Federal Education Budget Project: Publications, Events and More

The Budget Resolution and Education Funding: A Primer

Communications — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:37:00 -0400

Today the New America Foundation's Federal Education Budget Project released "A Primer on the Budget Resolution's Impact on Education Funding," by the project's Research Director Jason Delisle. The primer serves as an insightful guide to this confusing and often partisan process by which federal education funding is determined. Last week the Congressional budget committees adopted the first drafts of the fiscal year 2009 budget resolution, marking the start of the annual Congressional budget process.The proposals head to the full House and Senate for consideration this… more

A Primer on the Budget Resolution’s Impact on Education Funding

Education Policy — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:31:00 -0400

The budget resolution put forward by Congress each year -- which sets out the congressional budget plan for the next five years -- and the ensuing budget process itself are enormously significant for education funding. However, the arcane procedures under which Congress produces and acts upon the budget resolution are often confusing to the media and education advocates alike. This confusion is made worse by political rhetoric and partisan spin. This brief by the New America Foundation’s Federal Education Budget Project is meant to shed light on how the budget resolution affects education funding.

This primer clarifies certain aspects of the… more

Jason Delisle in CongressDaily PM | 'Senate Budget Would Boost Advance Approps By $4 Billion'

Communications — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:06:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Senate Budget Would Boost Advance Approps By $4 Billion (CongressDaily PM, subscription only)

. . . "There's no reason to do it other than to increase spending," said Jason Delisle, an education analyst at the New America Foundation. Backers "want the money by any means necessary, but the trade-off is the debate gets confused and the budget lacks transparency."

Advance funding for education grew out of a timing quirk whereby the academic year usually spans parts of two fiscal years. Beginning in FY96, Congress began using advance appropriations to increase education funding for a given school year while technically staying within that fiscal year's discretionary spending cap, according to a New America report.

Since then the gimmick has become wildly popular -- what started out as $1.3 billion in advance education funding in FY96 grew to $17 billion in FY08, the report notes.

The New America report said the use of advance appropriations makes it difficult to compare actual year-over-year education funding totals. It can also cause problems in future years should budgetary circumstances change. . . .

Analysis of Bush’s Education Budget Request

Education Policy — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:34:00 -0500

President George W. Bush submitted his eighth and final budget request to the Congress on Monday. Under the proposal, fiscal year 2009 discretionary spending—spending subject to annual appropriations—would be at the same level as in the prior year for domestic programs and agencies not involved in homeland security efforts. The budget request for the Department of Education fits this general theme. Fiscal year 2009 discretionary spending at the Department of Education would total $59.2 billion, the same level of funding provided in 2008. Despite requesting level funding for the agency as a whole, the administration proposes increases for a number… more

Ten Questions on the Bush Education Budget Request

Education Policy — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:12:00 -0500

K-12 EDUCATION

1) The administration proposes increasing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Title I grants to school districts by 2.9 percent, essentially an increase matching inflation. It also proposes redirecting a greater proportion of Title I funds to high schools. Does this mean that school districts will have to cut Title I funding for K-8 schools, since districts will effectively receive the same level of funding as in the previous year? How will this affect the student achievement in grades 3 through 8?

2) The administration’s budget proposes shifting $100 million from the NCLB’s Title II "Improving Teacher Quality State Grants"… more

The Bush Education Budget Legacy

Education Policy — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:20:00 -0500

Next week, President George W. Bush will submit his eighth and final budget request to the Congress. How has he fared with respect to education budget proposals thus far? Answer: although President Bush made the No Child Left Behind Act, which deals with elementary and secondary education, the hallmark of his education policy, from a federal education budget standpoint, the Bush administration’s most lasting legacy thus far is in higher education. The New America Foundation’s Federal Education Budget Project evaluated all the Bush administration's past budget requests and finds that the Bush administration has had relatively little success in enacting its… more

Michael Dannenberg in Education Week on NCLB Funding

Communications — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:29:00 -0500

New America in the News:

For all of this year’s debate about the future of testing, accountability, and other policy issues around the No Child Left Behind Act, virtually no one has brought up the question of how best to give out billions of dollars a year under the law.

Until 2001, debate over the allocation of funding often dominated efforts to revise the main federal K-12 law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Members of Congress concentrated on how to distribute money to the point, sometimes, of overshadowing other policy discussions.

But that hasn’t been the case in the early work to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind law, the current version of the ESEA, even though the nearly 6-year-old law has dramatically shifted the distribution of money under the $12.8 billion Title I program for disadvantaged students. The changes have benefited the nation’s largest cities, as well as suburban areas with pockets of poverty.

