In a letter sent to university leaders earlier today, Peter McPherson, President of APLU, addressed the ongoing issues related to the federal budget and sequestration. Below is an excerpt from today’s letter: Last week before leaving for a month-long summer recess, Congress came to an agreement with the White House on a continuing resolution (CR) […]

The White House has scheduled a conference call for next Wednesday, August 8, for members of the research community regarding the potential impact of sequestration on science and research. The call will take place at 2 PM EDT. WHAT: White House Budget Update WHEN: Wednesday August 8th, 2012 Start Time: 2:00 p.m. EST Dial In: […]

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, released a report Wednesday contending that the impact of sequestration on domestic programs could be worse than the cuts to defense spending. “So far we’ve heard a great deal about sequestration’s effects on Pentagon spending,” Harkin said at a hearing by the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee that […]

On Monday, Congressman Norm Dicks (D-WA), ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, expressed his belief that his GOP colleagues have “indefinitely postponed” further work on the Labor-HHS-Education bill. The current draft of the bill seeks to de-fund implementation of the 2010 health care overhaul (Affordable Care Act), and also contains policy riders and cuts […]

Both Chambers Exploring Ways to Keep College Education Affordable By Lauren Smith, CQ Staff With an increase in the student loan interest rate averted for a year, both chambers are turning their focus toward a longer-term solution to keeping college affordable. This week, the education committees in the House and Senate will hold hearings aimed […]

APLU Release: Presidents and chancellors of 152 leading universities from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia today urged President Obama and bipartisan congressional leaders to prevent deep across-the-board spending cuts due to take effect in January as a result of budget sequestration, and to reach “a major, balanced long-term deficit-reduction agreement […]

The 2007 College Cost Reduction Act (PL 110-84), enacted before the economic downturn of 2008, adjusted the interest rates for federally subsidized, undergraduate student loans, which had been tied to market interest rates and at that time were increasing. Specifically, the interest rates on the subsidized loans were reduced for new loans, dropping to 6% […]

By Anne L. Kim and Niels Lesniewski, CQ Staff The Senate cleared a bipartisan agreement for a two-year reauthorization of highway, public transit and other surface transportation programs on Friday that included an extension of current student loan rates and a flood insurance reauthorization. The vote was 74-19 to clear the measure for President Obama’s […]