Fed. education budget nearing completion

As Congress and President Clinton continue to battle over one of the last budget bills for the next fiscal year, federal spending for higher education appears to be finalized and thus immune to bi-partisan negotiations that will craft the final bill in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, Clinton vetoed the 1 percent budget cut passed by Congress. Negotiations have already begun on a compromise, as Democrats and Republicans try to hammer out the Health, Education and the Workforce budget for fiscal year 2000.

"The controversial issues had nothing to do with higher education," said John Brandt, press secretary for Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.).

Negotiations for higher education grant funding and student aid have been stabilized, and funds allocated to the higher education budget expect to "remain roughly the same," University Vice President for Government Relations Tom Butts said. The differences are more policy issues than funding, he added.

Butts, who lobbies in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the University, said the budget "looks fairly good" for higher education.

The budget includes a $75 increase in the maximum size of a Pell Grant - raising the cap to $3,300, which is $50 more than President Clinton requested.

Funding for the Federal Work Study Program, which was threatened in earlier stages of discussion on the bill, was restored to levels comparable to fiscal year 1999, which was also one of President Clinton's requests. As a result, a feared 6 percent drop in availability of funds did not materialize.

Funding for other federal programs, including the Perkins Loans, International Education Program and Graduate Education Program, will also be renewed when the conference committee passes a final form of the legislation that President Clinton agrees to sign.

But concern is rising about an amendment to the Works Incentive Act, which deals with funding health care incentives for working individuals. The amendment to this piece of the bill would "provide a big windfall profit for the student loan industry," Butts said. "Tax dollars should go to the student not the loan industry."

Among these policy issues is that of fund distribution for the National Institute of Health. The NIH received a 15 percent funding increase for health research, but a large portion of the funds are being allocated for the next fiscal year, Butts said. There is concern regarding subsidizing grantees before the federal money is available, he said.

Butts said that the University is negotiating so that the entire increase is used in one year.

Another concern regarding higher education spending was a proposed elimination of the 1 percent reduction in student loan origination fees that were given to students last year, Butts said. But as it stands right now that issue has been resolved, he added.

"There will not be any major contentious issues" concerning higher education, Brandt said, adding that the most of the concern is over K-12 education.

11-05-99