Government Relations

Legislative Update

August 15, 2008

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In this issue:

STATE UPDATE

FEDERAL UPDATE

The U.S. Congress headed home for its annual August recess – and the two national party conventions.  Congress will return the week of September 8.  UW Regent President Mark Bradley and UW System President Kevin Reilly have scheduled visits to Washington on September 10-11 to meet with the Wisconsin delegation.

So far this Congress, major legislation that has passed includes an economic stimulus package; a fiscal year (FY2008) Supplemental Appropriations bill, that provided additional funding for U.S. science agencies and a new benefit for post-9/11 veterans; a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (see memo, highlights and summary documents available online); housing reform and assistance legislation; and a new Farm Bill, which reorganized the U.S. Department of Agriculture research enterprise.  For the first time, the bill includes a grant program for non-land grant institutions, which could benefit UW-River Falls and UW-Platteville.

According to Lewis-Burke Associates LLC, a D.C.-based government relations firm, there are positive signs that Congress and the Administration recognize the serious impact on scientific research and facilities of low-growth budgets and the unfulfilled commitment under the America COMPETES Act to double research on the physical sciences over several years.  The recently enacted FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations Act included $1.2 billion for four science agencies – the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Energy (DOE). 

Also, in his FY2009 budget request, the President again proposed significantly increased funding for the NSF, DOE Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have amended funding bills that would implement these proposed increases, as well as provide significant increases for the NIH and the Department of Education.  So far, this is good news for the academic community.

However, the Democratic-led Congress has proposed to spend about $21 billion more than the President on domestic programs in the FY2009 appropriations bills, similar to the situation we saw last year when negotiations stalled or collapsed on spending measures.  To date, while a number of appropriations committees have amended their funding bills, only the Military Construction/Veterans Administration bill has gone to the floor of the House, and no bills have gone to the floor of the Senate.

Further, negotiations have stalled or collapsed on a number of other high profile legislative efforts, including patent reform and provisions to extend expiring tax breaks, including the research and development tax credit and the tuition deduction.

The Federal Fiscal Year 2009 begins on October 1, but it is doubtful that Congress will clear any annual spending bills other than Defense and Military/Veterans Affairs before then.  Therefore, it will be incumbent on Congress to pass a continuing resolution in September that will likely fund government agencies at current FY2008 levels.  It is likely that the continuing resolution may extend all the way into February 2009 so Congress can work with the new President.

In the meantime, the Democratic Leadership is preparing to move a second stimulus or supplemental appropriations package in September.  A recently announced Senate version would include funding for domestic programs to provide jobs (infrastructure construction projects) and assistance (food stamps and heating bill aid).  It would also include more than $1.25 billion in funding for scientific agencies, including NIH ($500 million), NASA ($250 million), and DOE’s Office of Science ($150 million), other DOE funding ($350 million), and the Centers for Disease Control ($26 million).  The House Leadership is discussing a $50 billion second stimulus package that has not yet been unveiled.

Looking forward, while there has been excellent groundwork laid with regard to investments in research and education, there will also be increased scrutiny on how the research and education funding is spent.  For example, the Higher Education Act reauthorization contains tens of new categories, hundreds of new reporting requirements and multiple watch lists.  Affordability, the cost of tuition, transparency and use of university endowments, and federal oversight of higher education in general will continue to garner attention in Congress next year.

While it is too early to tell what next year will bring, climate change will be a major policy issue – the science of climate change, techniques to model impacts of climate change at local and regional levels, and policy advice on actions to forestall the consequences of climate changes are all areas within the university’s purview.  So, too, will the new Administration come with its own agenda for new initiatives at the research agencies and the Department of Education.  Many of you may have seen the letter which President Reilly signed with other State Higher Education Executive Officers and sent to the Presidential candidates calling attention to specific areas that warrant urgent attention, including re-engineering student assistance, improving data and quality assurance systems, and sustaining and advancing discovery and innovation through federal investments in research.  At the Department of Defense, significant increases in funding for basic research have been proposed; at the Department of Energy, energy will continue to be a major focus of federal policy makers with implications for national security, energy security, the economy, and U.S. competitiveness.

If you have questions about this update or the Office of Federal Relations can be of assistance to you and your campus, please feel free to contact me by email at kandrews@uwsa.edu or by phone at 608-263-3362.

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