Dueling Budget Plans Lock Higher Education Spending Cuts in Place
March 14, 2013
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a stopgap spending bill to fund federal programs for the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The legislation would essentially codify the effects of sequestration on education programs, funding education programs at the same levels signed into law at the start of fiscal year 2013, minus the 5.1 percent across-the-board cuts that occurred on March 1. The measure would, however, give the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs some flexibility in allocating those cuts.
The Senate version of the continuing resolution, unveiled on Tuesday, would also factor the mandatory spending cuts into the budget plan for the remainder of the year. Their proposal does not allow federal agencies greater discretion in applying the reductions to specific initiatives.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, offered an amendment to the bill that would increase funding for a variety of education and health care programs, including a $14 million boost to TRIO programs and an additional $140 million for the National Institutes of Health, Inside Higher Ed reports.
Congress must reach an agreement on a budget resolution for the remainder of the fiscal year or shut down the government when the current measure expires March 27. Although the deadline provides lawmakers with an opportunity to rework the post-sequester funding levels for federal programs while keeping within the current spending limit, it is uncertain whether the final legislation will incorporate alternatives for allocating the mandatory cuts.
At the same time, the Congress is also working to prepare their budget plans for the 2014 fiscal year, which begins in October. President Obama is expected to propose his own budget early next month, several weeks behind the soft February deadline.
House Republicans on Tuesday issued their budget blueprint for 2014, slashing funds for student aid and other education programs. The proposed plan would freeze the maximum Pell Grant at $5,645 for the next decade, consolidate federal job-training programs, and tighten eligibility for federal student aid. The proposal would also do nothing to stop federally subsidized student loan interest rates from doubling this July, from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. The spending bill is unlikely to survive in the Senate, where Democrats are poised to release a budget that would increase taxes and expand spending on education and research, according to the Chronicle.
Related Links:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
https://chronicle.com/article/In-2014-Budgets-Republicans/137871/?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en
Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/13/budgets-proposed-rest-2013-and-2014-fiscal-years
Michelle Cormier Mott
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