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Posts Tagged ‘appropriations’

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Spring Meeting Recap: A View From the Hill – Appropriations

Friday, April 19th, 2013

This week at our spring meeting, we held a panel titled A View from the Hill – Appropriations. The panelists were Joel Packer, the Executive Director of the Committee for Education Funding (CEF); Emily Bouck, a Legislative Aide for Senator Rubio (R-FL); and Kevin McDermott, the Legislative Director for Representative Tierney (D-MA-6).

The panel discussed the fiscal context in Congress, the effect of the sequestration process and how both have affected Career Technical Education (CTE). Joel expressed the view that unless Congress repeals the sequester, funding for education and CTE will be significantly reduced and will have highly negative consequences for how states deliver CTE.

Kevin agreed with Joel and went on to say that while the negative effects of sequestration are not immediately apparent, organizations such as the CEF should continue to raise awareness of the cuts. Finally, Emily acknowledged the difficult financial circumstances for CTE and said that the money should be focused on those who need it the most.

NASDCTEc is a member of the CEF and is actively engaged in the budget, appropriations and sequestration discussions.

David Beckett, Advocacy Manager

By admin in Public Policy
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Revised Legislative Update: CR, Meeting with Senate HELP Committee, Houses Passes WIA Reauthorization

Sunday, March 17th, 2013

FY13 Continuing Resolution – Proposed 0.098% Across the Board Cut



The Senate is considering a continuing resolution (CR) that proposes an across the board cut of 0.098%. Because the CR is for FY13, this across the board cut would get applied to funding before and in addition to the planned 5% across the board sequestration cut.

What does the CR mean for Perkins? It seems likely that the proposed across the board cut of 0.098% will be approved and if so, it would apply to Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins) FY13 funding as well as all other federal education and workforce programs. For Perkins, FY13 is the funding states get beginning July 1, 2013. Therefore, if this CR is passed, it would mean that OVAE would have to revise and re-issue the funding tables states received on March 8, 2013.

Next Steps on the CR: The Senate will continue to debate the CR on Monday, March 18 at 2 p.m. E.T. When the CR is passed and signed by the President, which is expected to happen, NASDCTEc will provide a further update detailing out the specific impact on Perkins funding.

Meeting with Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee Republicans on Perkins

NASDCTEc made outreach to Democrat and Republican staff from the House and Senate Committees charged with taking up the reauthorization of Perkins. This week, NASDCTEc met with a representative of Senator Alexander (R-TN), Ranking Member on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, who indicated the Senator’s strong interest that Perkins be reauthorized as soon as is practicable so CTE can contribute most effectively to the economic recovery and the education of the nation. However, this staff member also noted the reality that the reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) technically are in the queue and should be completed first as WIA was due for reauthorization in 2003 and ESEA was due for reauthorization in 2007, whereas Perkins was due for reauthorization in 2012. NASDCTEc will continue to meet with Committee staff and share any movement in the interest or scheduling of reauthorization. In addition, these staff have been invited to be part of a panel at the NASDCTEc Spring Meeting.

House Approves Measure to Reauthorize Workforce Investment Act


On Friday, March 15, 2013, the House approved its measure to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), H.R.803, also known as the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills Act (SKILLS), by a vote of 215 to 202. An amendment by Representative Tierney (D-MA-6) which would have strengthened the role of community colleges in workforce investment boards was defeated 227 to 192.  A comprehensive summary of H.R. 803, detailing the impact on CTE, will be made available to NASDCTEc members next week. The passage of this bill is the first step in reauthorization; the Senate still needs to consider its reauthorization proposal for the WIA.

 

 


By admin in Public Policy
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Sequestration Updates

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

New Sequester Report

 

The House Appropriations Committee Democrats recently released a new sequestration report – A Report on Consequences of Sequestration – that examines the impact of sequestration on a number of federal programs. In the education sphere, the report does not discuss Perkins or CTE, but does say that Title I Grants would be cut by more than $1 billion, impacting over 4,000 schools serving nearly 2 million disadvantaged students. In the Labor Department, cuts to Job Corps would reduce by approximately 4,300 the number of at-risk youth served.