“The increase in targeting of federal aid in NCLB is a success story that nobody knows about,” said Michael Dannenberg, the director of the education policy program for the Washington-based New America Foundation. In 2001, Mr. Dannenberg worked as an aide to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and who advocated a formula that helped districts with large concentrations or numbers of students eligible for Title I services. ...

For the complete article, please follow this link.

Advance Appropriations

Education Policy — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:57:00 -0500

The Congressional Democratic majority has made increasing education funding a priority in its fiscal year 2008 spending plan. Their Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations conference agreement proposes increases in education for fiscal year 2008 that, if enacted, would result in one of the largest year-over-year increases (in nominal terms) in Department of Education funding since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2002.

Congress would like for much of the proposed increase in education funding, however, not to occur in fiscal year 2008, the time period covered by the current… more

New America Releases Two Reports on No Child Left Behind and Federal Education Funding

Jerry Irvine — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:00:00 -0500

The New America Foundation released two reports today on the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) reauthorization and the pending federal education budget. The reports identify steps Congress may choose to pursue in expanding early childhood education and eliminate a budget “gimmick” utilized by Democrats and Republicans in Congress to fund next year’s education program before a full federal budget is created. The reports were released today at an event held at the New America Foundation attended by leading experts on NCLB and federal education policy.

10 New Ideas for Early Education in the NCLB ReauthorizationSara Mead is a… more

Sara Mead in Education Week on 'The Next Education President'

Communications — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:14:00 -0500

New America in the News:

The candidates for the 2008 presidential nominations have not been as detailed about education policy as in some recent elections. But that doesn’t mean the stakes of the Democratic and Republican races aren’t high for K-12 schools. ...

As the campaign edges closer to the stage when votes are cast, candidates will start answering those questions in more detail, suggests Marc Lampkin, the executive director of Strong American Schools, a nonpartisan effort aimed at encouraging the presidential candidates to lay out their plans for K-12 education. The Washington-based effort is financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation.

"They know the electorate is starting to look a little deeper at them,” said Mr. Lampkin, a Republican who worked on President Bush’s 2000 campaign and has worked for GOP members of Congress.

But others believe that school issues will continue to be eclipsed by other concerns.

“It’s hard for education to get a lot of attention in this climate,” said Sara Mead, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, a [nonpartisan] think tank in Washington.

What little policy debate over education has occurred so far has focused on prekindergarten and college.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who has emerged as the Democratic front-runner, according to national opinion polls, has proposed spending $10 billion a year to expand pre-K programs for 4-year-olds and expand existing tax credits to offset the costs of college tuition so low-income families can take advantage of them.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., wants to provide $5 billion in state grants to double participation in federal Head Start preschool programs and quadruple the number of students in Early Head Start. He, too, would expand tax credits and financial aid to help make college more affordable.

Two other Democrats, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, also have proposed major expansions of the federal role in early-childhood education.

By contrast, the Republican candidates generally haven’t put forward proposals on early education or college aid. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is an exception. He wants to establish a federal program that would pay the tuition costs at in-state colleges and universities for high-performing students. The program would be modeled after one he helped create in Massachusetts. ...

For the complete article, please visit the Education Week website.

Jason Delisle Quoted by National Journal on Student Loan Legislation

Communications — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 10:15:00 -0400

New America in the News:

One month after President Bush reluctantly signed legislation requiring the government to auction the rights to make student loans, the Education Department is calling the new program unworkable and inflexible. Even some proponents of auctions agree, while the loan industry says that the plan will hurt borrowers by narrowing their lender choices.

The auction program is included in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act that Bush signed on September 27 despite a veto threat. The bidding requirement attracted little attention when Congress debated the legislation, as headlines focused on scandals involving cozy relationships between loan providers and college officials. Yet it could fundamentally change the way the government supports education loans. ...

The law requires the Education Department to run a separate auction in each state every two years in which lenders would bid for the right to make guaranteed loans to parents. Known as PLUS loans, they represent about 17 percent of the Federal Family Education Loan Program, according to the department.

In each auction, the two lenders willing to accept the lowest subsidy rate would win the exclusive right to make PLUS loans in the state where the bidding took place. The winning lenders would be legally obligated to make loans to all eligible borrowers. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., came up with the plan, which is expected to save the government $2 billion in subsidies to lenders. Auctions are scheduled to begin on July 1, 2009. ...

The New America Foundation did not back the Senate pilot model, but Education Policy Program Research Director Jason Delisle said that the think tank considered it better than the current approach. "This is a foot in the door. We get to see the concept in practice," he said.

