert staff member of the Center for Education Funding discovered a hidden column in an ED spreadsheet. Whether it is accurate will be known on Monday. Some of the highlights (which are not confirmed) include:

• ESEA Title I grants to LEAS may increase from $13.8 billion in FY08 to $14.3 billion in FY09;
• School Improvement Grants remains the same at $492 million;
• Reading First State grants are resorted to FY07 levels, $1 billion;
• Special education grants may increase from $10.9 billion to $11.2 billion;
• Title II Teacher quality grants may decrease from $2.9 billion to $2.8 billion; and
• Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities may be cut to $100 million from $294 million.

Unfortunately, it also appears that the effort to eliminate Career and Technical Education funding is back. According to the unconfirmed spreadsheet, the programs proposed for elimination include: Career and Technical Education, Tech-Prep Education, Educational Technology, and Even Start. We will report on the President’s proposed FY09 budget as soon as the President releases it on Monday.

Author: DAD

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:17 PM 0 comments

Executive Order on Earmarks (2/1/2008)

During the State of the Union, President Bush spoke out strongly against earmarks. “I will issue an executive order that directs federal agencies to ignore any future earmark that is not voted on by Congress.” On Tuesday, true to his word, President Bush signed Executive Order 13457, “Protecting American Taxpayers from Government Spending on Wasteful Earmarks.” The order requires all executive agencies to “take the necessary steps” to ensure that agency decisions to commit, obligate, or expend funds for any earmarks are based on the text of laws. Earmarks should be “included in the text of the bills voted upon by the Congress and presented to the President.”

According to the order, the agency decision to commit, obligate, or expend funds for any earmark should be based on statutory criteria and merit-based decision making. No oral or written communications concerning earmarks shall supersede statutory criteria, competitive awards, or merit-based decision-making.

To facilitate the agency decision, the order directs agency heads to refer to Office of Management of Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-07-10, dated February 2007. In this memorandum, former OMB Director Robert Portman directs agencies to act with transparency and according to government-wide and agency regulations governing the selection of grant recipients or contractors.

“In the application of authorized discretion,” wrote Portman, “each agency shall use transparent and merit-based determinations to achieve program objectives, consistent with the purpose of the statute and Administration policy (including the President's Budget).” In the event of additional lobbying from Congress in favor of an earmark, the order requires all agencies to post all “written communications” from Congress recommending the inclusion of an earmark on the Internet, not later than 30 days after receipt of such communication.

In short, the executive order strongly directs executive agencies to encourage transparency in the way they manage earmarks (which is a good thing), but in no way does it eliminate the activity. The matter remains a Congressional practice stemming from the power of the federal purse under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution. Members of Congress must, ultimately, regulate this practice themselves. How they plan do that, however, is a political hydra that is still emerging. We will continue to monitor and report on the matter as this election year develops. Please find the Executive Order attached to this email.

Resource:
“President Bush Signs Executive Order Protecting American Taxpayers from Government Spending on Wasteful Earmarks,” The White House, Press Release, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/01/20080129-3.html.
Author: DAD

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Labels: , Posted by Legislative Department at 5:16 PM 0 comments

Reauthorizing NCLB (2/1/2008)

The President called on Congress to strengthen and reauthorize his key domestic legacy, NCLB. "No one can deny its results," said Bush during the State of the Union. "Last year, fourth and eighth graders achieved the highest math scores on record. Reading scores are on the rise. And African-American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs.” Building on this success, the President identified four ways that Congress, with his approval, could strengthen the law. “We must work together to increase accountability, add flexibility for States and districts, reduce the number of high school dropouts, and provide extra help for struggling schools.” Working together, however, will prove challenging in 2008, for a number of reasons.

First, the President has already stated his unwillingness to accept many changes to the law. At the close of last year, he stated his intent to veto any bill that would weaken the law's accountability provisions and he clearly stated his displeasure with the draft proposed by the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, George Miller (D-CA). Second, even if he were more willing to revise the law, there is little consensus over the right way to do it. There is considerable political acrimony among the Democratic and Republican ranks over the law’s general principles and specific details. Between the parties there is even more acrimony, which is magnified by election year politics. Third, as soon as the President completed his pleas to reauthorize NCLB, he launched into a new school choice initiative. This did not facilitate a bipartisan mood.

