NACAC Government Relations Federal Update
Federal Update: October 19, 2007
For details on the items below, more information on federal activities
regarding college access, and for daily updates, visit NACAC’s
Government Relations Web page here:
Nacac
Senate Continues on FY08 Funding; President Threatens Veto
The Senate continues debate today on the fiscal year 2008 education
appropriations bill, S 1710. The Senate bill, along with its House
companion, provides significant increases for NACAC priority programs
like GEAR UP and TRIO, as well as enough additional funding to make
ESSCP grant funds available to high schools for the first time. ESSCP
is the only federal program that provides funds to schools to hire
school counselors, and as such, getting ESSCP funds to high schools
has been a NACAC priority for many years. Visit NACAC’s Advocacy for
Students web page to see how the Senate bill compares with the House
bill (which passed July 19), FY07 funding, and the President’s FY08
request.
The President has threatened to veto both the House and Senate
versions of the bill for exceeding his budget recommendations for
health, education, and labor programs. Read the Statement of
Administration Policy for details on the President’s objections. Use
NACAC’s Legislative Action Center to contact your Senators and urge
them to support S 1710 and reject all across-the-board cuts and any
amendments that would cut education funding.
New this week:
>>The Department of Education has issued final guidance on the
collecting, maintaining, and reporting of racial and ethnic data. The
guidance becomes effective December 3.
>>The Senate HELP committee has released bipartisan draft legislation
to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. Stay tuned for details and for
news on Senate markup of the draft.
>>The Department of State has announced a request for grant proposals
for EducationUSA funds to provide education advising services in
Eurasia and Central Asia.
>>The Department of Education has released updates to the Federal
Student Aid Handbook for the 2007-2008 award year.
For more information on NACAC’s government relations activities, visit
the Web site or contact NACAC staff at legislative@nacacnet.org
