Newsbeat

The Everett Herald published an editorial in Sunday’s edition calling for the Legislature to increase overall funding for higher education as it negotiates a two-year budget during the current special session. You can find it here.

Today begins the second week of that 30-day session and activity has been light.

In its editorial, the Herald bemoans funding reductions sustained by the higher education sector over the past five years, dramatically rising tuition and the lack of participation among Washington students in public four-year higher education.

“No more benign neglect of Washington’s future,” the Herald concludes. “Higher ed is the cornerstone.”

With just six weeks left until subsidized student loan interest rates are set to increase from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent for new loans, lawmakers are scrambling to find a solution. Over the last week, two bills have been released in the Senate, in addition to one piece of legislation in the House.

Currently, student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion.  Any changes made to subsidized student loan interest rates will have a significant impact on future and currently enrolled students and their families ability to pay for higher education.  With multiples bills including varying language circulating the Chambers, it important to note what the differences are between these three bills and how they vary moving forward.

The Student Affordability Act of 2013

• This bill was introduced on Wednesday by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA).  The proposed legislation would provide a temporary solution and secure low interest rates until the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which is set to expire at the end of the year.

• The bill would extend the 3.4 percent rate for subsidized Federal Direct Stafford loans for two years by amending the Higher Education Act of 1965.

• Funding for this legislation would come from closing tax loopholes for tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s, extending limitations on deductions of interest paid by an expatriate entity and the elimination of a special tax loophole for the oil industry.

Bank On Student Loan Affordability Act of 2013

• Stating that “we shouldn’t be profiting from our students who are drowning in debt, while giving a great deal to the banks”, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced legislation late last week that would provide students with an opportunity to receive loans at the same rate that large banks pay to borrow from the federal government

• The bill would provide a one-year fix to the approaching interest rate hike.

• The bill would set the rate for federal subsidized Stafford loans at the primary interest rate offered through the Federal Reserve on July 1, 2013.

• While funding would come from the Federal Reserve, the loans would still be administered by the Department of Education as they are today.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act

• Today the Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911) introduced by Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and was voted out of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and will next move to be considered on the House floor.

• The bill aims to provide a long-term solution for student loan interest rates.

• Subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loan calculations would be based on the 10-year Treasury note, in addition to 2.5 percent for undergraduates.

• For graduate students, subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loan calculations would be based on the 10-year Treasury note, in addition to 4.5 percent for undergraduates.  This would also be the same cost breakdown for parent loans.

• The proposed legislation includes a cap of 8.5 percent for Stafford loans and PLUS loans would be capped at 10.5 percent.

While the legislation in the House provides a long-term solution, there was a large amount of opposition from Democrats within the committee advocating for more time to find a comprehensive solution.  There are also concerns with a recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report highlighting the possibility that rates may rise and students would be forced to pay at that higher level.  As for the bills in the Senate, people are applauding Senator Warren on her legislation, there is hesitation on moving the legislation forward due to the cost of implementing the bill.

We will continue to keep you updated as legislation progresses in the coming weeks.

“Deadlines just aren’t real to me until I’m staring one in the face.” – Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

The House starts their mark up at 10 a.m. this morning with about 80 amendments filed.  Not all will be considered, some will be incorporated into the Chairman’s amendment and like yesterday some will be debated and pulled for potential floor consideration.

Expect a lot of debate on SNAP programs as the House bill will cut the program by almost $21 billion over the next decade.   Specific to SNAP-Ed, the bill provides a permanent reduction in funding for SNAP’-Ed through a reduction of  $26 million, from $401 million to $375 million, and adjusted each year thereafter for inflation, resulting in a ten-year cut of $274 million.  This proposed cut comes on the heels of the program’s fiscal year 2013 budget cut of 28 percent that was included in the fiscal cliff agreement, resulting in decreased program activity.

Here is what we have so far from Energy & Environment Daily and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

• Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) is seeking to give renewable energy and energy efficiency programs millions of dollars in mandatory funding as the House Agriculture Committee begins its markup of the 2013 farm bill.

• Rep. Bill Enyart (D-Ill.) has filed an amendment that would encourage the Air Force to create a competitive grant program for biofuel research centers and to develop a pilot program for renewable jet fuel for airplanes. Aviation biofuels have gotten a boost from a joint program between the departments of Agriculture, Energy and Defense, and Enyart is seeking to build off that relationship.

• Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), a vocal opponent of ethanol, has filed an amendment that would repeal a program that USDA is considering using to help both the ethanol and sugar industries. Under the program, the department would buy up extra quantities of sugar in order to boost declining market prices and sell them to ethanol producers as a feedstock.

Several other amendments seek to restore funding for the National Organic Program and allow USDA to provide more than $20 million to help producers offset the fees that come with certifying organic foods.

• An amendment by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) that would prohibit USDA and other agencies from releasing personal information on any participant in farm subsidy and conservation programs. Earlier this year, Gibbs said he was concerned about EPA’s recent release of hundreds of pages of data on concentrated animal feeding operations to environmental groups under a Freedom of Information Act request.

• An amendment by Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) that would create a process by which the secretary of Agriculture would review any EPA policies or guidances that could result in significant impacts on agriculture.

• A pair of competing amendments from Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-Mo.) and Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) regarding USDA’s inspection of catfish. The Hartzler amendment would repeal the program and send inspections to the Food and Drug Administration, while the Crawford amendment would make USDA the sole agency with authority to inspect catfish.

• Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.) has filed an amendment that would strike a provision that caps conservation payments at a lower limit for organic producers than for conventional crop producers; a similar provision was included yesterday in the Senate farm bill.

• Rep. Richard Nolan (D-Minn.) has filed a pair of amendments that would increase the acreage in the Conservation Stewardship Program and refocus its requirements on conservation outcomes. A final conservation amendment from Rep. Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.) would give USDA the authority to receive donated lands for land easements.

Forestry related amendments include:

• An amendment by Rep. Dan Benishek (R-Mich.) that would require USDA to conduct a study of the timber needs of all wood-producing facilities within 100 miles of National Forest System areas and whether the National Forest System can meet those needs.

• An amendment by Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) that would allow USDA to reimburse states for using resources to help another state fight wildfires. A separate amendment by Noem would require the Forest Service to assist landowners near the Grand River Grazing District who lost property as the result of a Forest Service controlled burn that spiraled out of control earlier this year.

• An amendment by Goodlatte that would require USDA to put together a report on the condition of forest roads.

• An amendment by Nolan that would require USDA’s Forest Products Laboratory to conduct a study on wood as a green building material.

I’ll be watching the hearing today and will let you know if anything comes up during the day.  As you all know Congresswoman Suzan DelBene is on the committee and we will be on call should she have any questions on WSU’s impact on any amendments.

*Sources
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Authors: Dottie Rosenbaum and Stacy Dean
Energy & Environment Daily – Author: Amanda Peterka

The Office of Federal Relations had the pleasure of hosting a very important visitor last week.  President Elson S. Floyd was in Washington DC for two full days of meeting to discuss the important role of Washington State University around education, innovative research and economic development throughout the state.  During his visit, the President met with Members of the Washington State delegation, visited the West Wing of the White House to meet with the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House and staff from the Domestic Policy Council along with meeting with the President and senior staff (including WSU Alumni Ken Lisaius) of Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) the trade association representing all things bio related.   He also spoke at The Science Coalition’s Breakfast of Champions, where 28 Members of Congress were recognized for their ongoing leadership and commitment to science and research.

Throughout the visit, Dr. Floyd had the opportunity to provide representatives and their staff with first hand examples of the effects of sequestration on our faculty, students and staff.  In addition to highlighting the economic impact it has on communities throughout Washington State.  Dr. Floyd along with his peers, Robert A. Brown, president at Boston University and Susan Desmond-Hellman, chancellor of University of California San Francisco, released an Op-Ed emphasizing the importance of federal investment in research and how this will keep our communities competitive and moving forward.  You can find a copy here.

This week on the Hill, both the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Agriculture Committee will be marking-up their respective versions of the Farm Bill.  According to the Congressional Budget Office there are large discrepancies between the cuts in the House and Senate versions of the bill that may pose a challenge in both chambers reaching an agreement.

Today the Senate Agriculture Committee passed its version of the Farm Bill with very little changes to the base bill.   Research and renewable energy were left intact with programs receiving mandatory funding.  Most of the debate centered around the SNAP program – and we expect the debate to be contentious when the bill is on the Senate Floor sometime this spring.  The Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) bill, proposes $24.4 billion in savings over 10 years, including $6.4 as part of sequestration.   A bill introduced by the House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) is set to be marked-up on Wednesday at 10 AM.  The bill would reduce spending by $39.7 billion over the 10 years.  Approximately $20.5 billion in funding would come from food stamp and nutritional programs.    We anticipate floor action on the bill this summer.