Addressing the matter of vanishing inner city non-public schools, the President proposed to convene a White House summit aimed at strengthening the supply of these schools so parents of "poor children trapped in failing public schools" could have better options. And to help children access these schools, the President proposed a new $300 million program called Pell Grants for Kids. This, at the heels of a request to strengthen NCLB, sparked plenty of snarky cynicism among liberal edu-pundits in Washington still reeling from the lackluster fiscal year 2008 appropriations.
Despite the common sentiment that Congress will not reauthorize the law until after the elections, the Aspen Institute attempted to rekindle momentum for an early 2008 reauthorization by hosting a panel discussion on NCLB on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

The panel, entitled “Improving No Child Left Behind Now: The Cost of Waiting,” made the case for quick action this year, but the sense of urgency was not contagious. Key congressional staff in the House and Senate education committees all stated the intent of their Members to advance language in 2008, but the specter of delay due to election politics did not retreat. “We are still moving ahead,” said Alice Johnson Cain, Congressman George Miller’s senior advisor for K-12 issues, “but let’s be real, with the elections ahead of us this is going to be an uphill battle.”

Resource:
“Improving No Child Left Behind Now: The Cost of Waiting,” Aspen Institute, Panel Discussion, January 31, 2008, http://www.aspeninstitute.org/site/c.huLWJeMRKpH/b.3837913/k.D129/Commission_Joins_Groups_for_Panel_on_Capitol_Hill.htm.
“State of the Union 2008,” The White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2008/index.html.
Author: DAD

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:15 PM 0 comments

State of the Union (1/28/2008)

In his final State of the Union Address, President Bush laid out a broad domestic agenda that included an emphasis on economic growth, federal fiscal discipline, a request to strengthen and reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and to provide parents with more school choice.

Beginning with the economy, the President urged Congress to pass the economic stimulus package agreed to by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH). The package, estimated at about $145 billion, is aimed at putting more money into the hands of American consumers to help stimulate the stagnant U.S. economy. Although the Senate is expected to make additions to the stimulus package, there is currently no language for any school construction funding, which is a priority for education advocates.

The President's willingness to sign off on such an expensive stimulus package means that he will be less agreeable to increased spending during the fiscal year 2009 (FY09) appropriations process. The President will release his FY09 budget proposal on Monday and, like last year, it is likely that there will be many program reductions and an estimated 44 program cuts for the United States Department of Education (ED).

President Bush next announced his disappointment at Congress' failure to reign in the practice of earmarking funding for special projects in members' Congressional districts. The President championed fiscal restraint by announcing an executive order to federal agencies to ignore any future earmarks that are not written specifically into bill language. Under the order, future earmarks would be subject to public scrutiny and votes and he promised to veto any spending bill that does not succeed in cutting earmarks in half from fiscal year 2008 levels.

Focusing on education, the President called on Congress to strengthen and reauthorize his key domestic legacy, NCLB. "No one can deny its results," said Bush. "Last year, fourth and eighth graders achieved the highest math scores on record. Reading scores are on the rise. And African-American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs." Building on this success, the President identified four ways that Congress, with his approval, could strengthen the law. "We must work together to increase accountability, add flexibility for States and districts, reduce the number of high school dropouts, and provide extra help for struggling schools." Working together, however, will prove challenging in 2008. The President has already stated his intent to veto any bill that would weaken the law's accountability provisions and he has clearly stated his displeasure with the draft proposed by the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, George Miller (D-CA), last summer. The conventional wisdom is that the House and Senate will both introduce draft language in 2008, but a conference and final passage will likely roll over into 2009, after the 2008 elections.

Speaking to his conservative base, the President next addressed school choice. According to the President, inner city non-public schools are disappearing at an alarming rate. To address this, he proposed to convene a White House summit aimed at strengthening the supply of these schools so parents of "poor children trapped in failing public schools" could have better options. To help children access these schools, the President proposed a new $300 million program called Pell Grants for Kids. But like last year's proposed Promise Scholarships and Opportunity Scholarships, the Pell Grants for Kids has little chance of success. This idea will not likely gain considerable support in this Democratic Congress.

