July 28, 2008

As the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Appropriations process continues to stall in Congress, the Bush Administration released its projected budget deficit total which is $482 billion for FY 2009. This number is a record high, surpassing $412.7 billion in FY 2004.

The $482 billion deficit projected for FY 2009 (October 1, 2008 – September 30, 2009) will impact the amount of appropriations that Congress provides to domestic programs.  In the current budget year of FY 2008, the projected deficit is $389 billion, which is higher than FY 2007.

There are some disagreements in Congress as to who is to blame for the deficit. House Budget Chairman John M. Spratt Jr. (D-SC) said, “If these reports prove accurate, they confirm the dismal legacy of the Bush administration: Under its policies, the largest surpluses in history have been converted into the largest deficits in history.” However, Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, holds Congressional Democrats responsible for the deficit, “Their (Democrats) failure to address energy prices and entitlement spending, coupled with their incessant push for billions in new spending, have contributed to this high deficit number and have put our nation’s economic health in jeopardy.”

Economists believe that the issues controlling the budget are primarily due to the growing costs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. These are “entitlement” programs which do not require annual appropriations action and make up about 44 percent of the federal budget. There is not much room remaining for other domestic “discretionary” priorities such as education that require annual Congressional approval.

These costs, along with the cost of enacting the recent stimulus package, will make it much harder for domestic programs to receive adequate federal funding. As a new Congress and Administration get ready to take office in January, domestic programs, like Perkins, will have to fight even harder to receive increased funding. ACTE encourages you to contact your Members of Congress to ensure that Perkins gets the attention it needs to help students become successful in our competitive global economy.

July 14, 2008

In Late June, the House Appropriations Committee abruptly ended the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations “mark-up” when Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-CA) proposed a “substitute” amendment that would have replaced the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill with the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. As the days pass, it is more unlikely that the Appropriations Committee will meet again before Congress adjourns for the year on September 26, 2008.

ACTE will be meeting with Chairman David Obey’s (D-WI) staff to discuss the fate of Rep. John Peterson’s (R-PA) amendment that would increase Perkins Basic State Grants by $20 million. The status of the amendment is uncertain due to the abrupt end of the “mark up” in June. ACTE is still encouraging members to contact their Congressional Representative to ask for his/her support for an increase in Perkins funds through the amendment sponsored by Rep. Peterson.

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed their version of FY 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill; however, without a House companion bill it is unlikely that the Senate version will be addressed on to the floor of the Senate.

The Department of Education has released the full Senate Committee and House Subcommittee numbers that have been allocated. Career and Technical Education is on page 12. (Note: the House full Committee activity referenced in the first part of this article is not referenced in the Department of Education charts. This information only includes the status of House and Senate activity that has been formally approved to date.)

June 30, 2008

Last week the House and Senate full Appropriations Committees met to finalize their respective Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bills.

During the House Committee’s “mark-up” of its bill, Chairman David Obey (D-WI) proposed a “manager’s amendment” which would have provided a $20 million increase to Perkins Basic State Grants, a number that Chairman Obey and Rep. John Peterson (R-PA) had agreed to the night before. However, the bill, including the amendment, did not receive a vote because as additional amendments were being brought before the committee, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) proposed an unusual “substitute amendment” which would have replaced the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill with the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. The Democrats on the committee responded by moving to adjourn and the Appropriations Committee “mark-up” ended abruptly.

Although the complete bill, including the $20 million Perkins amendment, did not receive a vote, ACTE is hopeful that the increase will be included when the bill is next addressed. As of now, the House Appropriations Committee has allocated level funding at last year’s FY 2008 level for Perkins Basic State Grants ($1.160 billion) and National Programs ($7 million), however Tech Prep has received a $2 million increase ($105 million). The next step in the appropriations process is unclear. ACTE is still encouraging members to contact their Representative and ask for his/her support for an increase in Perkins funds through the amendment sponsored by Rep. Peterson. It is speculated that the appropriations process will not continue until after the election.

In comparison to the House, the Senate full Appropriations Committee was able to pass the FY 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill. In the Senate bill, the Perkins program (including Basic State Grants, National Programs, and Tech Prep) has been level funded at FY 2008 levels. It is unlikely that the bill will leave the committee to go to the Senate floor.

Democrats in Congress have been working on a supplemental funding bill in response to President Bush’s request for additional defense spending. The bill will likely be offered in early May, and despite opposition from Republicans and the President, Democrats on appropriations committees are looking to the legislation as a vehicle for including domestic “stimulus” programs. The President has said any increases above his Fiscal Year 2009 budget request of $108 billion would be vetoed.

Despite the threat, it might be difficult for the President to veto the legislation because it would provide significant funding for the war in Iraq through the fall elections. Democrats favor the plan since it would give the next President wide latitude on how to spend the money.

One possible stimulus inclusion that ACTE would support is legislation sponsored by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Jim Clyburn (D-SC) that would create one million new jobs for teens this summer. “The summer jobs program would help stimulate local economies, reduce unemployment, introduce young people to the working world, and increase their earning potential in the future,” says a press release written by the sponsors.

Separate from the supplemental bill, House and Senate budget negotiators continue to work to find a compromise between their versions of a Fiscal Year 2009 budget resolution. The budget resolution would set overall funding caps and give Congressional appropriators the “go ahead” for making decisions about funding for specific programs including the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Appropriations committees are allowed to move forward without a budget resolution as of May 15, although House and Senate leaders have discussed the probability of stalling domestic appropriations bills until next January when a new administration is in office. Nevertheless, ACTE will continue to encourage an increase in Perkins funding with House and Senate appropriators.