Posts Tagged ‘reconciliation’
Monday, April 27th, 2009
“They are gearing up for battle. So am I. They will fight for their special interests. I will fight for…American students and their families. And for those who care about America’s future, this is a battle we can’t afford to lose.”
– President Obama responding to the “army of lobbyists” gathering to combat proposed student loan reform in the budget.
Tags: budget, college affordability, congress, News, obama, reconciliation, student loans
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Friday, April 24th, 2009
The House and Senate voted this week to go to conference on the budget and has already struck a tentative deal on major elements of the budget resolution to include the fast-track procedure of reconciliation for health care reform and student loan initiatives, specifically, eliminating wasteful subsidies to private lenders and using that money for need-based grants. The reconciliation procedure would make these initiatives immune to filibuster, or obstruction, in the Senate, and is especially key to pass programs like health care reform. Unfortunately, the Senate voted Thursday to prohibit use of reconciliation to pass a cap and trade program that will combat global warming. The Senate has been against reconciliation for the budget thus far – especially over cap and trade – but the possibility of its use for health care and education is great news!
Both chambers of Congress plan to hold a formal conference committee meeting on April 27 and Democrats hope to have a final budget resolution by the time Obama has marked his 100 days in office next week.
The House and Senate have appointed their conferees – those that will represent each chamber of Congress in the debate over the final budget outcome – and the conferees are……(drum roll)
 Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Rep. Ryan is a ranking member of the House Budget Committee and has been very vocal over the spending in the budget. One of his main messages is “Cut Spending” and he supported the Republican Budget Alternative, which favored spending on national defense and veteran’s health care, as well as permanently extending the 2001/2003 tax relief provisions – which gives huge tax breaks to the top income bracket. (This alternative budget was defeated).
 Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL) Rep. Boyd is a Blue Dog Democrat, which is a coalition of fiscally moderate and conservative Democrats in the House. Boyd supports an honest, responsible budget.
 Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) Rep. Spratt is Chairman of the House Budget Committee and he helped urge Gov. Sanford of South Carolina, who has been known for his anti-stimulus position, to accept the stimulus money for the state. Spratt also supports college affordability and health care for children.
 Rep. Rosa Delauro (D-CT) Rep. DeLauro voted to pass the House Budget Resolution and supports energy reform and affordable higher education. She has spoken out against the defeated Republican Budget Alternative and is against budget cuts that will harm vital programs like health care and nutrition programs.
(more…)
Tags: budget, conference, conference committee, health care reform, reconciliation, student loans
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Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
 Health Care for America NOW, a national grassroots campaign of over 850 organizations dedicated to winning quality, affordable health care coverage for all, hosted events with thousands of citizens across the country during the recent Congressional recess period. More than 7,000 people participated in these events that gave Americans the opportunity to express to Congress their concerns with the current health care system and the fact that health care can’t wait. Check out this article in The Cleveland Plain Dealer, reporting on a town hall event in Ohio:
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown stumped for national health care reform at a Cleveland Heights church Friday morning. . . .
“We together are going to see this Congress pass national health care reform by the end of the year,” the Ohio Democrat told the crowd of about 500 community organizers and activists that packed the sanctuary of Forest Hills Presbyterian Church. Read the article.
 Before leaving for the April recess, both houses of Congress passed a budget that provides funding for the health care reform that we need. However, we need to make sure that when they return, Congress passes the budget through the conference committee and does not allow a few Senators to block the majority. This process is called reconciliation and it seems the Senate may be considering the use of reconciliation, as the House recommended, to pass health care reform in the budget process. Check out this article from The Hill for the latest news on health care reform debate in the Senate:
Democrats appear to have the votes for a budget measure that would allow reform of the nation’s health care system with just 51 Senate votes….Read the article.
Tags: conference committee, health care, health care reform, recess events, reconciliation
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Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
The good news is that a long list of higher education associations wrote a letter to Congress endorsing the President’s plan to reform the federal student loan system by phasing out the Federal Family Education Loan program, and use the savings created by eliminating wasteful subsidies to banks to expand the Pell Grant, make it a mandatory program, and peg the maximum award level to inflation plus 1%.
This is great news, since higher education associations tend to carry quite a bit of weight around the Capitol. Surprisingly, the list included the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), who have often been closely aligned (politically and otherwise) with the student loan industry. We are very happy that NASFAA and other associations representing colleges and the higher education professions are making their voice heard about these important policies.
The bad news is that Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) appears wary of the plan. In a recent Congressional Quarterly article (no link available) he said, “in my state we have a state-owned bank. They make 60 percent of the student loans. Eighty percent of those are FFEL [Federal Family Education Loan] loans [sic].”
Sen. Conrad is in a powerful position, and seemed to say that he is taking the side of student loan companies (for-profit or otherwise) over the interests of students. I wonder whether it is political issues like home-state special interests, rather than procedural or philosophical problems with the budget reconciliation process, that is driving his reluctance to allow for real reform.
Tags: college affordability, congress, reconciliation, student loans
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Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
 Congress is back in session and will now convene to hash out a final federal budget for 2010 in a process called Conference. And they must hear from you.
On Tuesday, April 21st thousands of young people across the country will call-in their Senators to support a progressive budget.
During the Congressional recess people just like you gathered all over the country to host events and lobby meetings, urging Members of Congress to support investments in health care reform, access to higher education, and green jobs. These bold priorities are strongly supported by President Obama, however the right-wing, conservative “Tea Party” Tax Protests, also held during recess, show how much opposition we face with a progressive agenda.
It is vital that the final budget includes reconciliation so Congress can vote up or down on the budget and avoid a block on progress. Conservatives are not holding back their opposition to spending in the budget and they are prepared to make significant budget cuts that will affect our future. So we won’t hold back either.
Take action and call your Senators today!
Tags: action, budget, conference, congress, reconciliation, senators
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