Finally for education, the President called on Congress to fund his American Competitiveness Initiative. Congress passed H.R. 2272, the 21st Century Competitiveness Act last year that authorized over $33 billion over the next three years to support 25,000 new math and science teachers through professional development and graduate education assistance as a part of the President's initiative. Yet, due to the contentious budget battles between the President and Congress much of the funding was not appropriated. The President would now like to see those initiatives funded in order to "ensure America remains the most dynamic nation on earth."

The President's State of the Union truly begins the second session of the 110th Congress. Pundits will review and analyze the speech in the coming days and many of his initiatives will become clearer when the President releases his FY09 budget proposal on Monday, February 4th. We will continue to monitor and analyze the developments as they occur.

Resources:
"2008 State of the Union Policy Initiatives,"The White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2008/initiatives/index.html
"President Bush's State of the Union Addresses," Washington Post, January 28, 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/28/AR2008012802536.html?sid=ST2008012802201
State of the Union, http://stateoftheunion.onetwothree.net/
Authors: SAS, DAD

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Labels: , , , , Posted by Legislative Department at 5:13 PM 0 comments

Future of Earmarks Discussed at GOP Retreat (1/25/2008)

House Republicans are meeting this weekend to discuss their policy platforms for the legislative session. One of the first topics is how the GOP plans to address earmarks in the near future. Although there are a number of proposals, and the issue is murky at best, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) plans to come back to Washington with a “caucus-wide position.”

In January of 2006, the former Republican majority was entrenched in the fallout of a number of lobbying and ethics issues. Following the fall of former powerhouse lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the American public began to pay more attention to the way Congress conducts business. While the public scrutiny of lobbying practices rose, a special focus on the spending practices of Congressional leaders became a top priority for reformers. People wanted to know who was asking for special spending projects, and who was receiving that money. Republicans began looking into reforming the earmarking process.

Once the new Democratic majority took over in 2007, lobbying and ethics reform was on the list of top priorities. New rules were put in place that required members to put their name on their requests, which could no longer be added in conference. However, some reformers noted that knowing who is asking for these funding projects does not do anything to keep earmarks from getting out of hand. Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) made it his personal mission to dispute most of these earmarks on the House floor, bringing more scrutiny to how Congress spent taxpayer dollars. Both parties want to keep the practice of earmarks in play, because bringing funding to a congressional district is a good way to work towards reelection. However, most lawmakers agree the process still needs to be reordered.

Republican leaders in the House are discussing ways to handle the issue. One suggestion is to put a year-long moratorium on earmarks for FY09 until a long-term solution is reached. However, with elections coming up in November, most members of the House will not be willing to let go of such a powerful campaigning tool. A more practical suggestion is to create a joint committee to oversee the process, hopefully making spending projects more transparent.

Earlier this month, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jim Nussle announced that he would review the more than 11,000 earmarks in the fiscal year 2008 omnibus bill, and see if there was any Executive authority to eliminate those deemed too wasteful. However, considering the fact that all lawmakers enjoy the political benefits of earmarking, Republican support for those projects is likely to keep Director Nussle from eliminating a significant number of earmarks. There is little doubt that the whole process will continue, the only question is how Congress will choose to regulate itself when it comes to targeted spending.

Resources:
Alan K. Ota, “GOP Seeks Consensus on Earmarks at Retreat,” CQ Today, January 24, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: , Posted by Legislative Department at 5:12 PM 0 comments

Congress Trying to Get Administration on Board with Farm Bill (1/18/2008)

Members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry are appealing to the nominee for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer (R), to help smooth relations between the White House and Congress regarding the Farm Bill. The Administration continues to show contempt for the two bills as they currently stand. As Congress prepares to go to conference on the two bills, they would prefer not to have the President hanging over negotiations wielding veto threats.

Acting Agriculture Secretary, Chuck Conner, recently reiterated the White House’s veto threat against the Congressional proposals. Both the House and Senate fought hard to pass their respective bills, and are facing a rough conference to reconcile the two versions of the largest agricultural piece of legislation. Congressional leaders are hopeful that the new Secretary will prove more accommodating. To help smooth over relations, Senators are calling for an expedited confirmation for Schafer, hoping he will return the favor by working with Congress on the Farm Bill.

