Federal Update January 26, 2004

BUDGET BILL PASSES! PRESIDENT SUPPORTS JOB TRAINING AND EDUCATION IN STATE OF THE UNION

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004

On January 22nd, the Senate passed the FY 2004 omnibus appropriations bill, the conference report on H.R. 2673, by a vote of 65-28. The House of Representatives passed the same conference report on December 8th, and the bill now awaits the President's signature. The omnibus contains funding for seven different appropriations bills, including the Education appropriations measure. The $820 billion bill includes $58.6 billion for education programs, a $2.9 billion increase over FY 03 levels. This number, however, does not include a 0.59% across-the-board cut proposed for most domestic discretionary programs.

Appropriations Made to Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

The omnibus appropriations bill included several special appropriations, or earmarks, to system colleges and universities that totaled $1.572 million. These include:

$547,000 for the National Child Protection Development and Training Center at Winona State University

$200,000 for restoration of the H. Alden Smith Mansion (Wells Center) at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, which currently houses federally funded programs for low-income students and seniors

$125,000 to Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Minnesota for design and construction of a multi-use facility

$100,000 to Minnesota State University, College of Allied Health & Nursing, Mankato, MN, for development and implementation of a curriculum related to allied health professions

$100,000 for a proposal by Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota to create a Central Asian Institute to facilitate cross-cultural understanding and enhance the education of citizens in Central Asia

Also noted within United States University Support for Developing Countries (U.S. AID)

$500,000 for the City of Moorhead, Minnesota for water infrastructure improvements (MSU Moorhead plus some residential)

Appropriations made to System related partnership:

$500,000 for CentraCare Health Foundation, St. Cloud

The budget bill includes a small increase to the Perkins basic state grant. Basic state grants received a 0.24% increase over the FY2003 level after the 0.59% cut. The overall Perkins appropriation ended up at $1.335 billion after the cut. This total represents a 0.17% increase over FY2003 levels. It is unlikely that Perkins will be reauthorized during 2004.

Highlights from President George W. Bush's 2004 State of the Union Address

Over $500 Million proposed for new funding for education and job training programs:

Community-based job training grants to community colleges for partnerships with employers in high-demand job sectors to train people for actual workforce needs ($250 Million).

"Of course, on the national scheme, it's not a great amount, but it's certainly enough to help some of our colleges develop capacity for these programs, so we would be very supportive of this proposal," said George R. Boggs, president and chief executive officer of the American Association of Community Colleges.

"They are not putting the money into the Department of Education; they're putting it in the Department of Labor - the signal there is to focus on workforce training activities," said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education.

Advanced Placement programs, including International Baccalaureate and other programs with challenging curricular and end-of-course exams, to go into low-income neighborhoods that have not had the benefit of these types of programs ($28 Million increases the Advanced Placement program authorized in the No Child Left Behind Act bringing spending to nearly $52 Million

Increased Pell grants for low income students who qualify and have taken a rigorous high school curriculum such as advanced placement programs and the State Scholars Program ($33 Million for up to $1,000 additional per individual award).

Expand State Scholars program to make grants available nationwide to encourage high school students to take more rigorous high school courses and to provide special incentives for students enrolled in these programs ($12 Million).

Competitive grants to partnerships of school districts and public or private institutions to create opportunities for professionals with subject-matter knowledge and experience to teach middle and high school courses in the core academic subjects, particularly in mathematics and science, through an Adjunct Teacher Corps ($40 Million).

Three-year competitive grants to supplement the Mathematics and Science Partnership program authorized in the No Child Left Behind Act for projects leading to accelerated achievement, especially for low-achieving students, through research based teacher training/professional development ($120 Million a year).

Competitive grants to develop, implement and evaluate effective interventions for high school and intermediate/middle school students reading significantly below grade level ($100 Million for approximately 50 to 100 school districts).

For more information, visit:
www.whitehouse.gov
www.dol.gov and/or www.ed.gov.

NEXT UP: Watch for President Bush to unveil his $2.3 trillion FY2005 Federal Budget proposal next Monday, February 2nd. The President's budget proposal holds non-defense, non-domestic security spending to about 0.5 percent growth, with a goal of halving deficits by 2009. The budget proposal comes on the heals of the Congressional Budget Office projection of nearly $2.4 trillion in deficits over the next decade. Last year's $375 billion deficit was the highest deficit ever.