Federal Spending on Student Aid and Research Likely to Remain Flat Through March
September 24, 2008
the Chronicle of Higher Education
Washington — The U.S. House of Representatives, preparing to adjourn this Friday for the election season, has overwhelmingly passed a spending bill that would provide a substantial boost for defense research in the 2009 fiscal year while financing student aid and research at current levels through March.
The vote of 370 to 58, which comes only a few days before the October 1 start of the 2009 fiscal year, was not unexpected. Lawmakers have long planned to put off passage of most of the budget bills needed to finance the federal government until after the election, to avoid a presidential veto. The bill that passed today, known as a “continuing resolution,” would allow them to do that.
The bill would also appropriate money for 2009 in three departments: Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs. It would provide $1.84-billion for basic research in the Department of Defense, a 12.7-percent increase over the current fiscal year.
While that total may include some earmarks (the Associated Press reports that the bill contains 2,322 earmarks totaling $6.6-billion), the boost is still “substantial,” said Barry Toiv, a spokesman for the Association of American Universities. He attributed the increase to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’s push for more basic-research spending in his agency’s budget.
The bill also contains an additional $15-million for colleges affected by the Iowa floods and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and $2.5-billion for Pell Grants. A portion of that money — $750-million — would go toward reducing a shortfall in the Pell Grant program that the Education Department says could reach $6-billion by the end of the 2009 fiscal year. The remainder would be used to maintain the maximum award through March.
The measure now heads to the Senate, which is expected to pass it and send it to President Bush for his signature before October 1. —Kelly Field