Meanwhile, school nutrition advocates continue to issue their support for the various proposals in the two different Farm Bills, including an expansion of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) that could provide over $1 billion over the next five years. However, a majority of advocacy efforts are focused on getting the bill through conference and final Congressional approval. If Congress cannot come to terms with the White House, those efforts may prove fruitless.

Resources:
Geof Koss, “Senators Press Nominee for Ag Secretary to Ease Farm Bill Standoff,” Congress Now, January 25, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:11 PM 0 comments

House Leaders Ready to Start in Stimulus Package (1/25/2008)

On Thursday, House leaders unveiled the framework for a $150 billion economic stimulus package, intended to boost consumer spending and confidence. Although the legislation’s immediate focus is turning around a stagnant economy, its effects will impact the appropriations work for fiscal year 2009 (FY09) and beyond. The details of the stimulus package seem to signal a possible year-long suspension to the highly touted “Pay Go” rule in Congress.

During the 2006 midterm election, the Democratic minority continually lobbed criticisms at the Republican majority regarding spending on new programs without equitable offsets in other areas. When the Democrats took control last year, their first order of business was instituting a rule that required offsets for any new payments, known as the Pay Go rule. Despite its initial popularity, the rule was waived a number of times to accommodate a number of legislative priorities.
Now, under the umbrella of trying to ward off recession, Congress is getting ready to pass a large fiscal bill without any major offsets, setting a precedent for the year that has some fiscal conservatives worried.

By waiving the Pay Go rule so early in the legislative session, Congress may be even more willing to keep the rule off the table, especially regarding FY09 appropriations. All work on appropriations this year will be in reference to the stimulus package, therefore Congressional leaders may continue to operate under the assumption that Pay Go is not necessary, since all efforts are going towards stimulating the economy.

Although the President has unofficially signed off on the legislation, the bipartisan effort that has brought the stimulus package to this point is not likely to continue once appropriators start their work later this year. When the President releases his budget on February 4th, his request is not expected to increase from previous years. Some Democrats fear that his budget request may be even tighter than before.

Traditionally, a budget request in the last year of a President’s term tends to act as more of a policy statement than any other year in his term. Lately, the Administration’s policy fights have centered on keeping the Democratic-controlled Congress from over spending. As such, the President’s FY09 request could be billions below previous years, especially in light of his signing off on a $150 billion stimulus package.

Although actual language is not currently in place, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), along with House Minority leader John Boehner (R-OH), laid out the general highlights of the bill, including tax rebates for all levels of income earners. The bill also includes a number of business oriented tax cuts. In recent weeks, some lawmakers discussed the possibility of adding funds for school construction and repair as part of the economic stimulus package. No such funding is included in the highlights from Speaker Pelosi, but might be added during the bill’s trip through both chambers of Congress.

The Senate, for example, expects to make significant additions to the bill, focusing more on supporting businesses and lowering the unemployment rate, rather than individual tax payers. Experts claim that school construction and repair will lead to as many as one million new jobs over the next year, which would fit in with Senate objectives.

Speaker Pelosi expects to bypass the committee process and bring the bill to the House floor as early as next Tuesday. Most Democrats and a good number of Republicans have already signed on to support the bill, so the House should clear the package without much of a fight next week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to have the bill in hand by the first week in February.

The Senate may spend considerably more time on the bill, adding on various provisions aimed at further stimulating the economy. Once the House agrees to those changes, the President expects to sign the bill, quite possibly having the whole process finished before March. Once the stimulus package is signed, Congress will get the ball rolling on the FY09 budget resolution, starting a new cycle of partisan squabbling.

Resources:
Jennifer Bendery, “Pelosi Details Costs of $150 Billion Economic Stimulus Plan,” Congress Now, January 24, 2008.
Richard Rubin, “Senate Considers Adding to Stimulus,” CQ Today, January 24, 2008.
Author: SAS

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Labels: Posted by Legislative Department at 5:09 PM 0 comments

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