Congress

‘In Washington’ Briefs
   Farm Bill House douses hope of reauthorization passage: With the House in disarray on how to handle the Farm Bill reauthorization, a one-year extension is becoming more likely, Hill insiders say. Despite having bipartisan support, House leadership has been stalling since July and wants more cuts i...
posted 1/2/13 07:50 AM  read complete story

‘In Washington’ Briefs
   Appropriations Inouye successors focus on FAM issues: The passing of Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), who chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee, opens up the position. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) has been chosen to chair the committee. She will be the first woman to hold the position. Mikulsi cu...
posted 12/20/12 1:27 PM  read complete story

Report Predicts Outcome of Looming Mandatory Cuts
   A new report provides Congress with a glimpse of the impact of funding cuts that will occur in January unless a deficit reduction deal is reached by the end of the calendar year. OMB Report Pursuant to the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012(PL 112-155), offered by the White House Office of Mana...
posted 9/24/12 2 PM  read complete story

Continuing Resolution Should Be Finalized Soon
   After the Senate approves the measure 76-22 on Sept. 19, an FY 2013 continuing resolution (HJ Res 117) to keep the government operational through March 27 awaits the president's signature. The measure, which provides an across-the-board funding increase, has already passed the House 329-91. The pre...
posted 9/19/12 08:01 AM  read complete story

Imminent Passage of CR Improves Chances for Earlier Grantmaking Season
   With the November elections looming, congressional staffers tell FAM the first order of business when Congress reconvenes in September will be to pass a six-month continuing resolution (CR) that was finalized in late July by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Boehner (R-OH). ...
posted 8/17/12 09:40 AM  read complete story

Agency Official Touts Report to Fix Private Student Loan Woes
   At a recent Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee hearing, a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) official promoted the recommendations of a new report to Congress to fix the private higher education student loan debt problem. The student loan debt topped $1 trillion in 2011,...
posted 7/26/12 4:14 PM  read complete story

Form 990 Revision is Helping; Regular Revisions Are Crucial
   An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official tells a House Ways & Means Committee panel that the Form 990 revision in 2008 has been a success, but cautions that it is a living document that needs to be revamped on an ongoing basis. More than one million 501(c)(3) (tax-exempt) nonprofits are requi...
posted 7/25/12 4:13 PM  read complete story

House, Senate Like-Minded on Several Labor-HHS-Ed Provisions
   A House appropriations subcommittee approves the chamber's FY 2013 funding plan (bill not yet numbered) for the Labor (DOL), Health & Human Services (HHS) and Education (DoEd) Dept., which is more generous than the Senate counterpart (S 3295) in a few places and, no surprise, includes partisan c...
posted 7/19/12 12:31 PM  read complete story

New Transportation Law Refocuses Research, Trail Funding
   President Obama signs the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) (HR 4348; PL 112-141), which includes several higher education, rural and physical activity funding provisions of interest to FAM readers.   The new law maintains funding for transportation projects at approximatel...
posted 7/11/12 1:52 PM  read complete story

House Committee Moves Quickly on Farm Bill
   As FAM predicted (http://www.cdpublications.com/fam/10243), the House Agriculture Committee passes its bipartisan Farm Bill by a 35-11 margin on July 11, mere days after returning from the July 4 break. The 557-page measure, called the Farm Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FFARM) Act...
posted 7/9/12 09 AM  read complete story