Dr. Luis Fraga Talks Immigration Reform on Capitol Hill

Posted on March 19, 2013

McDermott-Fraga

Dr. Luis Fraga, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement and Russell F. Stark Professor at the University of Washington, was on Capitol Hill this morning for a presentation on immigration reform. Dr. Fraga spoke to the room of congressional staff about the need for comprehensive immigration reform and how current and future policies may impact UW students, faculty, and the state as a whole. Our very own Congressman, Jim McDermott, graciously introduced Dr. Fraga and opened the discussion this morning.

Busy Week in Congress

Posted on March 18, 2013March 25, 2013

Congress has a busy schedule this week before they leave town for their two-week Easter recess. On the agenda are the continuing resolution (CR) and dueling House and Senate budget proposals.

The Senate resumes consideration of the CR to fund the federal government for the rest of FY 2013. With some 90 amendments filed, they may need to vote on cloture in order to move the process forward as the bill will have to go back to the House for final consideration before the end of the week. The current CR expires on March 27^th, but both chambers intend to be out on recess starting this Friday.

On the heels of the CR votes, the House and Senate will both take action on their respective budget resolutions for FY 2014. The House is expected to adopt their FY 2014 budget resolution by the end of the week that calls for reducing projected spending as well as cutting the deficit by $5.7 trillion from FY 2014 to FY 2023, when compared with the baseline for future spending and tax receipts projected by the Congressional Budget Office. The savings would come from cuts in domestic programs, repealing the 2010 health care law, and overhauling the tax code. Continue reading “Busy Week in Congress”

Senate Releases FY 2013 Continuing Resolution

Posted on March 12, 2013

Senator Mikulski (D-MD), Senate Appropriations Chair, has released the Senate version of the continuing resolution for FY 2013. HHS and Education programs will continue to be funded at the FY 2012 levels minus the 5 percent cut as mandated by the March 1^st OMB report and sequester order.

There are a few interesting sections in the bill that are of interest to us. First, the bill would provide a $71 million increase for NIH and requires an Institute of Medicine/National Research Council review of the National Children’s Study. Additionally, NSF would be funded at $7.25 billion, an increase of $221 million above the FY 2012 enacted level. This level will allow NSF to make about 550 more grants supporting 7,000 scientists, teachers, students, and technicians who make new discoveries leading to new products, new companies, and new jobs.

A full summary of the FY 2013 Senate Substitute CR is available on the Senate Appropriations Committee website.

The Senate is scheduled to take action on their version of the CR this week. The House passed their version last week. This will leave just one week before the Easter recess begins on March 22^nd for House and Senate leaders to come to agreement on a final version.

The Office of Federal Relations is encouraged to see the small increases in NIH and NSF funding and will continue to advocate to investments in university research.

Big Budget Week Ahead

Posted on March 11, 2013

The Senate will take action on a continuing resolution (CR) this week to fund federal government through the end of FY 2013. The current CR expires on March 27^th. The Senate bill expands on the House version that was approved in that chamber last week, which combines new Defense and Military Construction-VA bills with a stopgap CR for the rest of the federal agencies. The Senate version will contain three additional spending bills — Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Homeland Security. House Republicans have signaled that they are not opposed to an expanded package of bills provided it does not exceed $984 billion in discretionary spending, a figure matching the cap set under previous budget laws minus the automatic sequester cuts. The text of the Senate bill is expected to be released today.

Both chambers will also focus on their respective budget proposals this week. The House Budget Committee marks up its budget resolution Wednesday, while the Senate Budget panel will consider its plan Thursday. Both 10-year budget plans are expected to be on the floor the week of March 18 and are on course to be adopted well in advance of the April 15 deadline imposed by Congress earlier this year. Both budgets are viewed as vehicles to promote partisan agendas, and almost no one believes that the two sides will be able (or willing) to reconcile the different assumptions made in each budget on how to increase revenues and how to invest those new revenues.

And as reported late last week, the White House is now not expected to send its budget to Congress until April 8^th, more than two months late. By law, the president is required to deliver his budget proposal to Capitol Hill no later than the first Monday in February, but there is no penalty for being late. The Administration blames the delay on last year’s fiscal uncertainties, including the fiscal cliff deliberations, sequestration, and the CR.

And finally, a sequester update. As a reminder, the $85 billion cut from federal spending this fiscal year is only the first installment of nine years of sequester. Even as Congress and the White House negotiate how to mitigate the impacts of the sequester, it is good to know that they are only discussing relief for FY 2013, which would represent a down payment on the more difficult spending questions that will arise as more than $700 billion in additional reductions mount in the ensuing nine years. It will become harder and harder for Congress to mitigate the impacts of sequestration as the largest share of the spending cuts will fall on discretionary programs – like research and education assistance – the portion of federal operating expenses that now make up just a third of the federal budget today and would, under sequester, fall to about a quarter of spending by the end of the decade.

The Office of Federal Relations is actively collecting information from campus on direct and indirect impacts of the sequester to use for our advocacy efforts. It is important that the UW community have a unified voice and message on these impacts. Please contact us if you are experiencing any changes in commitment on your grants or contracts.

President’s FY 2014 Budget Delayed Again

Posted on March 9, 2013

President Obama will release his FY 2014 budget on April 8^th, more than two months late. Under the law, the President must submit a budget by the first Monday in February. Congressional sources said last week that they had been told the budget was coming on March 25^th, meaning the new April 8^th release date would be yet another delay. The White House has blamed the hold-up on the uncertainty caused by fights over the fiscal cliff, sequestration, and the continuing resolution to fund the government that expires March 27^th.

The Administration’s budget typically kicks off the annual budgeting process, as Congress then shapes its budget resolution based on the President’s request. But this year that process is reversed, as both the House and Senate budget committees are planning to release their FY 2014 budgets next week.

Regardless of the reason, this delay also stalls our process of finalizing the UW Federal Agenda for FY 2014. Just like the House and Senate, we use the President’s budget request as a starting point for our requests. But that does not mean we aren’t already advocating for our top priorities: NIH, Pell Grants, and Graduate Medical Education (GME). We’ll share more on our agenda once finalized.