 

Bipartisan Group of Senators Working on Deal

 

The so-called “Gang of Six,” which has been meeting to devise a bipartisan grand bargain on deficit reduction has added two more members to their ranks – Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE). It is unclear what kind of leverage the group will have during the lame duck session when Congress re-convenes to find an alternative to sequestration.

 Nancy Conneely, Director of Public Policy

 

By admin in Public Policy
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OMB Releases Sequestration Report

Friday, September 14th, 2012

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) this afternoon released the OMB Report Pursuant to the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, as required by Congress. According to OMB’s estimates, non-exempt nondefense discretionary federal programs will be cut by 8.2 percent if sequestration occurs on January 2, 2013. The report does not get down to the program level, so we do not have official numbers on the amount the Perkins could be cut, but based on our rough estimates, Perkins could be reduced by approximately $92 million. The total cut to Department of Education programs would be $4.113 billion.

OMB’s determination that the cut from sequestration would be 8.2 percent is based on the assumption that FY13 discretionary spending will be at FY12 levels. However, as we told you earlier this week, the 6 month continuing resolution increases FY13 spending 0.612 percent above FY12 levels. Therefore, the final sequestration percentage will likely be slightly different than 8.2 percent.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Public Policy
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Congress Releases Six Month Funding Bill

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

This week the House Appropriations Committee released a six month continuing resolution that will fund government programs until March 27, 2013 at FY12 levels plus an across-the board increase of 0.612%. This increase is the result of the bill adhering to the spending levels set forth in the Budget Control Act, as well as unanticipated revenues in FY12 that will carry forward to FY13.  The House is scheduled to vote on the bill tomorrow, with the Senate voting on it next week. The bill is expected to pass both chambers easily.

While this is good news, passage of this bill does not mean that Perkins will not see cuts in FY13. Cuts could still be included in the final spending bill to be worked out after Congress returns in January. With the uncertainty of the election and what impact it will have on the balance of power in both the White House and Congress, we do not know if Perkins will be targeted for cuts in 2013. This means that we must remain diligent in our efforts to educate Members of Congress on the value of CTE.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation
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NASDCTEc Webinar: Federal Funding Update: FY 13 and Sequestration

Wednesday, September 5th, 2012

Over the last several years federal funding for many programs, including Perkins, has been slashed. Following this trend of shrinking budgets along with the looming threat of sequestration, Fiscal Year 13 could result in more cuts. Join Nancy Conneely, NASDCTEc’s Public Policy Manager, as she walks you through the federal funding maze. During this webinar you will hear about Fiscal Year 13 federal funding, the Budget Control Act, and sequestration.

When: Tuesday, September 25th at 3 p.m. ET

To register, please go to: https://nasdcte.adobeconnect.com/_a998116607/fedfunding/event/event_info.html

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Webinars
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Legislative Update: Sequestration

Friday, August 3rd, 2012

House and Senate Continue to Spar Over Sequestration

Speaker of the House John Boehner along with other members of the House Republican leadership sent a letter this week to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, urging the Senate to agree to a deal that would prevent sequestration just for defense. Senator Reid responded in letter that read in part:

Democrats have no intention of giving up on balanced deficit reduction. At the same time, we fully agree about the importance of avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff. Toward that end, the Senate recently passed legislation that cuts taxes for 114 million middle class families. By not extending tax breaks that only go to the very wealthy, the bill also produces critical savings that could be used to suspend sequestration as part of a comprehensive deficit reduction package.

