This report includes updates from the Consortium (legislative, executive and committee action) and Washington updates (general updates on issues around Washington facing higher education).

WASHINGTON UPDATE

The Higher Education Act Reauthorization, as we now look at it 10 years since the last Reauthorization has been extended again.  The existing bill had been extended to June 30, but with Congressional action this week it has now been extended to July 31st.

There is little more information about details of the bill since a draft was circualted a few weeks ago.  As Senator Kennedy has stepped back from his direct active role in Congress, his staff is still working on negotiations.  Senator Milkulski has been asked to assist as the lead and has already made an impact.  She has negotiated that in the new version of the language, the Department of Education can't create new guidelines/regulations when it comes to accreditation.  This alleviates many fears as to what the Department of Education and Secretary Spellings were hoping to do with negotiated rulemaking and accreditation language.

Supplemental Bill - GI Language

The fiscal 2009 budget resolution (S Con Res 70) adopted by Congress earlier this year allows the Appropriations panels to spend $24.5 billion, or 2.5 percent, more than Bush requested when cap adjustments and advance appropriations are included. Democrats plan to spend $72.4 billion more than in fiscal 2008, an increase of about 8 percent.

As he did last year, Bush has vowed to veto bills that exceed his request. But with a new president coming into office next year, Democrats have shown little desire to reprise a veto fight with Bush over appropriations bills and are likely to wait till then to complete the fiscal 2009 bills

Congress passed a budget of $7.8 billion over President's budget, the NIH will be getting a larger increase this year than in the past - $1.2 billion increase where the President had it at level funding.  This increase will allow close to 1000 new grants.

The House did pass their Labor HHS Appropriations bill early this week.  As in the past, our concerns are Ed programs and Pell Funding - TRIO and GEAR UP are expected to see increases, $30 million for TRIO and  $10 million for GEAR UP.  Pell is scheduled to receive a modest increase of $3.1 billion, which translates to a $169 increase from last year - total Pell would be $4410.  The bill rejects administration calls for eliminating Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, some Perkins Loan funding, and a variety of smaller programs, which provide competitive grants to colleges and universities.

The Senate approved their bill last week that would increase funds for NIH as expected by $1 billion but in their bill most of the funding for higher education programs were level.  As noted above in the Reauthorization update, there was language included in this bill that would block Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and her department from using any funds to carry out proposed regulations on accreditation.  The House version included similar language that stated there would be a limitation on the department from carrying out any forthcoming accreditation rules.

The Senate version proposed leaving Pell at $4310 - a lot less than the President's proposed number of $4600 and the House proposed of $4700.  The Senate does hope to increase those numbers through a different mechanism - budget reconciliation.  Using this tactic, Senate Democrats intend to slash subsidies to student loan providers and redirect the proceeds to increase grants and other funds for students.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly this week to approve a bill that would update the Americans With Disabilities Act but not broaden its coverage as much as an earlier bill, opposed by college officials, had sought to do.

The initial bill, which was introduced last July, defined as disabled anyone with "a physical or mental impairment." It dropped the existing standard that a disability must "substantially limit" a "major life activity" to be considered for coverage under the law. Many higher-education officials were concerned that expanded eligibility would overwhelm campus offices that work to accommodate disabled students (The Chronicle, June 13).

The new bill, which the Committee on Education and Labor approved by a vote of 43 to 1, includes the stricter definition of a disability. And it specifies a list of major life activities that a disability must limit, adding, for the first time, concentrating and thinking.

The intent of the bill remains the same: to reverse judicial rulings it says "have narrowed the broad scope of protection intended to be afforded by the ADA, thus eliminating protection for many individuals whom Congress intended to protect."