Transcript COMMUNITY COLLEGE FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE OVERVIEW

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE
OVERVIEW
January 2014
Jee Hang Lee
Vice President for Public Policy and External Relations
Association of Community College Trustees
FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE OVERVIEW
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Climate on Capitol Hill
Appropriations and Budget
Pell Grants
White House Proposals
HEA Reauthorization
Negotiated Rulemaking
DREAM Act
WIA
CLIMATE ON CAPITOL HILL
 2013 ended and 2014 began with some signs of
bipartisanship.
 Debt ceiling will once again have to be
addressed by Congress in late-February.
 Election-year politics will also factor into the
legislative outlook.
BIPARTISAN BUDGET AGREEMENT
 In December, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act,
which set topline funding levels for FY 2014 and 2015, and
partially replaced sequestration .
 Under the agreement, funding levels for FY 2014 and FY
2015 were set at $1 .012 trillion and $1 .014, respectively.
 This is $45 billion more than what was mandated under
sequestration, but $46 billion less than pre-sequestration
levels for FY 2013.
 Under the deal, mandatory cuts for non -exempt programs as
a result of sequestration remain in place and are actually
extended for two years.
 However, sequestration is a multi-year event, and barring
Congressional intervention will return in full for
discretionary programs in FY 2016.
FY 2014 APPROPRIATIONS
 Unlike previous continuing resolutions, the FY
2014 omnibus appropriations bill shifts
discretionary funding to specific priorities.
 The news for community colleges is mixed.
 Funding for SEOG, Federal Work Study, TRIO, and
GEAR UP was all restored to pre-sequester levels.
 Most funding for Title III and V programs restored.
 Perkins CTE and WIA were partially restored.
 Adult Basic Education and Literacy state grants
were frozen at post sequester levels for FY 2013.
FY 2014 APPROPRIATIONS
$5,645
$5,645
$5,780
Change from
PreSequestration
Funding
$85
SEOG
$733,130,000
$696,175,000
$733,130,000
$0
Federal Work Study
$974,728,000
$925,595,000
$974,728,000
$0
$1,064,446,000 $1,117,598,000
($3,186,000)
PROGRAM
Pell Grant Maximum
Perkins CTE
FY 2013
(Continuing
Resolution HR 933)
$1,120,784,000
FY 2013
After
Sequestration
FY 2014
Omnibus
Adult Basic and Literacy
Education
$593,803,000
$563,995,000
$563,995,000
($29,808,000)
TRIO
$838,252,000
$795,998,000
$838,252,000
$0
GEAR UP
$301,640,000
$286,435,000
$301,640,000
$0
$2,468,189,000 $2,588,108,000
($9,985,000)
WIA State Grants
Strengthening Institutions
Hispanic Serving
Institutions
$2,598,093,000
$80,462,000
$76,406,000
$79,139,000
($1,287,000)
$100,231,000
$95,179,000
$98,583,000
($1,648,000)
PELL GRANTS
 The automatic (CPI) increase in the maximum
grant for AY 2014- 15 brought total to $5,780 – an
$85 increase.
 The Pell Grant program has a surplus for FY 2014,
and a relatively small shortfall in FY 2015.
 Beyond 2015 the program is slated to have
significant shortfalls— “cliff effect.” The program is
expected to have a $5 - $6 billion shortfall each
year.
WHITE HOUSE PROPOSALS
 The White House has introduced a proposal aimed at college
affordability and student debt.
 Some items can be achieved through executive authority while
others will need to be accomplished via HEA reauthorization.
 In January, the White House held a national summit on higher
education - dedicated to launching a plan of action for
increasing college access and success for low -income and
disadvantaged students.
 Near-term actions include:
 Creating a new system to rate institutions;
 Promoting income based repayment;
 Waiving financial aid rules for innovative programs such as competency
based learning;
 Tightening standards of satisfactory academic progress.
HEA REAUTHORIZATION
 The Higher Education Act (HEA) was last reauthorized in 2008 .
 The legislation authorizes Pell Grants, Staf ford Loans, Federal
Work-Study, TRIO, GEAR UP, Title III - A, Title V, Predominantly
Black Institutions, and international education .
 Reauthorization will focus on a number of issues, which may
include:
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Increasing completion rates and reducing tuition;
Accreditation;
Better consumer information;
Data collection relating to student outcomes;
Innovative learning models.
 President has proposed tying federal financial aid benefits to
ratings system via HEA reauthorization.
NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING
 Last spring, the US Department of Education (ED) called
for new rounds of negotiated rulemaking on a number of
topics, including: gainful employment (GE); program
integrity; credit hour; state authorizations; and other
topics.
 The GE panel met this fall, and discussed items ranging
from modified eligibility metrics for GE metrics to
additional requirements for adding new GE programs.
 While the community college negotiators indicated they
could support the final GE draft (with some
modifications), consensus was not met.
 The final GE regulations are expected to be issued by the
Department soon.
DREAM ACT
 Last summer, the Senate passed comprehensive immigration
reform (Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration
Modernization Act).
 Senate bill provides DREAMers an expedited path to citizenship.
 Senate bill also lifts the federal ban on in -state tuition for
DREAM students.
 Individual states would have the prerogative to decide whether
or not to allow DREAM students to receive in -state tuition.
 DREAMers who spend five years in “residential provisional
immigrant” (RPI) status would be eligible to apply for long -term
permanent resident status.
 House legislative outlook problematic; comprehensive reform
faces uphill climb.
WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT (WIA)
 House Passed SKILLS Act in March via a mostly party -line vote
 Program consolidation & system governance are primary wedge
issues.
 No required community college seat on WIBs.
 Bill expands training contracts, streamlines trainer reporting
requirements.
 At the end of July, the Senate HELP Committee reported-out on
a bi-partisan basis the Workforce Investment Act of 2013.
 In contrast to House, Senate bill focuses more on fixes within
current structure, emphasizing greater alignment and better
outcomes data.
 Retains the community college slot on WIBs, but makes state WIB
representation optional.
 State unified plan is a central component of bill.
 Reauthorizes the Community Based Job Training Grants (CBJTG)
program.
Thank You