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Category: Higher Education

Post-Election Legislative Agenda Uncertain

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The mid-term congressional elections that took place on Tuesday, resulting in a Republican House majority and diminished Democratic Senate majority, will have a significant impact on issues of concern to the higher education community (FY11 appropriations, DREAM Act, COMPETES Act, tax policy) that were previously slated for consideration during the coming “lame-duck” session. The current Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill may decide, or be forced, to punt many legislative items to the new Congress. It is expected that the new Congress will increase efforts to constrain federal spending. How deeply those efforts impact research and student aid remains to be seen.

The Office of Federal Relations is gathering information on the likely leadership structure of the incoming 112th Congress, as well as on prospects for legislation of interest. A Federal Report will be produced and available on this website during the week of November 7th.

DREAM Act Future Uncertain

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The DREAM Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants who attend college or the military and was rolled into the Senate’s defense authorization bill, failed to pass a crucial vote yesterday.  Requiring 60 votes to pass, the motion failed by a vote of 56 to 43.   Because the motion did not pass, the Senate will not be debating the defense bill in the immediate future, which means that amendments such as the DREAM Act, will not be considered either.

It appears that the defense authorization bill did not pass solely because of the language of the bill but because Majority Leader Harry Reid limited amendments by Republicans which resulted in some moderate Republicans refusing to support the bill due to what they deemed an unfair voting process. Still, the chance that this bill will be reconsidered soon is very small and it’s future will be very much dependent on the outcome of the November elections.

 

Senate may take action on the DREAM Act

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After reporting on this site yesterday that the DREAM Act was all but dead for this year, the Senate Majority Leader announced that they will try to pass this measure that would grant citizenship to young adults in the country illegally.  Senate leadership hopes to attach the DREAM Act to the FY11 defense authorization bill, which is expected to be brought to the Senate floor next week.  The DREAM Act is largely a bipartisan, politically popular bill that would allow young illegal immigrants who graduate from US high schools and who were brought to the country as minors to attain citizenship if they go to college or serve in the military for at least two years.  Advocates see the DREAM Act as a key step in achieving reform that would enable an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants to gain citizenship.  Both Senators Murray and Cantwell (D-WA) have been sponsors of the DREAM Act and will likely support this effort.

Dept. of Education Seeking Input on New Grants Criteria

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The Department of Education is seeking comments, due September 7th, on department-wide priorities that will be used in the awarding of competitive grants. The Department states that priority areas are proposed to focus federal financial assistance on expanding the number of programs and projects department-wide that support activities in areas of greatest educational need. The priority areas will impact grant decisions made for FY11 awards and beyond. The proposed priority areas are listed below.

Proposed Priority 1—Improving Early Learning Outcomes
Proposed Priority 2—Implementing Internationally Benchmarked, College and Career-Ready Elementary and Secondary Academic Standards
Proposed Priority 3—Improving the Effectiveness and Distribution of Effective Teachers or Principals
Proposed Priority 4—Turning Around Persistently Lowest-Achieving Schools
Proposed Priority 5—Increasing Postsecondary Success
Proposed Priority 6—Improving Achievement and High School Graduation Rates of Rural and High-Need Students
Proposed Priority 7—Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
Proposed Priority 8—Promoting Diversity
Proposed Priority 9—Support for Military Families
Proposed Priority 10—Enabling More Data-Based Decision-Making
Proposed Priority 11—Building Evidence of Effectiveness
Proposed Priority 12—Supporting Programs, Practices, or Strategies for Which There is Strong or Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness
Proposed Priority 13—Improving Productivity

The Federal Register notice provides details on how to respond to the request for public comment. Members of the UW community responding to the notice are asked to also share their input with the Office of Federal Relations.

Senate Staffer Visits UW

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Douglas Clapp and Grad Student

Douglas Clapp, Clerk for the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, visited the University of Washington on August 12, 2010. As Clerk, Mr. Clapp is the chief of staff for the influential subcommittee that controls the purse strings for federal energy and water related funding. Pictured is UW Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student Ikechukwu Nwaneshiudu showing Mr. Clapp his nanotechnology-based sensor for detecting trace hydrocarbons in water, a topic made critically relevant by the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Mr. Nwaneshiudu is a Gates Millenium Scholar and National Science Foundation Bioenergy IGERT Fellow working under the guidance of Professors Qiuming Yu and Daniel T. Schwartz.