Legislation and Guidance
News
Legislation and Guidance
Obey: Compromise or Else
On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hosted a hearing on the President's fiscal year 2009 (FY09) proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) brought Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings before the Committee, and, like the previous two years, the event was not pleasant for the Secretary.
Secretary Spellings defended the President's flat funding for ED by stating, "we have limited resources" and the federal responsibility is to "ensure that taxpayer dollars are allocated in the most effective and efficient ways. " This meant cutting many "small or ineffective" programs while funding those programs the Administration believes are most effective. The President is requesting $59.2 billion in discretionary appropriations for ED, the same amount that Congress appropriated in 2008 and that does not account for inflation. The request proposes to eliminate or consolidate 47 ED programs, including zero funding for Career and Technical Education State Grants, Tech Prep Education State Grants, Even Start, Education Technology State Grants, and State Grants for Innovative Programs.
Members of the House Committee on Appropriations did not agree with the Administration's request. Representative Barbara Lee (D - CA) and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) spent considerable time asking about many of the programs that were cut from the budget, noting that many of them affected students who were poor and minorities. Representative Dave Weldon (R-FL) made the point that the underfunding of Career and Technical Education has been a regrettable theme of this Administration, a point supported by Democrats and Republicans alike, including Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), Mike Simpson (R-ID), John Peterson (R-PA) and Tom Udall (D-NM).
Chairman Obey was less diplomatic and in no mood to negotiate over the proposed budget. He told Spellings to tell the President that either he negotiate with Congress to increase funding or Congress will wait until 2009, when he is out of the office, to resolve the matter. "I am not about to waste eight months of this Committee's time," Obey told Spellings, clearly still upset over last year's budget standoff with the President. The question is whether the President "will act like an adult," fumed Obey.
Resources
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Outside Source)
"U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings Testifies Before House Appropriations Subcommittee (Outside Source)," United States Department of Education, Press Room, February 26, 2008
CMS Moratorium Mêlées: Deux
On Tuesday, the Senate passed S. 1200, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2007. The comprehensive bill seeks to modernize the Indian health care delivery system and it includes a critical amendment by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) to prevent yet another proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from going into effect.
Mikulski's amendment would prevent CMS from implementing rule CMS-2237-IFC "Medicaid Program; Optional State Plan Case Management Services. " The rule, issued on December 4, 2007, would restrict CMS payments for case management services offered to children with disabilities under their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) as required by the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and it would disallow the provision of case management when it is part of a child's plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. (See 72 Fed. Reg. 68077-68093) (Dec. 4, 2007). This rule is scheduled to take effect on March 3, but Mikulski's amendment would delay implementation until April 1, 2009.
This is the second critical moratorium on CMS rules that we are tracking. Congress passed the first in December, S. 2499, the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007. The bill, now Public Law No: 110-173, contains a moratorium on CMS' rules to restrict Medicaid reimbursement payments to schools relating to coverage for rehabilitation services or school-based administration and school-based transportation. The moratorium runs until June 30, 2008 and there is heavy pressure on Congress to extend this moratorium into 2009 and beyond.
Despite the political opposition to CMS' rules, CMS is dedicated to reducing its payments to schools and Congress is determined to prevent CMS action. To be sure, these moratorium mêlées will be important to Members of Congress this year. We will continue to monitor and analyze the events as they develop.
Resources
72 Fed. Reg. (68077-68093) (Outside Source) (Dec. 4, 2007)
Judith Solomon, "New Medicaid Rules Would Limit Care for Children in Foster Care and People with Disabilities in Ways Congress Did Not Intend (Outside Source)," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Revised February 8, 2008
News
Governors Pushing For Federal Aid
Although education did not receive much attention at this week's National Governor's Association (NGA) meeting in Washington, fiscal problems were a topic of great interest. Governors cited different reasons for their state's financial troubles, but all of those in attendance at the meeting were looking to the federal government to provide support. Many Governors are already taking steps to ensure their state either survives or sidesteps tight budget crunches over the next few years, but many Governors are still hoping Congress and the President will provide a helping hand. Their pleas may fall on deaf ears.
Many of the Governors discussed the benefits of passing a second stimulus package that includes money for transportation projects and other state funding needs. Currently, as many as 18 states have deficits, totaling $14 billion in the current budget cycle, and 20 states forecast spending shortfalls for 2009 totaling $34 billion, when combined. Governors are also looking to Congress for a one-year reprieve from new Medicaid rules that the Bush administration is attempting to put in place. State officials and health providers vigorously oppose the changes, which they say will shift $13 billion in costs over five years to states at a time their own budgets are facing deficits because of the economic downturn. (For more on the Medicaid rules, see the article above).
While Congress may be ready and willing to acquiesce to the states' requests, they may not be able. In light of the federal budget deficit, and the need for continued war funding, the President is unlikely to give-up the Medicaid cuts easily, cuts he claims will provide billions in savings for the federal government. The President is also unlikely to support another $20 billion package until the current one has a chance to demonstrate success. If the President is unwilling to yield on his tight fiscal constraints, then states may have to work out their own financial difficulties without federal aid.
Resources
Eric Kelderman and Daniel C. Vock, "Govs Press for More Money on Real ID, Medicaid," Stateline, February 25, 2008.
Andrew Welsh-Huggins, "Governors Battle with Tight Budgets," Associated Press, February 25, 2008.
School Nutrition Advocates Push for National Standards
As negotiations on the Farm Bill continue, school nutrition advocates are preparing another push for national standards on foods sold in public schools. After Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) failed to get a national standards amendment on the Farm Bill, advocates focused efforts on expanding the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). Now that the bill is stalled in pre-conference negotiations, the School Nutrition Association (SNA) is planning a new campaign for national standards through independent legislation.
Next week, SNA is holding its annual Legislative Action Conference on Capitol Hill. In advance of this conference SNA released a statement that it will urge Congress to require science-based, yet practical, uniform national school nutrition standards to govern the sale of all foods and beverages available during the school day. SNA's priorities include:
- Giving the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to regulate and enforce the sale of food and beverages outside of the cafeteria.
- Requiring all a la carte and competitive food sales to be consistent with the Dietary Guidelines, as is required for school meals.
- Requiring national uniformity for the school meal pattern throughout the country. Children in all states and local districts need the same nutrients to grow and to be healthy. The current lack of uniformity is increasing the cost of the programs.
As the Farm Bill made its way through the Senate last fall, Senator Harkin attempted to attach an amendment that would have put similar standards in place. However, due to the overly-contentious debate over the amount of amendments that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) would allow, Harkin chose to forgo efforts to attach his amendment, allowing other Senators to advance their own priorities. The amendment's language was based on S. 771, Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act, which Harkin introduced last year. Whether or not that legislation will move forward before the end of the 110th Congress remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Congressional leaders met with the White House this week to negotiate overall spending for the Farm Bill. Earlier this month, House leaders proposed $6 billion over baseline, and received the President's support, so long as offsets did not include raising taxes. President Bush continues to oppose any tax increases, preferring to find offsets in the form of spending cuts. The House proposal did not receive a warm welcome among Senators, but the two sides negotiated an agreement for $10 billion above baseline. The Administration is refusing to sign onto the proposal until all of the offsets are out on the table. Lawmakers only have two weeks before the current Farm Bill expires.
Resources
School Nutrition Association Press Release (Outside Source)
Carol MacDonald, "Nutritionists Want Level Playing Field for School Foods," Education Daily, February 27, 2008.
