Transcript 2007 ACCT Leadership Congress

American Association of
Community Colleges
Federal Legislative Update
David Baime
AACC Senior VP for Government Relations & Research
AACC Legislative Update
•
•
•
•
•
•
American Jobs Act
Budget Control Act/Deficit “Super Committee”
FY 12 Funding
TAACCCT Grant Program/TAA Reauthorization
Department of Education Regulations
Committee on Measuring Student Success
American Jobs Act
• $447 Billion Total Package
▫ $253 billion tax credits and cuts
▫ $194 billion spending
• Four Main Sections
▫ Tax cuts for small businesses
▫ Infrastructure and other spending to encourage
hiring
▫ Unemployment insurance reform and Pathways
Back to Work fund
▫ Payroll tax cut
American Jobs Act
• Community College Modernization Funds
▫ House Bill: FAST Act – H.R. 2948
▫ $30 billion overall for school modernization
 $5 billion for community colleges
▫ Distributed by ED to states based on relative
community college enrollments
 Four-year institutions potentially eligible based on
students in sub-baccalaureate programs
 At least $2.5 million to each state
American Jobs Act
• CC Modernization Funds, cont’d
▫ States have broad discretion to determine
methods of intra-state distribution
▫ Funds for modernization, renovation or repair of
existing facilities
 No new construction
 Academic facilities
 Facilities at four-year institutions must be accessible
by students in sub-baccalaureate programs
 States to take into account how “green” the project is
American Jobs Act
• Pathways Back to Work
▫ $5 billion fund
 $2 billion for subsidized employment for low-income adults
 $2 billion for summer and year-round employment for lowincome youth
 $1 billion for effective work-based employment strategies
 Competitive grants to local elected officials and WIBs
 Community colleges may partner
 Sector-based initiatives, mixed employment and training
programs, apprenticeships, etc.
American Jobs Act
• Other Notable Provisions
▫ $35 billion for K-12 and first-responder jobs
▫ Unemployment insurance reforms – may involve
training
Budget Control Act
• Enacted Aug. 2, 2011 (P.L. 112-25)
▫ Federal debt limit raised in stages by $2.1 T
▫ Created 10-year discretionary caps
▫ Provided $17 B for Pell over next two FYs by eliminating inschool interest subsidies on graduate student loans
▫ Requires vote on balanced budget constitutional
amendment by 12/31/11
▫ Established Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction—
“Super Committee”
Budget Control Act
▫ Discretionary caps in FYs 12-21 reduce spending
by $890 billion over 10 years
▫ For FY 2012 and FY 2013, separate spending caps
for security and non-security spending
▫ FY 2012 cap = $1.043 T ($7B below FY 2011 but
$24 B higher than House FY 2012 budget)
Budget Control Act
• Student Aid
▫ Pell Grant program faced an $11.3 B shortfall for FY 2012
but BCA provided $10 B in FY 2012 and $7 B in FY 2013 to
address shortfall
▫ Pell Grants still face a shortfall of $1.3 B for FY 2012
▫ Eliminates the in-school interest subsidy for graduate and
professional student loans made on or after July 1, 2012
▫ Eliminates repayment incentives on direct loans
Budget Control Act
• “Super Committee”
▫ 12-member “Super Committee” charged with producing
legislation to reduce deficit by $1.2-$1.5 trillion more over
10 years
▫ Any cuts and/or revenue increases on table
▫ Oct. 14 – deadline for other committees to submit
recommendations
▫ Super Committee vote by Nov. 23
▫ Congress must vote by Dec. 23 – no filibuster, no
amendments
Budget Control Act
▫ If the Super Committee fails to propose at least
$1.2 Trillion in deficit reduction or Congress
rejects plan, SEQUESTRATION
▫ If no deal by Jan. 15, 2012, BCA triggers cuts
beginning on Jan. 2, 2013
▫ Triggers automatic spending cuts for each of 9
years (FY 2013-2021)
Budget Control Act
▫ Sequestration would trigger $55 B/year in defense cuts and
$55 B/year in non-defense, including $38 B in
discretionary and $17 B in mandatory programs
▫ Several programs are exempt including Medicaid, Social
Security, and Pell Grants (for two years)
▫ For FY 2013, estimate of 9% across-the-board cuts to
education would start in the middle of the school year
▫ For FY 2014-2021, will not be across-the-board cuts but
further program cuts
FY 2012 Labor-HHS-Education
Appropriations
• FY 2012 Begins October 1, 2011
▫ None of the 12 appropriations bills has been enacted
▫ No FY 2012 budget resolution but the Budget Control Act
set aggregate appropriations for FY 2012
▫ Congress is working on a continuing resolution (CR) while
the appropriations process continues
▫ Partisan dispute about offsets for FEMA funding
FY 2012 Labor-HHS-Education
Appropriations
• Senate Marked Up its FY 2012 Labor-HHS-Education
Bill on Sept. 20, 2011
▫ Pell Grant maximum preserved at $5,550 despite shortfall
▫ $100 Million for the Workforce Innovation Fund
▫ $158 billion Labor-HHS-Ed discretionary total due to new
budget caps - $308 million below FY 2011
▫ Senate expected to proceed with full committee mark up
this afternoon
▫ House has postponed its Labor-HHS-Ed appropriations
mark up several times; in lieu of separate bill, an omnibus
Trade Adjustment Assistance Act
• Baucus–Camp Reauthorization Bill
▫ Senate considering this week as amendment to
another trade bill
▫ Compromise bill establishes expanded benefits
that fall between ARRA authorization and current
law
 Service industry eligibility
 $575 million for training and other services
 Continued authorization of TAACCCT program
TAACCCT Program
• Grant Announcement Expected Very Soon
▫ $500 million for first-year grants must be
obligated by Sept. 30
▫ Proposals requesting approximately $3 billion
received in first round
▫ 90% of proposals from community colleges
Department of Education (ED)
Regulations
• Obama Administration Has Displayed Strong
Propensity to Regulate Higher Education
• Regulations Not Always Sensitive to Campus
Realities and Student Needs
• For-Profit Education Primary Target of
Regulations; Community Colleges “Collateral
Damage”
ED Regulations—Gainful
Employment
• Regulation a Fiasco for Community Colleges—
Huge New Compliance Burdens With Little
Meaningful Cleaning Up of “Rotten Apples” in
For-Profit Sector
• Muscle of For-Profit Lobbying Manifested
• Widespread Difficulties in CC Implementation
• Initial 7/1/11 Disclosures and Initial Reporting
11/1/11
• SSA Matches Mark Policy Sea Change
ED Regulations—State
Authorization
• Another Regulation Spurred by For-Profit
Abuses
• Institutions Must Demonstrate Compliance
With State Authorization Requirements
Wherever They Offer Programs; Huge and
Negative Implications for Distance Learning
• Regulation Thrown Out in Court
• Private Efforts are Underway to Rationalize and
Simplify State Efforts
ED Regulations—Program
Integrity, Etc.
• Three Year Default Rates and Higher CC
Defaults are Coming
• New “Satisfactory Academic Progress”
Standards Have Created Problems
• New Verification Procedures Laborious
• Low FAFSA Application Rates Still an Issue
Committee on Measuring
Student Success
• Committee Created by Congress in 2008 HEA
Amendments to Review and Suggest Changes to
Two-Year Graduation Rate Calculation
• Chaired by Head of CCRC and Nearing
Completion of Work
• ED Will Next Decide How to Implement;
IPEDS Route Likeliest
• Big Opportunity for Community Colleges
Contact Information
• David Baime
▫ 202-728-0200 x224, [email protected]