- Budget and Appropriations Update
- Congressional Budget Committee Considers Budget Resolutions
- Education Secretary DeVos Testifies Before House and Senate Appropriators
- House Appropriators Express Bipartisan Support for Increased NSF Funds
- House Fails to Overturn President’s Veto
- House Education Committee Holds Admissions Briefing
- Colleges Not Providing Adequate Student Cost Info, Report Says
- Report Says Public Universities Favor “Wealthy Out-Of-State Students”
- Education Dept Opens Eight Admissions Investigations
- CNSF Urges Congress to Raise BCA Budget Caps
- TFAI Statement Encourages Robust Funding for Research and Development
- CNSR Makes FY20 NDAA Recommendations
- Upcoming Events
BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
The Senate Budget Committee yesterday passed its budget resolution along party lines. The resolution sets defense spending at $576 billion and non-defense spending at $543 billion, amounting to a $125 billion drop from current spending caps. These requests are well below the figures in the president’s budget request, but the resolution is unlikely to reach the Senate floor for a vote. In the House, Budget Chairman John Yarmuth (D-KY) has stated House Democrats are unlikely to advance a full budget resolution to the House floor this year.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos yesterday testified before Senate Appropriators to discuss the FY20 budget request, which calls for a 10 percent spending cut and a cancellation of surplus funding for the Pell Grant. The hearing largely focused on K-12 issues and Special Olympics funding. During the hearing, Democrats said the Department’s efforts to overhaul higher education rules could affect bipartisan negotiations over Higher Education Act reauthorization.
DeVos appeared before House Education Appropriators Tuesday to defend the budget request. Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chairman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said “this budget underfunds education at every turn.”
House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies yesterday held a hearing on the NSF’s FY20 budget request. House Democrats and Republicans opposed the president’s proposed $1 billion cut to the agency’s budget, which would lower the funding to 2012 levels and decrease graduate student awards by 25 percent. Ranking Member Robert Aderholt (R-AL) said, “[e]ven in times of fiscal restraint, this committee has remained supportive of NSF’s efforts to ensure that students, scientists and universities have the funds to carry out their vital research.”
The House yesterday failed to overturn the president’s veto of a resolution to block President Trump’s declaration of a national state of emergency, which would transfer $3.6 billion in FY19 funds to construct a wall along our southern border.
HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE HOLDS ADMISSIONS BRIEFING
The House Education and Labor Committee yesterday held a briefing on college admissions hosted by Representative Donna Shalala (D-FL). During the briefing lawmakers heard from a panel of experts who discussed legislation they thought would help following the admissions fraud allegations, pointing to legislation from the 115th Congress such as H.R. 2434, the “College Transparency Act,” which increases transparency completion and employment outcomes across colleges majors, and S. 2201, the “ASPIRE Act,” which penalizes schools that enroll the fewest first-time, full-time Pell Grant recipients. Rep. Shalala said, "I do not assume there’s a place here for federal legislation — just that we all need to be educated."
COLLEGES NOT PROVIDING ADEQUATE STUDENT COST INFO, REPORT SAYS
A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education says colleges and universities with large populations of Pell Grant recipients aren’t sharing adequate cost calculating assistance on their websites. Researchers said not all colleges have easily accessible and functioning cost calculators on their websites. They also said, “at least a third of the colleges and universities in our study are presenting information in ways that may mislead students and families about what they should expect to pay if they attend a given school.”
REPORT SAYS PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES FAVOR “WEALTHY, OUT-OF-STATE” STUDENTS
A recent report analyzed the off-campus recruiting visits of 15 public research universities, including seven AAU universities, has found that public universities are using recruiting practices that may be biased against low-income and minority students in order to make up for cuts in state support. The report says that “[d]espite a historical mission of social mobility for meritorious state residents, public research universities increasingly enroll an affluent student body that is unrepresentative of the socioeconomic and racial diversity of the states they serve.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education has more.
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OPENS EIGHT ADMISSIONS INVESTIGATIONS
The Education Department on Monday launched preliminary investigations into eight colleges and universities affected by Operation Varsity Blues, the recent admissions fraud allegations. In addition to the institution’s internal investigations, the department has requested a range of documents, including admissions information and marketing materials.
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: AAU President Comments on Admissions Fraud Allegations
CNSF URGES CONGRESS TO RAISE BCA BUDGET CAPS
The Coalition for National Science Funding, a coalition of 130 members including AAU, yesterday wrote to House and Senate leaders to express their strong support for the enactment of a two-year bipartisan agreement to raise the spending caps for non-defense discretionary spending. The letter says, “[o]ur country needs a bipartisan budget agreement to maintain key federal investments in America’s science and engineering enterprise.
TFAI STATEMENT ENCOURAGES ROBUST FUNDING FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The Task Force on American Innovation, of which AAU is a member, on Monday issued a statement to encourage appropriators to ensure robust funding for research and development. In the statement, they call for “[c]ongress to secure and protect America’s leadership in innovation, energy, security and national defense by advancing a bipartisan agreement that raises the budget caps for discretionary spending and passing the highest possible funding levels for scientific and engineering research.”
CNSR MAKES FY20 NDAA RECOMMENDATIONS
The Coalition for National Security Research, which includes AAU, last week wrote to House and Senate Armed Services Committee leadership with their funding recommendations for the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act. The letter says, “If we are to meet the National Defense Strategy’s (NDS) objective of creating an unmatched twenty-first century national security innovation base, we must increase investments in the basic science and technology (S&T) related research that serves as the foundation for DOD’s technical capabilities and ultimately its operations to secure our nation.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
APRIL 10 AAU AND APLU UNIVERSITY INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP SHOWCASE; 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. ET, 2060 Rayburn House Office Building. RSVP here. More information here.
APRIL 30 CNSF EXHIBITION AND RECEPTION; 5:30 p.m. ET, 2043-2045 Rayburn House Office Building. Register by April 29 here. For more information, see the invitation here.