Some huddling among CEF leadership on this issue this afternoon (minus me). Here’s my takeaway — and I’m largely paraphrasing Sheryl Cohen here: At the start of every Congress, the House leadership passes a set of rules for the upcoming session. On Tuesday, House Republicans approved H. Res. 5 <http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20170102/BILLS-115hres5-PIH-FINAL.pdf>, which sets the rules for the 115th Congress. One of the changes to the rules this time out is to reinstate the “Holman Rule” (which ended in 1983) for this year, which will allow amendments to appropriations bills to reduce amounts in the bill, reduce the number or salaries of federal employees, or reduce compensation to anyone paid by the Treasury. The House put the rules in place despite the opposition of all the Democrats present and 3 Republicans. This new rule *could* be used to cut program spending on programs for education. However, even without the Holman Rule in place, any Member could propose to offer an amendment to cut program spending. What Members can *now* do is to change federal employee salaries or eliminate positions. That is the main concern of Democrats who voiced opposition to including the provision in the House rules. (See also this article <http://federalnewsradio.com/congress/2017/01/blast-past-house-reinstates-rule-targeting-agency-spending-employee-salaries/> .) The rule is already adopted for this year so there is not a whole lot anyone can do about it. I think the potential danger to adult ed is minimal. No one in Congress is out to get us, or, as far as I know, out to get OCTAE. I might be concerned about someone using this to eliminate a position or two at Labor, but that is just speculation on my part, based on my observation that House Republicans really don’t like the Department of Labor. I don’t expect action from CEF on this. Still don’t know who Holman was! Jeff Jeff Carter — Executive Director | Physicians for Social Responsibility 1111 14th St, NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20005 www.psr.org | jcarter@psr.org Advisor | National Coalition for Literacy www.national-coalition-literacy.org Email/Phone: Use general contact info below General Contact Info — jcarter@literacypolicy.org or jeffcrtr@gmail.org Personal Twitter: @jeffcrtr | literacypolicy.org Cell: (202) 374-4387