The groups that support an auction favored the House's proposal, which was written by Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis., in consultation with the New America Foundation. It called for the Education and Treasury departments to study various auction models in a two-year pilot program that would involve as much as 20 percent of all guaranteed student loans. Petri's plan would have authorized the Education Department to extend the successful model to the entire federal program. ...

For the complete story, please follow this link (subscription required).

Heather Rieman in Education Week on Federal Education Spending

Communications — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 07:52:00 -0400

New America in the News:

... The 2008 fiscal year began Oct. 1. Congress has passed a measure that continued to finance most federal programs at fiscal 2007 levels until mid-November.

If President Bush follows through on his threat, Democrats in Congress would likely attempt to override a veto of the Labor-HHS-Education bill, but most observers say it doesn’t appear that congressional leaders would have the necessary two-thirds majority.

The House approved the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill by a vote of 276-140 on July 19. More than 140 GOP lawmakers signed a letter, sent to President Bush in May, pledging to support any presidential vetoes on spending bills.

Still, a handful of those Republicans then voted for the education spending bill, so it may be difficult to predict how many lawmakers would agree to sustain a veto, said Heather Rieman, an education policy analyst at the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.

If Congress could not override a veto, the administration and congressional leaders would have to work out a compromise on spending—or agree to continue financing education programs at fiscal 2007 spending levels through the rest of the 2008 fiscal year. ...

For the complete article, please visit Education Week's website.

Analysis of Budget Battle Implications for Education Funding Released by New America

Communications — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:50:00 -0400

The New America Foundation released a paper today providing a detailed analysis of the current budget battle and its implications for education funding. The report finds that education funding has not been a driver of recent increases in federal spending and proposed increases are relatively minor compared to the overall budget.

“One can sincerely argue against education funding increases because of concerns about program effectiveness, efficiency, or value; but to suggest that education spending is the main culprit for busting the federal budget is misguided, if not disingenuous,” said Michael Dannenberg, New America’s Director of Education Policy. … more

Education and the Federal Budget Showdown

Communications — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/04/2007 - 11:00am

The White House and Congress are engaged in a major budget debate that threatens a government shutdown and could markedly influence federal education funding. Congressional Democrats have proposed significant increases in education spending for Fiscal Year 2008, while the President has proposed to cut Education Department funding and threatened to veto relevant spending bills.

The panelists at this New America event discussed the current budget debate and its implications for federal education funding; lessons from past budget negotiations; and possible scenarios for resolution of the current conflict. Peter Cohn of Congress Daily explored the major factors underlying this year’s appropriations fight. Barbara Chow, a former Clinton White House liaison and budget negotiator, shared her insights from past negotiations. And New America’s Heather Rieman presented new research on federal education funding.

New America also released an issue brief: The 2007 Budget Showdown: The Facts Behind Education Funding. Video of this event is available at right, while an MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below.

Budget Showdown 2007: The Facts Behind Education Funding

Education Policy — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 02:12:00 -0400

The White House and Congress are approaching a major budget debate that could markedly influence federal education funding. This is the first budget cycle since 2000 during which different political parties control the Executive Branch and both chambers of Congress. The federal budget and appropriations process is rarely without acrimony, but this year’s battle may be especially rancorous.

The Federal Education Budget Project finds that although Congress plans a significant increase in federal spending on schools, teachers, and students -- the most significant this decade when considering discretionary and mandatory sources -- education funding has not been a driver of… more

Michael Dannenberg in The Boston Globe on Boost to Student Aid

Communications — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 11:07:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Congress approved a $20.2 billion boost in financial aid for college students yesterday, a package that backers said would be the single largest increase in federal tuition funding since World War II.

The bill, which President Bush is expected to sign, raises the maximum Pell grant for low-income students from $4,050 to $5,400, and temporarily slashes interest rates on student loans by half.

It also establishes debt-forgiveness programs for graduates who enter certain poorly paid fields such as law enforcement, firefighting, and teaching. According to the Department of Education, the average student now graduates with $19,000 in debt.

The new aid would be funded by a massive cut in subsidies to the scandal-plagued private student loan industry. Lenders said the cutbacks would cause some banks to stop offering student loans.

The president had threatened to veto an earlier version, but the White House indicated Thursday that Bush would sign the legislation...

***

Still, there was criticism from some Democrats that the legislation did not go far enough. Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards released a statement calling for an end to subsidies to private lenders and said that all loans should be handled directly through the Department of Education.

