Pell Grant Shortfall Delayed to FY2017

Posted on February 5, 2014

Yesterday the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released their Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024. The deficit is expected to fall this year as the economy gains steam, but CBO also anticipates that increasing health care costs and higher payments on the national debt mean that those gains will not last. The deficit estimate sets the new baseline that CBO will use to assess the impact of legislative proposals this year. The agency now projects the cumulative deficit for 2014 to 2023 will total $7.3 trillion, which is about $1 trillion more than the $6.3 trillion estimate in May.

This new report provides a good analysis of Pell Grant funding. Last year we were all surprised to find a surplus in the Pell program after worrying that we would be facing a shortfall. The good news from the CBO report is that the surplus is still here and it’s trending larger. The CBO sees Pell Grant costs coming in about $1.7 billion lower than originally expected for fiscal year 2014. It also revised costs in future years lower than what it projected last year by about $1 billion a year. All of those figures assume that Congress keeps the current eligibility rules for the program, including the maximum grant, as they are today. Based on the CBO report, the Pell program may not see a shortfall until FY2017. EdCentral provides a great analysis of the Pell Grant surplus and what it means for future years.

This is good news for the Pell Grant program and the students who rely on it to fund their education. Closing the Pell shortfall has been a priority agenda item for UW for the past couple of years and we will continue to advocate for fund funding.

Farm Bill Heads to President’s Desk

Posted on February 4, 2014

Today, the Senate passed the Farm Bill, now titled H.R. 2642 – the Agricultural Act of 2014, by a vote of 68-32. Congress has not approved a new Farm Bill since 2008. The House passed the joint House-Senate conference committee report last week. The final 1,000-page bill reauthorizes hundreds of programs for agriculture, dairy production, conservation, nutrition and international food aid.

After two years of negotiating, the $956.4 billion agreement includes $617 million in mandatory funding (not subject to annual appropriations) for five NIFA-administered programs.

The measure is heading to the President’s desk, where he has expressed his intent to sign it.

In-State Tuition for Veterans Bill Passes House

Posted on February 3, 2014February 4, 2014

Tonight, the House has considered and passed that would require in-state tuition for certain veterans (Section 4 of HR.357, the GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act as amended). The bill was brought up under an expedited process referred to as “Suspension of the Rules.” Bills brought up in this manner are generally bipartisan, non-controversial measures that are expected to pass easily.

In brief, the bill would require all public higher education institutions to charge in-state tuition to a veteran residing in the state of that institution, even if that veteran is officially a resident of another state. This requirement would remain in place for three years after the person is discharged from the military, assuming he or she continues to reside in the state where the institution is located. The in-state tuition policy would apply beginning in July 2016 and would only cover the veteran — not their dependents using GI Bill benefits. It appears that a consequence of this bill would be that public higher education institutions would no longer qualify for the out-of-state federal benefit of the GI Bill Yellow Ribbon Program since the veterans/students involved here would no longer be considered out-of state.

A much broader bill was previously under consideration that would have required lifetime in-state tuition to veterans and their dependents regardless of their actual state residency.

Nearly 30 states have already passed or are considering enacting legislation to provide in-state residency waivers to veterans at their public colleges and universities. Washington state is currently considering similar legislation that would allow instate tuition for one year. Other states, several individual campuses and university systems offer in-state waivers to their veteran student populations.

The measure passed by a vote of 390-0.

The Office of Federal Relations will continue to track this issue and continue to provide updates as the legislation progresses.

DOE Funding Opportunity: Technologies to Produce Renewable Carbon Fiber from Biomass

Posted on February 3, 2014

The Energy Department today announced up to $12 million in funding to advance the production of cost-competitive, high-performance carbon fiber material from renewable non-food-based feedstocks such as agricultural residues and woody biomass. Carbon fiber derived from biomass may be less costly to manufacture and offer greater environmental benefits than traditional carbon fiber produced from natural gas or petroleum. This funding supports the Energy Department’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, which is a cross-cutting effort to ensure U.S. manufacturers remain competitive in the global marketplace.

This Week in Congress

Posted on February 3, 2014February 3, 2014

This week Congress has returned from a brief recess. Monday the Senate will consider the conference report on the five-year farm bill (HR 2642) at 2 PM. After a nearly four-year stalemate on this issue, The National Journal reports it “looks ready to sail through the Senate this week and be signed by President Obama.” C-SPAN2 will have live coverage, which can be viewed here.

Also Monday, the House will consider and debate HR 327, which would help veteran students obtain in-state tuition rates through the GI Bill. The floor debate will be broadcast live on C-SPAN 1.

Later in the week, both House and Senate Budget Committees will spend time going over the 2014 budget outlook. Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) will hold a full committee hearing on Tuesday titled, “The 2014 Outlook: Moving from Constant Crises to Broad-Based Growth.” Scheduled witnesses include folks from Moody’s Analytics, Gluskin Sheff and Associates, and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Wednesday, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (D-Wis.) will hold a full committee hearing on the budget and economic outlook with the Congressional Budget Office.

MONDAY, February 3^rd

Senate Floor
HR 2642 Agriculture Act of 2014
Floor action
2 PM, Senate Chamber

House Floor
GI Tuition Fairness Act of 2013
Floor action
2 PM, House Chamber

TUESDAY, February 4^th

Senate Budget Committee
Federal Budget Outlook
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 AM, 608 Dirksen Building

WEDNESDAY, February 5^th

House Budget Committee
CBO Budget & Economic Outlook
Full Committee Hearing
10 AM, 210 Cannon Building