Federal Policy Making'' Make Some Noise

1
Federal Policy Making..
Make Some Noise!

• Tami Sato, Southern CA College of Optometry
• Vicki Shipley,
• National Council of Higher Education Loan
  Programs (NCHELP)
• WASFAA Conference April 2009

2
Agenda

• Process Overview and Key Players
• House
• Senate
• Administration
• Role of the Department of Education
• Your Role and Responsibilities
• Make Some Noise!

3
Why Should You Care?

• The majority of student aid is the product of and
  exists within some sort of political environment
• National politics
• State politics
• Institutional politics
• Understanding the basic concepts and structures
  can help you anticipate change and possibly
  influence the process

4
Legislation vs. Regulation

• Legislation
• Congress adopts with Presidential signature or
  after overriding a veto
• Amends the U.S. Code -- the statute (e.g.,
  Higher Education Act)
• Public Laws (111-XX)

5
Legislation vs. Regulation

• Regulation
• Promulgated by appropriate federal agency
• U.S. Department of Education for higher education
  programs
• Reviewed by Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
• Interprets and adds detail to statute
• Amends Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)

6
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS(In a nutshell.so to speak!)

• Authorization Legislation Introduced by a
  Representative or Senator to Amend or Create a
  Federal Statute
• Legislation assigned to Committee(s) of
  Jurisdiction
• Chairman assigns to Subcommittee
• Hearings held on major legislation
• Higher Education Act to be Reauthorized every
  six years
• Appropriations Legislation Sets Annual Funding
  Levels for Federal Programs (aka discretionary
  spending) via Budget Bills

7
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS(It Takes Two To Tango!)

• Other Chamber (House or Senate) Must Act -- Two
  Options
• Considers similar legislation at its own pace
• Passes a bill that can be matched up with one
  passed by the other chamber
• Differences must be reconciled before enactment
  is possible
• Receives legislation after other chamber acts
• May approve identical bill or make amendments
• Back forth process, until identical bill is
  approved

8
What Happens in the Conference Committee?

• Differences between the House and Senate versions
  are reconciled
• Must be re-voted on again in each chamber
• Sent to the President for signature
• Pro Differences are ironed out and compromises
  are reached
• Con Not a public process, seen by some as
  undemocratic

9
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS(Final Action)

• Conference Committee
• Attempts to resolve differences between House and
  Senate-passed bills
• Result is a Conference Report -- includes
  explanatory language and recommendations
• Identical Conference Report must be approved by
  House and Senate before it can be sent to the
  President
• President signs or vetoes

10
New Congress - 111th

• Senate
• Was 51 Democrats 49 Republicans
• Now 56 Democrats - 41 Republicans
• Plus 1 Independent and 1 Independent Democrat
• Minnesota race will be determined by courts
• House
• Was 236 Democrats -198 Republicans
• One vacancy
• Now 254 Democrats 178 Republicans
• Three vacancies

11
Key Players House

• Education Labor Committee
• Higher Education, Lifelong Learning
  Competitiveness Subcommittee

George Miller (D-CA) Chairman
Howard P. Buck McKeon (R-CA) Ranking Member
Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) Chairman
Brett Guthrie (R-KY) Ranking Member
12
Key Players Senate

• Health, Education, Labor Pensions Committee
• Children Families Subcommittee

Michael Enzi (R-WY) Ranking Member
Edward Kennedy (D-MA) Chairman
Chris Dodd (D-CT) Chairman
Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Ranking Member
13
Budget Basics

• Congress controls the purse!
• Budget committees formulate a budget resolution
• Reconciliation instructions are optional
• Reconciliation protects budget measures from
  parliamentary hurdles such as filibusters to
  ensure timely completion
• Reconciliation instructions lead to the
  development of legislative changes to programs
  under the jurisdiction of the authorizing
  committees

14
Presidents 2010 Budget Proposal

• Loan Proposals
• Due to turmoil in the financial markets, the
  Presidents budget requests that Congress end the
  entitlements for financial institutions that lend
  to students by eliminating the FFEL Program by
  7/1/10
• Makes campus-based aid more widely available
  through a modernization of the Perkins Loan
  Program