Congressional Republicans expressed frustration with President Bush for endorsing the measure. Representative Howard P. McKeon of California, the ranking Republican on the House Education Committee, said the bill amounted to an "entitlement program spending spree."

Michael Dannenberg, director of the Education Policy Program at the New America Foundation, a think tank in Washington, said that by proposing his own cuts in lender subsidies in his February budget, Bush had undercut members of Congress in his own party.

"President Bush triangulated conservative Republicans. He made common cause with the Democratic majority and proposed his own lender subsidy reduction as part of his budget," Dannenberg said. When the lending scandal exploded, he said, "congressional inaction became publicly unacceptable..."

For the complete article, please visit The Boston Globe's web site.

Michael Dannenberg Quoted on No Child Left Behind in National Journal

Communications — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 06:04:00 -0400

New America in the News:

And Democrats who voted for the [No Child Left Behind] law five years ago in the glow of post-September 11 bipartisanship are unlikely to do so again now that Bush has failed to deliver the hefty budget increases for education that they expected would accompany it. For the president to persuade a Democratic Congress to reauthorize No Child Left Behind without dismantling it, the bottom line may very well be the bottom line.

"The reason he's still relevant is money," said Michael Dannenberg, director of the New America Foundation's Education Policy Program. "If there were a lot of money put on the table with a Democratically controlled Congress, that would help grease the skids with the base on the left. Of course, it would antagonize the base on the right."

And Bush cannot alienate his base, where goodwill is in short supply after the immigration debacle...

For the complete article, please visit the National Journal web site (subscription required).

Michael Dannenberg on Sallie Mae Stock Sale in RAW STORY

Communications — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 01:35:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Following a sale of 400,000 shares of stock by the chairman of the board of a major student loan corporation just before its stock prices dipped, two Congressional committees have initiated an investigation into communications between the White House, Education Department, and the Sallie Mae Corporation...

Mutliple news sources reported last week that Sallie Mae Corporation Chairman Albert Lord had sold 400,000 shares of his stock in the nation's largest student loan provider on Thursday, Feb. 1, and Friday, Feb. 2. The following Monday, Feb. 5, the federal government released its Education budget, which included a substantial cut in federal subsidies for aid providers.

Sallie Mae's stock price, which closed on Friday the 2nd at $46.46, fell to $42.37 on Monday the 5th. The sale before the roll out of the federal education budget saved Lord more than $1.5 million.

"This is reminiscent of Martha Stewart," said Michael Dannenberg, Director of the Education Policy Program at the New America Foundation, who also produces the Higher Ed Watch blog.

"The sale of 400,000 shares is an irregular sale by Mr. Lord," he added. "I don't know if there's fire behind the smoke, but there's certainly smoke."

For the complete article, please visit the RAW STORY website.

Instant Analysis of the President's No Child Left Behind Education Budget

Jerry Irvine — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 00:44:00 -0500

(WASHINGTON, DC) – The New America Foundation’s Education Policy Program is releasing today instant analysis of President Bush’s Fiscal Year 2008 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) budget request. Later in February, the New America Foundation will announce the formation of a Federal Education Budget Project that will serve as the first and only independent, non-partisan, and authoritative source of easily accessible information on federal education funding for the media, policymakers and staff, state and local officials, non-profit organizations, the public, and others. At that same time, New America will release a thorough analysis of the President’s Fiscal Year 2008 education… more

Ten Big Ideas for a New America

Communications — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 02:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/31/2007 - 11:00am

The recent turnover in Congress, combined with a wide open presidential election cycle, creates a rare opportunity to bring new ideas into the political process. The spirit of this new era will be captured by those -- from either party or no party -- who embrace innovative yet pragmatic solutions to the foremost challenges facing our nation.

At this event, the New America Foundation released a major new report outlining Ten Big Ideas for a New America, and offered brief presentations on nine of the 10 ideas. (Senior Fellow Jacob Hacker, author of the Universal Risk Insurance proposal, was testifying on Capitol Hill and was unable to attend.)

In addition, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) offered kenote addresses that explored their respective takes on the need for big ideas in American politics.

Video of the complete event is available at right, while MP3 audio recordings can be dowloaded at the bottom of this page. To jump directly to video of a particular keynote address or Big Idea presentation, please use the links below.

Every Baby a Trust Fund Baby

Closing the $700 Billion Tax Loophole

Instant Runoff Voting

Mandatory, Affordable Health Insurance

Tax Consumption, Not Work

A College Access Contract

A Capital Budget for Public Investment

A Universal 401(k) Plan

An Energy Efficiency Trading System