Several federal agencies have created websites that will be utilized to provide guidelines/ updates on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funding. See below for access.
Federal Government Recovery Act Overview
National Institutes of Health
Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research
Overview Information
Review Criteria and Processes for Recovery Act Funds
The Senate will begin voting today on amendments to the FY’09 omnibus spending bill. One amendment, offered by Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), would simply extend the current continuing resolution (CR) for the remainder of the year. The current CR, which funds most all domestic agencies and the State Department at 2008 levels, expires midnight Friday, March 6th. Congress would likely need to enact a short-term extension if it can’t clear the bill by Friday. Senate leadership has not yet decided on how many amendments to allow but they have indicated that they want to conclude work on the omnibus by Thursday.
The economic recovery law enacted last month could create up to 3.6 million jobs by the end of 2010, equaling the Obama administration’s claim the measure will create 3.5 million jobs in that time, according to a final cost estimate of the legislation released Monday by CBO. For job creation, CBO estimates the bill could create from 0.9 million to 2.3 million jobs by the end of 2009 and from 1.2 million to 3.6 million jobs by the end of 2010, with more jobs created than declining. On economic growth, CBO estimates a boost in GDP of 1.4 percent to 3.8 percent by the end of 2009, 1.1 percent to 3.4 percent by the end of 2010, and 0.4 percent to 1.2 percent by the end of 2011 — with a small possible decline beginning in 2015.
Today, President Obama released a budget outline for fiscal year 2010. The full request will likely be presented to Congress in late April. The President’s Budget Request (PBR) will feature signficant increases in student aid including a boost to the Pell grant (increasing the student maximum to $5,500 for the 2010-11 academic year) and indexing the program to the CPI plus 1% in order to provide for ongoing increases. The proposal phases out the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, through which the government subsidizes and guarantees loans made by private lending institutions. As an alternative, the government will provide all loans through the direct lending program. Elimination of the FFEL program is likely to face some pushback in Congress, as some lawmakers do not like the idea of the government increasing its role in the student loan business. The budget outline calls for a $500 million/year fund to provide grants to states to improve college graduation rates for low-income students. The budget would also make the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit (provided in the Recovery Act of 2009) permanent. Continue reading “President Obama Releases FY10 Budget Blueprint”
Today on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives approved a $410 billion omnibus spending bill for the remainder of fiscal year ‘09. It was not without some controversy, with Republican leaders urging President Obama to veto the bill. House Members voted 245-178 for the package, which includes significant increases in spending on a range of domestic programs, including education, health care, and energy. Additionally, the bill contains funding for a handful of UW-specific projects, including:
$469,000 for the Center for International Trade in Forest Products or CINTRAFOR (College of Forestry)
The USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) account within the Department of Agriculture supports CINTRAFOR at UW and the International Marketing Program for Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPPACT) program at Washington State University. The funds will be split between the two universities.
$475,750 for Biofuels Research and Development Infrastructure (College of Forestry)
This funding will likely support the purchase of a major piece of equipment necessary to convert biomass into fuel.
$333,000 for the UW Bothell Nursing Faculty Consortium
This funding was requested to continue the UW’s efforts to increase the number of master’s prepared nursing faculty available to teach in Washington’s community and technical colleges.
The bill, which now goes to the Senate, also prevents a cost-of-living increase for Members of Congress. The Senate will begin debate on the bill this week but it is not likely that they will vote until sometime next week. President Obama is expected to sign the bill.