Hi folks, Happy New Year! Here is the latest from CEF. Anyone here in DC planning to attend the Brookings event tomorrow? (See “Events” below.) Jeff > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Sheryl Cohen <cohen@cef.org> > Subject: CEF Update January 3, 2017 > Date: January 3, 2017 at 1:25:33 PM EST > To: CEFMembersList <CEFMembersList@cef.org> > > > > > Tuesday, January 3, 2017 > > Dear CEF Members: > > I. Advocacy > > · Happy new year, everyone! We are excited about the plans outlined last month at CEF’s annual meeting and eager to get started. Because of the hiatus on education funding decisions – as usual in the first year of a new Administration, the President is not expected to submit a budget request in early February, and FY 2017 appropriations may have no action until late April – we have time to introduce CEF to new Members of Congress and the Administration and to design and begin to implement our “5¢ Makes Sense” advocacy campaign. At the CEF member retreat on January 27 we will discuss these plans in more detail and you’ll have an opportunity to meet with CEF Committee chairs and then choose which committees you’d like to join. Your participation will play a big part in our plans for the year. As a reminder, this year the committees are Advocacy and Research, Gala, Hill Teams, Budget Response, Membership and Bylaws, and Nominations and Elections. > > · We are also laying the groundwork now to launch CEF’s new website at the end of January or early February. Not only will it make our material more easily accessible to the public and stakeholders, it will have a Members section where you can log in and find internal CEF information, such as our calendar of events, lists of CEF committee members, and CEF updates. Our Media and Communications Committee will sunset this spring once the new site is up and running. > > II. Policy Intelligence and Education News > > · 115th House rules affect spending measures – Today the House of Representatives will vote on H. Res. 5 <http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20170102/BILLS-115hres5-PIH-FINAL.pdf>, which sets the rules for the 115th Congress. Among other provisions, it codifies several previous practices regarding appropriations bills including the following: > o Amendments to appropriations bills can’t propose a net increase in budget authority (i.e., they must be offset with cuts elsewhere) > o Committees (other than Appropriations, Ethics, and Rules) must adopt oversight plans that include lists of unauthorized programs and agencies that are currently funded, and justification for their reauthorization, recommendations to move programs from the mandatory to discretionary funding, or recommendations to consolidate or eliminate programs. > o Reinstating an order based on the “Holman Rule” (ended in 1983) that allows 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. > o Stating the limit on advance appropriations for FY 2017 bills (in the past, this limit has been included in the conference agreement on the budget resolution, not the House rules). > o Creates a point of order against bills that increase direct spending by more than $5 billion in any of the four ten-year periods starting with the 11th year after the bill is enacted (i.e., after the 10-year budget score of the bill). The rule exempts measures repealing or changing the Affordable Care Act. > > · Higher education Tuition and Fees Deduction expired – The tax deduction for qualified tuition and fees expired at the end of 2016, along with a host of other temporary tax credits and deductions. This deduction lowered the amount of income subject to tax by up to $4,000 even if you didn’t itemize deductions. (Many more people file instead for the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit.) Note that Congress has often retroactively extended expired tax credits, but there is no guarantee that that will happen. > > · What does “school choice” mean? – The Dec 27 Washington Post has an article <https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/school-choice-or-privatization-a-guide-to-loaded-education-lingo-in-the-trump-era/2016/12/27/e3873e38-c63d-11e6-8bee-54e800ef2a63_story.html?utm_term=.9ae7f2bfebb2>about how the terms school “vouchers” and “privatization” versus “choice” affect the public’s perception of policy options. It examines the linguistics – a pollster has advised using “opportunity scholarship” instead of “voucher” – and the split between those supporting public school choice but not private school options. > > · New House Appropriations Committee staff announced – Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), the incoming chair of the House Appropriations Committee, announced <http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394668> senior staff changes. The Committee’s new staff director will be Nancy Fox, who comes from Frelinghuysen’s personal office. > > III. Events > > · “Federal education policy under the Trump administration” panel tomorrow – The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings is holding a public forum on Wednesday, Jan 4, from 2-3:30pm examining the history and future of federal education policy. Panelists include Arne Duncan and Gerard Robinson. More details are available here <https://www.brookings.edu/events/education-policy-under-the-trump-administration/>. > > · Preliminary January schedule for CEF – Below is a preliminary schedule of CEF events this month: > o Friday, January 6 – no CEF meeting > o Tuesday, January 10 – CEF Board planning retreat > o Friday, January 13 – Friday morning meeting, 9-11am, at AFT (55 NJ Ave, NW) > o Friday, January 20 – no CEF meeting (Inauguration Day) > o Friday, January 27 – CEF Member retreat, 8:45-1:30pm, location TBD > > > My best, > > Sheryl > > > Sheryl V. Cohen, Executive Director > > 1800 M Street, NW > Suite 500 South > Washington, DC 20036 > T: 202-327-8125 > cohen@cef.org <mailto:cohen@cef.org> > www.cef.org <http://www.cef.org/>