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee is continuing the mark-up of S.744, the Border Security Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act.  The bill introduced by the bipartisan “Senate Gang of 8” has caused a quite a bit of buzz inside and outside of the beltway.  The legislation would raise the cap on H-1B visas from 65,000 annually to 110,000 annually.  It also calls for greater border security while creating an opportunity for eventual citizenship for more than 11 million people currently in the United States illegally.  Since releasing the draft of the bill,  Senator’s have introduced more than two-dozen amendments that may slow down the current momentum behind the bill.   Despite this challenge, President Obama has indicated passage of an Immigration bill is a top priority for him in his second term – so we anticipate he will put some political capital behind his effort.

Continue to check back this week as we will be providing updates on the Farm Bill and current and upcoming student loan legislation and what it will mean for WSU.

The Legislature reconvened today to begin its 30 day special session amid questions as to when a final deal will be struck on the operating budget.

One question of interest is whether there’s interest in waiting for the next revenue forecast — slated to be released June 18. But a report of tax collections over the past month released this afternoon did little to suggest a game changing forecast is coming.

That report, found here, indicates tax collections since the March revenue forecast are up by $38 million, or 1.8 percent, after you discount for early property tax payments that artificially inflate receipts over the past month. The report cites improving housing and construction sectors but slowing growth in manufacturing.

As for the special session, there is little public activity planned for this week.

Gov. Jay Inslee spent 90 minutes on WSU’s Vancouver campus Monday morning for the first time since taking office in January.

Inslee met with the Clark County High Technology and Community Council, a nonprofit organization representing some of Southwest Washington’s most prominent high tech companies.

Discussion focused in part on their need for more suitably educated graduates to fill their workforce needs. Presenters also highlighted efforts to match teams of students with employers to collaborate on capstone projects to complete their senior year.

Inslee also spent time talking with students about issues of concern to them, including tuition and access to classes.

Finally, he visited the Robotics and Automation Laboratory where students demonstrated the use of new engineering technologies. The lab is under the guidance of Hakan Gurocak, Director of the School of Engineering and Computer Science at WSU-V, and supports the school’s instructional and research efforts in the field of mechatronics.

The House and Senate adjourned their regular session Sunday evening without an agreement on a two-year operating budget and Gov. Jay Inlee called a special session to begin May 13.

You can read more and watch the governor’s post session news conference here.

You can read the Seattle Times’ coverage here and the Spokesman-Review’s coverage here.

Lawmakers also must reach agreement on a new two-year capital budget.

The Seattle Times published a taped interview with WSU President Elson Floyd as part of their occasional “Education Conversations” video series. During the interview, President Floyd discussed the importance of higher education as a gateway to success.

You can access the editorial and watch the video segment here.

The video series is part of the Seattle Times “3 to 23” education initiative which is “an ongoing effort to redefine the state’s duty to educate children between the ages of 3 and 23,” the Times reports.

One of WSU’s priority efficiency bills, House Bill 1736, survived last week’s legislative cutoff with a Senate floor vote of 47-0 and is now one concurrence vote away from being sent to the governor’s desk for signature.

The measure would help ease paperwork within human resources departments by authorizing electronic signatures. The bill would also allow Washington to enter into a multi-state compact in order to simplify the delivery of online education to out of state students and would study college and university reporting requirements.

You can watch the final passage of House Bill 1736 below and you can find our previous coverage here. It was amended on the floor and now goes back to the House. If the House approves the change, the bill will be sent to the governor’s desk for signature.

The 2013 regular session is scheduled to adjourn on Sunday, April 28.

UPDATE: The bill was just approved by the House 92-3 on a concurrence vote. Once signed by the House Speaker and Senate President, it will be delivered to the governor’s office for signature.

On Wednesday, the House Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee held a work session to discuss tribal graduate and leadership programs within the higher education sector.

WSU Tribal Liaison and Special Assistant to the Provost Barbara Aston provided the committee a presentation on WSU’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with nine land based indigenous Native American tribes of the Northwest. The MOU established a Native American Advisory Board to the President of WSU to strengthen the partnership between WSU and the signatory tribes.

Aston also discussed WSU’s new Tribal Nation Building Leadership Program developed in response to recommendations from the Advisory Board. The program is being designed with skills and knowledge contextualized within a framework of tribal principles and values.

You can view Aston’s presentation to the committee below.