15
Budget Proposals--Higher Education

• Pell Grants
• Pell Grant 5,550 maximum in 2010-2011
• Indexes Pell Grants to the Consumer Price Index
  plus 1
• Makes the Pell Grant program mandatory
• College Completion Access
• Permanent 2500 American Opportunity Tax Credit
• Create a new five-year, 2.5 billion Access and
  Incentive Fund to support low-income students
  graduate from college
• Includes evaluation component to ensure best
  practices
• Triples number of graduate fellowships in science

16
Obama Vows Budget Fight For His Priorities

• With the magnitude of the challenges we face
  right now, what we need in Washington are not
  more political tactics we need more good ideas.
  We dont need more point-scoring we need more
  problem-solving.
• Obama challenged his critics to offer
  constructive, alternative solutions.
• Source CQ Today 3/17/09

17
Budget Process The Role of Congress

• Budget Bills
• House Bill
• Includes reconciliation instructions to Education
  and Labor Committee to reduce budget by 1 B
• Senate Bill
• Does not include similar reconciliation
  instructions
• Includes amendment by Senator Lamar Alexander
• to maximize higher education access and
  affordability by ensuring that institutions of
  higher education and their students are able to
  continue to participate in a competitive student
  loan program, in order to maintain a
  comprehensive choice of student loan products and
  services.

18
Budget Process Citizen Impact on Congress

• Senator Alexanders Amendment was due to him
  hearing from constituents
• Letters to the Senator from school groups
• Expressions of concern to other members of
  Congress over the past few weeks
• 1,000 phone calls
• 1,200 faxes
• 4,000 e-mails
• Consumer Bankers Association electronic petition
• 6,000 signers

19
New Department of Education

• Arne Duncan -- Secretary of Education
• Martha Kanter Nominee for Under Secretary
• Carmel Martin -- Assistant Secretary for
  Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development
• Marshall Smith Special Assistant
• Robert Shireman Special Assistant
• Dan Madzelan Acting Assistant Secretary

20
Negotiated Rulemaking (Neg Reg)

• Secretary of Educations Responsibility
• Advise Congress
• Propose Legislation
• Provide Technical Assistance
• Assist with Constituent Issues
• Regulates Where Needed
• Enforces Laws and Regulations
• Communicates with Interested Parties and the
  Public

21
Negotiated Rulemaking (Neg Reg)

• Required by the HEA (Section 492A)
• All parts of Title IV All the time
• Goal To develop Notices of Proposed Rulemaking
  (NPRM) that reflects a final consensus of the
  negotiating committee
• Consensus There must be no dissent by any
  member of the committee (includes ED) to have
  reached consensus

22
Neg Reg

• Your Role During Neg Reg
• Know who represents your segment or interests
• Follow the issues (IFAP, NASFAA)
• Your Role After Neg Reg
• Review NPRM in Federal Register
• Respond within comment period
• Send Comments to
• Department of Education (see Federal Register)
  w/copy to
• Federal Relations Committees
• NASFAA

22
23
Keep Track of Whats Happening In DC

• Read, read, read..
• Conferences and workshops
• Networking
• Listservs
• Webinars
• Web sites

24
Be Heard!

• YOU ARE THE EXPERT!
  
• Stay in touch (Email, phone, in person) with your
  Congressional/State legislative members. Get to
  know their staff
• Be sure they know who you are, what you do and
  the students you serve be a trusted resource
• Invite members of Congress/state legislature
  and/or their staff to tour your facilities
• Respond to NPRMs
• Volunteer to be on state and WASFAA and NASFAA
  committees

24
25
Put a Face on It!

• Personalize sample/template letters
• State how proposal(s) would affect your students
• Provide student success stories
• Develop a fact sheet for your college
• Use stats and numbers

26
Ten Tips for a Good Letter

• Personalize your letter
• Tell a story
• Whats the impact on
• a student
• your school
• your office
• your state
• Use facts politicians like numbers!
• Use personal stationery (or send an email)
• Thank them for their vote or position
• Request a follow up letter

27
Ten Tips for a Good Letter

• Address it correctly
• The Honorable (name)
• United States (Senate or House of
  Representatives)
• Washington, DC 20510
• Send it to the appropriate office
• Keep your comments short and to the point
• Include contact information
• Include an ask

28
How do YOU get involved?

• Know your stuff
• Association advisories
• Lender and guarantor updates
• Other sources?
• Make friends before you need them
• Congressional staffers
• Members of Congress
• Communicate, communicate, communicate
• Write a letter, make a call, send an email, smoke
  signals, tin cups with a string

29
Thank You!
30
QUESTIONS