Here is CEF’s Tuesday update, chock full of budget news. Let me know if anyone from the Coalition is interested in attending CEF’S 'Education Matters’ briefing here in D.C. on Monday (see item #2). I’m not sure whether I can attend. It was great to see a few NCL members today at the Reading and Literacy Partners meeting hosted by the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress (the Center for the Book, of course, is also longstanding NCL member). Kudos to John Cole and Anne Boni for hosting a GREAT convening today, and for giving me a chance to talk a little about the Coalition. Met a lot of great people for the first time and reconnected with some old colleagues. Jeff > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Joel Packer <jpacker@cef.org> > To: Joel Packer <jpacker@cef.org> > Subject: Tuesday Update > Date: March 17, 2015 at 4:58:38 PM EDT > > > > 1. FY 16 Budget Resolutions: House Budget Committee Chairman Price (R-GA) this morning released his budget resolution. Overall, it gets to a balanced budget in eight years, solely by cutting domestic spending. It cuts spending overall by $5.5 trillion dollars over ten years. I put together this list of excerpts <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B19p6j32JwToNG5LXzdaVGZtbmc/view?usp=sharing> from the various documents that concern education. > > Here are key points for us: > · For nondefense discretionary spending (NDD), the House Budget maintains the FY 2016 sequester cap. That means it will be virtually impossible to obtain any of the increases for education proposed in the President’s budget (such as the $1 billion Title I increase). > > · However, starting in FY 2017, the budget cuts NDD spending each year below the sequester level caps. In total it cuts NDD by $759 billion over ten years, a 14 percent cut in the aggregate. See this chart below CEF just did. On the defense side, while it also maintains the FY 16 sequester cap, it raises the defense cap each year starting in FY 2017. It also increases in FY 16 funding for the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) fund for defense. > > > · The budget specifically freezes the Pell grant maximum award at its current level of $5,775 for the next ten years. It assumes other unspecified changes to Pell such as “targeting Pell Grants to students who need the most assistance”. It does not contain specific mention of the elimination of Pell mandatory funding as did last year’s House-passed budget (though that indeed may be assumed). It also does not specifically mention elimination of the interest subsidy for subsidized Stafford loans, as was assumed in last year’s House-passed budget (though again, it’s hard to tell if that is indeed assumed). > > CEF put together this table showing all the student aid cuts that have been enacted since FY 11 <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B19p6j32JwTodXMzYmVKbmgxejQ/view?usp=sharing>. It shows that student aid programs have been scaled back by almost $80 billion (though some of those savings went back into Pell – robbing Peter to pay Peter). > > · For K12 it's completely vague: “Our budget places a strong emphasis on returning the power to make education policy decisions to state and local governments, to families, and to students, rather than allowing choices to be made by bureaucrats in Washington. It eliminates unsuccessful and duplicative K-12 programs in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness. It promotes innovation and choices that provide for flexibility and innovative teaching methods.” > > · It has provision that appears to restrict the use of CHIMP savings. It’s not binding, but a policy statement: “It is the policy of the House of Representatives to more effectively allocate budgetary resources and accurately enforce budget targets by agreeing to a procedure by which the Committee on the Budget should consider the direct outyear budgetary effects of changes to mandatory programs enacted in appropriations bills, joint resolutions, amendments thereto or conference reports thereon when setting the allocation of budgetary resources for the Committee on Appropriations in a concurrent resolution on the budget. The relevant committees of jurisdiction are directed to consult on a procedure during fiscal year 2016 and include recommendations for implementing such procedure in the fiscal year 2017 concurrent resolution on the budget.” > > · It doesn’t contain any specific reconciliation instructions for Pell or student loans. > > The ranking Democrat, Rep. Van Hollen, issued this statement in response; Van Hollen: The GOP Budget Means That Americans Who Are Working Harder Than Ever Will Be Getting Even Less <http://democrats.budget.house.gov/press-release/van-hollen-gop-budget-means-americans-who-are-working-harder-ever-will-be-getting-even>. > > Also see: Barack Obama blasts GOP’s budget proposal <http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/gop-house-budget-obama-reaction-116151.html?hp=rc2_4> (Politico) and House GOP budget cuts $5.5T in spending, balances in nine years <http://thehill.com/policy/finance/235908-house-gop-budget-cuts-55t-in-spending-balances-in-eight-years> (The Hill) > > House defense hawks are already pushing back against the budget for not raising the cap on defense. See: Hawks Balk at House Budget Resolution <http://www.cq.com/doc/news-4643898?2&srcpage=news&srcsec=cqn> (CQ) andRepublicans try end run around spending caps <http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/republicans-try-end-run-around-spending-caps-116144.html?hp=t2_r> (Politico) and House GOP Wants to Give Pentagon a Boost <http://www.nationaljournal.com/budget/house-gop-budget-republicans-defense-20150317> (National Journal). > > The House will mark up its Budget resolution tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., 210 Cannon Bldg. > > On the Senate side, the Senate Budget Committee will start its markup tomorrow, with the release of Chairman Enzi’s mark. 2:30 pm – Dirksen 608. > > 2. CEF’S Education Matters Briefing: We will release our updated and improved FY 2016 budget response, now called EDUCATION MATTERS: INVESTING IN AMERICA’S FUTURE on March 31 at 9:30 am in HVC 215 in the Capitol Visitor Center. See the flyer we sent <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B19p6j32JwToaHVLU0Z3WDFMNzQ/view?usp=sharing> to all House and Senate offices. Please RSVP <http://goo.gl/forms/hKZctT5S4A> if you plan to attend. We’re providing a continental breakfast. We need as many people to participate to distribute the budget books and the CEF directory. I’ll send later this week a list of offices where we will deliver the book – broken down by building and floor – so people can sign up in advance for the deliveries. > > We’re asking people to come to my office (1640 Rhode Island Ave., NW, 6th Floor) on Monday, March 30 to pick up the requisite number of budget books and directories, so CEF doesn't have to schlep several hundred of them to the briefing. > > > 3. CEF meeting this Friday: We’ll have our regular Friday meeting on March 20 at AASCU, 1307 New York Avenue, NW; First floor Auditorium. Our guest speaker will be Paulette L. Aniskoff, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director, White House Office of Public Engagement. > > 4. HEA: CQ reports that Sen. Alexander today said he is optimistic that a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (PL 110-315) will move quickly later this year. “This is a train that’s likely to move down the track and onto the station by the end of the year.” Higher Ed Reauthorization To Move This Year, Alexander Predicts <http://www.cq.com/doc/news-4643758?3&srcpage=news&srcsec=cqn> > > Joel Packer > CEF Executive Director > JPacker@cef.org <mailto:JPacker@cef.org> > 202-383-0083 > 202-255-0915 (cell) > www.cef.org <http://www.cef.org/> > www.Twitter.com/edfunding <http://www.twitter.com/edfunding>