Fall Forecast: Heavy Campaigning, Light Legislating

On August 3, the Senate began its summer recess, joining the House, which had left town the week before.  Both return after Labor Day for several weeks before leaving town for good until after the November election.  House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has already announced plans to have the House return on November 13 to deal with unfinished business, perhaps through Thanksgiving.  A December session remains a possibility as well.

Most Appropriations Bills Likely To Linger Beyond Election

With so little session time left before the November election, it is unlikely that Congress will complete work on time on most of the eleven annual appropriations bills used to fund federal programs for the fiscal year that begins October 1.  While the House has passed all but its version of the FY 07 Labor-HHS-Education bill, the Senate has finalized only one, Homeland Security.  That bill and the Defense measure are the most likely candidates for completion in September.  A continuing resolution will probably be passed to keep funding other programs at last year’s levels until after the election, at which point the Congress will either: wrap up work on the remaining bills; roll some or all of them into an omnibus measure; or pass another continuing resolution.

Before the August recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee did approve its version of the FY 07 Labor-HHS-Education measure.  Senate Report 109-287 contains similar higher education funding numbers to the House committee version, although unlike HR 5647, it does not contain a $100 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award.  Like its House counterpart, the Senate committee voted to reject cuts proposed by the president to outreach programs such as TRIO and GEAR UP. 

Meanwhile, two additional CSU systemwide priorities recently received support from the Senate Appropriations committee.  The FY 07 Defense measure contains $2 million for the CSU’s Strategic Language Initiative, while the FY 07 Commerce/Justice/Science bill would provide $2.5 million to CICORE, the system’s coastal observing initiative.

Charitable Giving Provisions Included In Pension Bill

Just before recess, the House and Senate gave final approval to significant pension reform legislation.  HR 4 also contains several unrelated charitable giving and nonprofit reform provisions: an IRA rollover provision allowing individuals
70½ and older to make donations up to $100,000 from an IRA without tax on the gift, effective through the 2007 tax year; extension of the current tax treatment of “529” college savings plans; and new requirements on donor advised funds and supporting organizations.

Spellings Commission Works To Finalize Report

The Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education recently released a third draft of the report it is supposed to finalize by mid-September. While much kinder in tone than its initial draft, the latest version makes only minor changes to the draft released in mid-July. However, according to a report by Inside Higher Ed, these changes appear to be enough to ensure that a majority of the Commission’s members will endorse the draft largely as written. The Commission is scheduled to hold its final meeting on Thursday, August 10 in Washington, DC, and may ratify the report at that meeting. CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed testified before the Commission in February. In its current form, the report draws on that testimony in strongly encouraging early assessment initiatives such as the CSU’s Early Assessment Program (EAP).

Department Proposes Upward Bound Change

In early July the Department of Education proposed a new priority for the TRIO Upward Bound program, with the stated intent of directing more money to serving ninth-graders who fail to reach proficient levels on state assessment tests or who have grade-point averages below 2.5. The proposal has met with significant concern from some in the higher education community, especially the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), the primary TRIO lobbying group. As part of the public comment process, the American Council on Education (ACE) weighed in with highly critical comments. In early August, CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed submitted a letter on behalf of the system raising concerns about parts of the proposal and suggesting possible changes.

Senator Asks About University Earmarks

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), a crusader against earmarking in general, has recently sent letters to 111 universities seeking information about earmarked dollars they have received in recent years.