On April 10, President Obama released his delayed 2014 budget proposal, completing the initial phase of the federal budget process. In recent weeks, both House and Senate have passed vastly different budget resolutions, with each chamber heavily influenced by the respective majority. These varying budget resolutions set broad parameters for the more detailed appropriations processes occurring in b...
Boosting STEM education. On Wednesday, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology's Subcommittee on Research held a hearing on industry and philanthropic initiatives to boost science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Education. Every year, the federal government allocates over $3 billion to 13 federal agencies to fund STEM education initiatives, and the subcommittee is working on ...
Presidents' open immigration letter. On Tuesday, university presidents from Arizona State University, Cornell University and Miami Dade College sent a letter to the leadership of more than 1,200 institutions of higher education, calling on them to encourage immigration reform. The letter asked schools to hold events highlighting immigration reform as essential to innovation. The letter says highly...
Early childhood education. On Thursday, President Obama released the framework of his plan for the expansion of early childhood education. In his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, President Obama said "tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America." The plan calls for home-visits to new mothers and fathers to teach parent...
HELP Committee examines NCLB waivers. On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and State Flexibility Waivers. Education Secretary Arne Duncan testified. Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) sharply criticized the administration for granting NCLB waivers to states that shift towards policies that the administration...
Higher education reauthorization. On Tuesday, Jan. 29, as lawmakers began to form proposals for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the New America Foundation released a report with 30 recommendations for policy changes. The report "calls for specific changes to grants, loans, tax benefits, college outreach programs and federal regulations to provide more direct aid to the lowes...
In-state tuition for veterans. On Tuesday, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Jeff Miller (R-FL) and Ranking Member Michael Michaud (D-ME) introduced the GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act (H.R. 357) in the House of Representatives. The bill would require public universities to charge in-state tuition to veterans in order to qualify to receive veterans' education benefits. The law would go int...
Last Friday, the National Institute of Health (NIH) approved a broad implementation plan for a set of initiatives intended to strengthen and shape the biomedical research workforce based on the recommendations of the NIH Biomedical Workforce Working Group. The plan calls for institutions to create individual development plans for all research trainees and to track outcomes for all research trainee...
STEM visa bill doesn't move in Senate. While STEM Visa legislation passed the House of Representatives last Friday, the STEM Jobs Act was not considered by the Senate due to the objection of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY). The bill passed the House by a near party-line vote of 245-139, and consideration by the Senate was proposed by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). The bill would offer visas for skilled immi...
On Friday, the House voted 245-139 to pass the STEM Jobs Act (H.R. 6249). The bill would offer visas for skilled immigrants who earn advanced degrees from American institutions. Many Democrats are opposed to the bill because it includes the abrogation of the diversity immigration program, which allocates visas by lottery. The 55,000 visas originally distributed by the diversity program would be re...
Boosting STEM education. On Wednesday, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology's Subcommittee on Research held a hearing on industry and philanthropic initiatives to boost science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Education. Every year, the federal government allocates over $3 billion to 13 federal agencies to fund STEM education initiatives, and the subcommittee is working on ... 
Presidents' open immigration letter. On Tuesday, university presidents from Arizona State University, Cornell University and Miami Dade College sent a letter to the leadership of more than 1,200 institutions of higher education, calling on them to encourage immigration reform. The letter asked schools to hold events highlighting immigration reform as essential to innovation. The letter says highly...