Students

As part of its legislative monitoring and advocacy program, the Office of Government and Community Relations tracks legislation, regulations and federal initiatives that affect the University. Our staff maintains a close relationship with local congressional offices, executive offices, agencies and national associations. If there is an issue that you believe affects the University, please contact our office at 315-443-3919.

The 111th Congress
Important Dates
Budget and Appropriations Bills
Federal Resources and Links

The 111th Congress

After the 2008 elections, both the legislative and executive branches came under Democratic control.

• President Barack Obama was inaugurated on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan of 2009

President Obama has signed into law the historic the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan of 2009. This combination of tax cuts and spending treats student aid and university research well. The bill provides a $500 increase in the Pell Grant maximum award for FY09 and FY10 and about $15 billion for five federal research agencies. Below are details of the bill.

--Student Aid

Pell Grants: The final agreement provides $15.6 billion over FY09 and FY10 for the Pell Grant program. This funding would raise the Pell grant maximum award by $500 and eliminate the current discretionary and mandatory spending shortfalls in the program.

Federal Work Study: The bill also provides an added $200 million for Federal Work Study.

--Taxes: (See AAU side-by-side for additional details.)

Education Tax Credit: The bill expands eligibility for the Hope tax credit from two to four years for 2009 and 2010 and increases the credit from $1,800 to $2,400. The credit is 40 percent refundable.

--Research: (See AAU side-by-side for additional details.)

National Institutes of Health: The measure provides $10.4 billion for NIH.

NASA: The measure increases funding for NASA by $1 billion.

Department of Energy Office of Science: The final bill includes $1.6 billion for energy research and $400 million for the new DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency.

National Institute of Standards and Technology: Among other provisions, the final bill provides $360 million for construction of research buildings, with $180 million of that total allocated to a “competitive construction grant program for research science buildings.” A press release from Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) indicates this latter funding is for colleges, universities, and other research organizations.

Source: Association of American Universities

Federal Resources and Links

• The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU)

  NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education. Since 1976, the association has represented private colleges and universities on policy issues with the federal government, such as those affecting student aid, taxation, and government regulation. With nearly 1,000 members nationwide, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States.

• The Association of American Universities (AAU)

  AAU was founded in 1900 to advance the international standing of U.S. research universities. An association of 62 leading research universities in the U.S. and Canada, AAU focuses on issues that are important to research-intensive universities, such as funding for research, research policy issues, and graduate and undergraduate education.

  Continuously updated budget and appropriations materials by agency – including the latest funding numbers, a summary of federal and congressional actions, and an overall AAU funding priorities chart – are available on their site.

• The American Council on Education (ACE)

  ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions. ACE seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher education issues and to influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives. Founded in 1918, its members include approximately 1,800 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher education-related associations, organizations, and corporations.

• Office of the Clerk, US House of Representatives

• US House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor

• US Department of Education

• THOMAS (information on congressional bills from the Library of Congress)