Des Moines Register
02/09/06
Regents lobby in D.C. for support
Harkin, Boswell and Leach meet with the board and three
college presidents.
By JANE NORMAN
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
Washington, D.C. — Iowa regents and the presidents of the state's three public
universities launched an extraordinary congressional lobbying blitz here
Wednesday, pushing for continued federal support for higher education in Iowa.
For the first time, all of the regents and the presidents traveled to the nation's
capital to talk to Iowa lawmakers and their staff members face-to-face in their
offices.
"The regents institutions touch the lives of everybody in Iowa — we are woven
into the very texture of the state," said Michael Gartner, president of the board, at
a breakfast for members of the Iowa delegation.
But the financial situation they and other universities across the country face is
gloomy. Just this week, President Bush proposed a $2.7 trillion budget that would
slice away at many education programs, including student aid such as the
Perkins Loan Program that serves low-income students.
"Student aid is issue No. 1 for us," given tuition increases during the past five
years, said David Skorton, president of the University of Iowa. About $160 million
annually in federal student aid in the form of grants and loans is received by U of
I students, he said.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, under Bush's budget proposal,
the maximum Pell Grant for low-income college students would stay at $4,050 for
the fifth year in a row while tuition and fees have gone up. Bush's budget would
keep flat the amount of money allocated to programs such as federal work-study.
"The middle-class kids are going to be in trouble," said Skorton.
The U.S. Department of Education would have $2.1 billion cut from its current
$54.4 billion budget, and 42 programs would be killed if the budget is approved.
Another worry for the U of I is a proposed reduction in the growth of Medicare
spending, by $35.9 billion over five years, which would affect the University of
Iowa Hospitals, Skorton said. The university and the hospitals combined make up
the biggest employer in the state, and any cutbacks would have a ripple effect
through the Iowa economy, he said.
Research and development money is a key concern for the universities, Gartner
said. Each of the presidents outlined a series of new or continuing research
initiatives for which the universities will seek money, ranging from math and
science in preschool education at the University of Northern Iowa to mitigation of
emissions from egg farms at Iowa State University.
Bush, speaking in New Hampshire, defended his overall budget proposal. "We're
on our way to cutting our deficit in half by 2009," he said, by keeping taxes low,
restraining spending and insisting that "our federal programs produce results."
The breakfast drew the state's two Democrats, Sen. Tom Harkin and Rep.
Leonard Boswell, but only one Republican, Rep. Jim Leach, whose district
includes Iowa City. Republicans control the purse strings in Congress.
Leach said it will be a tough year for education and all domestic programs, even
tighter than last year as money is targeted instead to the military and homeland
security, combined with rising costs for entitlements.
"For all universities in America, there is a real crunch coming, from many different
directions, both federal and state budgets," he said. Competition in state budgets
comes from the high financial demands of Medicaid, the health program for lowincome people, Leach said.
"Somehow, we're going to have to think through priorities, because in the rest of
the world there's a huge re-investment in education," he said.
Gregory Geoffroy, Iowa State University president, said he understands that
the federal budget is under stress, but the priorities described by the universities
"are very important for Iowa and very important for our nation."
Separately, in a conference call with Iowa reporters, Sen. Charles Grassley, RIa., said that "it doesn't surprise me there's going to be some cuts in domestic
programs." He said that education programs have received some of the biggest
boosts in money, and those kinds of increases can't be sustained yearly.
"Education was given a big shot in the arm the first five years of this
administration," Grassley said. "Now there's a period of plateauing."