Congress is scheduled to go on recess today until Monday September 10th. When they return, they are expected to pass a six month continuing resolution, but will not tackle sequestration until after the election.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation
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Congress to Pass Six Month CR in September

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner announced today that they have reached a deal on a six-month continuing resolution (CR), which will fund the government at $1.047 trillion, which is the level set for FY 13 in the Budget Control Act (BCA). While no other details have been announced, staff will work through August recess to draft a bill. One issue to note is that the funding level set by the BCA is $4 billion more than the FY12 level, so the CR cannot simply fund programs at last year’s levels. It is unclear how Congress will allocate the additional funding for the six month CR.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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Senate Holds Hearing on Impact of Sequestration on Education Programs

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education held a hearing this morning to hear from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and a panel of state and local educators about the impact of sequestration on education programs. Chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Tom Harkin (IA), called on his colleagues to come to a bipartisan and balanced approach to deficit reduction, rather than the “arbitrary” cuts of sequestration.

During his testimony, Secretary Duncan agreed that we need to take a balanced approach because sequestration will cut both effective and ineffective programs. He also argued that cutting education funding is very much a national security issue due to the number of highly technical jobs, including those in the military sector, which go unfilled because there are not enough skilled individuals to fill them. When asked about the impact of the cuts on education reform efforts, Duncan said that sequestration will touch all education programs, including CTE.

June Atkinson, State Superintendent of Public Instructionin North Carolina, spoke about how sequestration would hurt her state’s effort at increasing college and career readiness. For example, providing training for Microsoft certifications requires CTE funding, which would be cut under sequestration. She also noted that the graduation rate of CTE concentrators in North Carolina is 90 percent. Presumably cuts to Perkins funding would hinder the tremendous achievement of CTE students.

Harkin also released this morning Under Threat – Sequestration’s Impact on Nondefense Jobs and Services, a report which looks at the potential impact of sequestration on education, health and labor programs under the subcommittee’s jurisdiction. The report gives national as well as state-by-state estimates of the number of jobs that could be lost and the number of individuals who could lose services if sequestration goes into effect.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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Sequestration: Resources and New Information

Monday, July 23rd, 2012

The information surrounding the impact and logistics of sequestration is continually in flux. With little guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, a number of policy groups are speculating about what will happen in 2013. We also know that states and locals are bracing for the worst, and trying as best they can to prepare for an approximately 8 percent cut to federally funded programs. To help you better understand the potential impact of sequestration, we have pulled together a number of resources from various sources.

Based on estimates from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the National Education Association, an 8.4% cut to Perkins in FY13 would amount to a $94 million cut. A cut of this magnitude would bring funding down to 1999 levels at time when there are 2.5 million more students enrolled in CTE than there were in 1999. There is however, some good news. We had originally believed that sequestration would cut Perkins advance appropriations immediately on January 3, 2013, but the Department released a clarifying memo on Friday that read in part:

If Congress does not act to avoid sequestration, and assuming the 2013 appropriations for these four accounts are structured similarly to past appropriations (which they are under the pending House and Senate appropriations bills), the Department will take the sequester from funds that would become available in July 2013 for school year 2013-14, not from the 2012 advance appropriations available in October 2012. The amount of the reduction will be calculated by applying the sequester percentage (to be determined by the Office of Management and Budget) to the fiscal year 2013 budgetary resources from both the 2012 advance appropriations and the 2013 regular appropriations that are available for the four accounts. The calculated sequester amount will then get subtracted from the July 2013 funding. The net effect will be to cut the funding level for the programs in the four accounts with advance funding by the same percentage as all other programs, projects, and activities.

We also want to bring to your attention the results of a survey conducted by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) on the impact of sequestration on schools. The overwhelming majority of respondents (90 percent) said that neither their state nor their district would be able to absorb or offset the sequestration cuts. Fifty-four percent said that they have built in the potential cuts to their 2012-2013 school year budgets. The areas that are most likely to be affected, according to survey respondents, are: professional development, after-school programs, laying off instructional staff, and increasing class size.

What would sequestration do to CTE in your state? As we go up on the Hill and advocate against cuts to Perkins, we need to be able to share your stories. Please send any impact data on an 8.4% cut to Nancy Conneely at [email protected]

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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