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April 3, 2015
CONTENTS:
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS & TAXES
Senate FY16 Budget Resolution Includes Research Amendment
Senators Request Administration's Proposed FY16 Funding for NEH, NEA
House Members Urge Robust Funding for International Education Programs
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS & TAXES
SENATE FY16 BUDGET RESOLUTION INCLUDES RESEARCH AMENDMENT
At
the behest of Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), an amendment was added to the
Senate FY16 budget resolution last week that supports increased
spending on "federal investments in scientific research and
development." The amendment was
authored
by Senator Durbin, who worked with Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) on
the amendment language. The amendment was co-sponsored by 30 other
Senators and approved as part of the manager's amendment to the budget
resolution.
As with other elements of the
budget resolution, the research amendment does not carry the force of
law, but is an expression of congressional intent. The amendment calls
for creating a deficit-neutral reserve fund "which may include
supporting biomedical research to find ways to prevent, treat and cure
diseases or conditions like Alzheimer's and other life-threatening or
chronic illnesses, providing long-term cost savings to the Federal
Government, and supporting national security, basic energy research,
innovative solutions, and American competitiveness..."
Along with Senators Durbin and
Alexander, co-sponsors of the amendment were Senators Coons, Moran,
Brown, Graham, Booker, Collins, Markey, Johnson, Whitehouse, Wicker,
Casey, Burr, Isakson, Schumer, Roberts, Klobuchar, Cassidy, Peters,
Kirk, Hirono, Ayotte, Reed, Gardner, Franken, Blunt, Cantwell, King,
Merkley, Baldwin, and Blumenthal.
SENATORS REQUEST ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSED FY16 FUNDING FOR NEH, NEA
A group of 27 Senators on March 23 sent a
letter to Senate appropriators asking them to fund the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) at the President's FY16
requested level of $147.9 million each. Those amounts are $2 million
above each endowment's FY15 funding level. "Federal support for the arts
and humanities is a vital economic, educational, and cultural priority
that impacts many communities across the United States," the Senators
wrote.
HOUSE MEMBERS URGE ROBUST FUNDING FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
A group of 46 Representatives sent a letter to House appropriators on March 26 requesting robust funding for the Department of Education's Title VI
and Fulbright-Hays International Education and Foreign Language programs in FY16.
Led
by Reps. David Price (D-NC), Don Young (R-AK), and Joe Crowley (D-NY),
the letter makes the case for the growing importance of strong academic
programs in international education. It says, "The various programs
funded under this account serve to strengthen the nation's educational
infrastructure in areas where the need grows greater by the day. In
today's global environment, foreign language and cultural knowledge have
become necessary 21st century skills for government, business and
non-profit employers."
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