Budget

Senate Prepares to Fight Bush on Labor, HHS, Ed BillThe Senate set up a potential showdown with President Bush over spending following the passage Tuesday of the 2008 appropriations bill that finances the Departments…Note: This post pre-dates Higher Ed Watch's shift to a new publishing system. For the complete original post, including any comments, please click here.

While the threatened showdown between Congress and President Bush over the College Cost Reduction Act never materialized, a different fiscal fight between the two branches of government is looming, this one over annual appropriations spending bills.

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Skirmishing Over Sallie Mae Deal Intensifies

Fighting intensified last week over the proposed buyout of the student loan giant Sallie Mae. A group of investors that had agreed to buy the company are now saying…

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The massive college aid bill that Congress passed earlier this month is headed to the President for signature. As the newest member of the Higher Ed Watch team and a budget hawk, I thought I would point out some of the loose ends that are going to have to be…

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Congressional Democrats took a bold step on Wednesday to fulfill their campaign promises: finalizing legislation that would cut the interest rate on federally subsidized student loans in half and provide a major boost to the maximum Pell Grant. The measure, which is expected to be approved in…

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With release of a more than $20 billion higher education budget reconciliation plan that slashes student loan provider subsidies over the next five years and includes a groundbreaking pilot auction program that uses market forces to set student loan subsidy rates, the U.S. Congress moved to dramatically increase student financial aid. This…

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Behind the scenes, Congressional Democrats took a bold step this week that should make it significantly easier for them to fulfill their party's campaign pledge to increase significantly federal spending on need-based grant aid for students from low-income families.

After several weeks…

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For the first time in the post-Newt Gingrich, Tom Delay era of Washington politics, Democrats in Congress have to decide if they want to use their new majority status to play hardball. At stake is roughly $10 billion to $15 billion in student financial aid -- enough to send over 2 million kids to…

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Passover is fast approaching and that means that it's almost time to ask the Four Questions again. As I am the youngest member of the Higher Ed Watch staff (ok, not the youngest in age, but in time served), it would be my job to ask the questions.

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Congress to Freeze Education Spending, Eliminate Academic Research Earmarks, and Halt Potential $100 Pell Increase

The incoming Chairmen of the Congressional Appropriations Committees announced that they will freeze federal education spending for Fiscal Year 2007 at last…

Note: This post pre-dates Higher Ed Watch's shift to a new publishing system. For the complete original post, including any comments, please click here.