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Category: Budget

White House Budget to be Released in Two Installments

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The White House has previously announced that they will submit their FY2015 budget proposal on March 4th, nearly a month later than required. Now we are hearing that they will release the budget request in two installments. The first on March 4th as previously announced, which will include top line numbers. The second and more important installment won’t be released until March 11th, and will include the budget appendix and justifications behind the top line numbers. The budget appendix is the thickest of the budget volumes, containing more detailed information on individual programs and appropriations accounts than any of the other budget documents.

The President’s budget request will be late this year due to the late work on the FY2014 appropriations, which culminated in an omnibus bill approved by Congress just last month. This delay will cause a delay in the finalizing the UW Federal Agenda as we generally wait to see what the President is requesting (or not requesting) before we make our final decisions.

This all means there is still time to weigh in on the UW’s agenda. Please get in touch with the Office of Federal Relations if there is something you would like to flag or have included in the FY2015 federal agenda.

Pell Grant Shortfall Delayed to FY2017

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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 Conference Report Announced

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After two years of negotiating, Farm bill conferees announced a sweeping, bipartisan five-year farm bill late Monday. The measure costs an estimated $1.1 trillion and is filled with trade-offs and an estimated savings of nearly $23 billion.

The bulk of savings comes from cutting $19 billion from farm programs, including an end to direct payments to farmers — money that often went to farmers who don’t actually farm. An additional $6 billion is saved by merging 23 separate conservation programs into 13, which is a move supported by conservation groups nationwide. There are $8 billion in cuts tied to the food stamp program which will come largely from increasing the state heating assistance requirement.

The House Rules Committee met late Monday night to fast-track the bill to the House Floor. The bill will come up on Wednesday, before House Republicans depart for their annual policy retreat. The House will consider the conference report well in advance of the House’s Three Day Rule, which requires introduced legislation pend at least three calendar days before it is considered and voted upon by the House. The rule is designed to give Members of Congress and staff time to read and analyze bills.

The text of the bill runs 949 pages and s accompanied by a 186-page managers’ statement.

Already the American Meat Institute and the National Meat Association, who represent cattle, hog and poultry producers, have announced opposition to the conference report and will whip against the bill.

If the House adopts the report, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said his chamber could take up the legislation sometime during the current three-week work period.

The Office of Federal Relations is tracking this issue and will continue to provide updates.

McMorris Rogers to Give GOP Response to the State of the Union

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Washington’s Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House of Representatives, will deliver the GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union address next Tuesday.
McMorris Rodgers currently serves as chairwoman of the House Republican conference, which is the fourth-ranking position in leadership. She will be the first woman to deliver the official Republican response to the State of the Union during Obama’s time in the White House.

White House to Release Budget March 4th

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The White House announced today that it will release the Administration’s FY 2015 budget proposal on March 4.

The Administration had been waiting on Congress to finalize FY 2014 appropriations before having the Office of Management and Budget move fully ahead with the Administration’s FY2015 Budget proposal. With House and Senate finalizing FY 2014 with the Omnibus Appropriations bill earlier in January, the Administration announced when they expect FY2015 to be public. March 4th is a month after the February 3 legally required deadline, where the budget must be presented to Congress between the first Monday in January an the first Monday in February.