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Federal Relations Update - 1/16/2009

Today, the House Appropriations Committee released details of the economic stimulus/recovery package it will soon be considering in committee (available here). The House Ways and Means Committee has also released some details on the tax portion of this bill (available here). An actual bill is not available, but according to the details that the committee is circulating, there is much for higher education and research universities, in particular, to be excited about.

That said, please bear in mind that these ideas ostensibly represent these committee chairs? points of view, and that the process of shaping, passing and signing into law this unprecedented funding bill is far from over. You can see early reaction from the GOP side here.

Some of the highlights of the stimulus/recovery proposal include:

  • $550 billion in targeted investments and $275 billion in tax cuts/incentives.
  • Higher education infrastructure: $6 billion for higher education, for renovation and modernization, including technology upgrades and energy efficiency improvements.
  • State budget relief: $87 billion to states to offset Medicaid costs, and $120 billion to states and school districts to stabilize budgets, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities ?distributed through existing state and federal formulas.?
  • NIH and health care: $1.5 billion for NIH biomedical research; $1.5 billion for NIH to renovate university research facilities; $1.1 billion for Healthcare Research and Quality programs to compare the effectiveness of treatments; $20 billion to jumpstart efforts to computerize health records to cut costs and reduce medical errors.
  • National Science Foundation: $3 billion, including $2 billion for ?expanding employment opportunities in fundamental science and engineering to meet environmental challenges and to improve global economic competitiveness,? $400 million to build major research facilities, $300 million for major research equipment; and $200 million to modernize research facilities, including at universities.
  • Energy research and modernization: $1.9 billion for Department of Energy (DOE) basic research and improvements to DOE facilities, including $400 million for the Advanced Research Project Agency ? Energy to support high-risk, high-payoff research into energy sources and energy efficiency; $1.5 billion for energy sustainability and efficiency grants and loans for school districts, institutes of higher education, local governments, and municipal utilities; and $2 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy research awarded competitively to universities, companies, and national laboratories.
  • Other science agencies: $300 million for competitive construction grants for research science buildings at colleges, universities, and other research organizations under the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and $600 million for NASA, including $400 million to put more scientists to work on climate change research.
  • Student aid increases and tax relief: A $500 increase in the maximum Pell Grant, from $4,850 to $5,350; a $490 million increase in Work-Study funding; a $2,000 student loan limit increase for unsubsidized Stafford Loans; and simplification of education credits, creating $2,500 credit for first four years of higher education expenses, with increased income limitations and partial refundability.
We in Federal Relations will continue to monitor developments during this busy time in Washington, DC, and you can find information about our advocacy here. Please feel free to contact us with questions or information =you have come by.

Thanks,

Channing Riggs (riggs035@umn.edu) and Dan Gilchrist (dang@umn.edu)