Washington Update July 28, 2014
H.R. 3393, the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act Passes the House
· Series of Higher Education Act (HEA) Related Bills Overwhelmingly Pass the House
·Nominations Sought for Service Awards in State Government Relations – Deadline Extended Until Aug 1
· CGA Invited to Sign Community Letter Expressing Concern with the Conference Accountability Act
(S.1347)
·Sen. Harkin Introduces Legislation to Boost Biomedical Research; APLU Issues Statement of Support
·White House Memorandum on S&T Priorities for FY16 Budget

H.R. 3393, the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act Passes the House
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3393, the Student and Family Tax Simplification
Act, also known as Black-Davis by a vote of 227-187. The bill consolidates/eliminates the Lifetime
Learning Tax Credit, Hope Scholarship Credit, and deduction for tuition and fees to create a simpler and
strengthened (in some regards) American Opportunity Tax Credit.
While APLU has long supported consolidation of the higher education tax benefits, the way it is done in
the bill disadvantages graduate and nontraditional students. APLU and other higher education
associations had expressed that we could not support the bill in its present form. While most of
Democratic opposition focused on the lack of an offset, Ranking Member Sandy Levin (D-MI) and other
members did raise concerns on the bill’s impact to graduate and nontraditional students. The bill is
unlikely to be taken up in the Senate in its present form given the opposition from House Democrats and
the Statement of Administration Policy in opposition.

Series of Higher Education Act (HEA) Related Bills Overwhelmingly Pass the House
This week the House passed three bipartisan bills, as a part of their step-by-step approach to the
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. On Wednesday, June 23rd, the Advancing CompetencyBased Education Demonstration Project Act (H.R. 3136) passed with a vote of 414-0. The act would
allow the Department of Education to create a number of demonstration projects that would implement
competency based education programs, in order to give students more flexibility in their pursuit of
education. Of the noted amendments agreed to, H.A. 1114, establishes a Regulatory Reform Task Force,
which is charged with making recommendations on reducing unnecessary higher education regulations.
Also on Wednesday, the Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act (H.R. 4983) passed by a
voice vote, with no amendments. This bill would create a consumer-tested College Dashboard, to offer
better information to students and families before they apply to schools. The House Education & the
Workforce Committee’s press release for both bills can be found here. The House Report 113-530 to
accompany H.R. 4983, included language on the Department consulting with the Student Achievement
Measure (SAM) and noted appreciation for the non-federal transparency efforts such as the Voluntary
System of Accountability’s College Portrait.
On Thursday, June 24th, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act (H.R.
4984) passed the House by a vote of 405-11. The accepted amendments can be found here. The
legislation requires that institutions provide annual counseling to student borrowers of Federal loans and
inform Pell grant recipients of the terms and conditions of the grants. The press release can be found here.
Additionally, the House this week passed a year-long extension, through 2015, of the National Advisory
Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and the Advisory Committee on Student
Financial Assistance (ACSFA) (H.R. 5134). These committees are slated to expire at the end of this year.

CGA Invited to Sign Community Letter Expressing Concern with the Conference Accountability
Act (S.1347)
Next week the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee may markup the attached
substitute amendment to the Conference Accountability Act of 2013 (S.1347, attached), introduced by
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND). This legislation would make
permanent law the restriction on the number of employees attending international conferences (no more
than 50), and the $500,000 limit on agency spending for a single conference. This legislation would also
add agency reporting requirements for conferences when spending is more than $50,000.
A section by section of the bill is attached. The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is circulating a
letter, expressing concerns with the legislation. If you are interested in adding your institution’s signature
or have further questions, please contact Josh Shiode of AAS by COB Tuesday, July 29. He can be
reached at Joshua.shiode@aas.org or (202) 643-1227.

Sen. Harkin Introduces Legislation to Boost Biomedical Research; APLU Issues Statement of
Support
On July 24, Senator Harkin (D-IA) introduced the Acceleration Biomedical Research Act (S.2658,
attached) to safeguard biomedical research from ongoing budget battles. This legislation would allow for
a budget cap adjustment for the remaining years subject to the Budget Control Act (BCA), if the
Appropriations Committee provides at least $29.9 billion to the NIH. This will allow for the NIH levels to
grow, while Congress continues the debate over the remainder of the budget.
APLU released a statement of support in which APLU President Peter McPherson said, “the funding cuts
to NIH resulting from the BCA, including sequestration, have jeopardized the United States’ ability to
maintain its leading position in biomedical research and are contributing to a growing innovation deficit.”
Further information about this legislation is also attached.

White House Memorandum on S&T Priorities for FY16 Budget
On July 18, 2014, the White House issued a memorandum to the heads of the federal research agencies
regarding science and technology priorities in the FY16 budget. The memo outlines the Administration’s
priorities including: investments in R&D; support for activities such as STEM education, technology
transfer, R&D facilities, and scientific data collection and management, and cooperation among multiple
Federal agencies.
BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS SSUES
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE PUBLISHES REPORTS FOR THREE FY15
DRAFT BILLS
The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday published draft committee reports for three draft FY15
funding bills: Labor-HHS-Education, Energy and Water, and Financial Services-General Government.
The release establishes Democrats’ priorities for the bills even as it appears that none of the three will be
marked up in full committee. AAU follows Labor-HHS-Education and Energy and Water, but not
Financial Services-General Government.
--Senate FY15 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill and Report
The Appropriations Committee has posted on its website the report to accompany the draft FY15 LaborHHS-Education appropriations bill approved by subcommittee on June 10. The measure would provide
$30.5 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of $606 million above the FY14
level. Within that total, the bill includes $100 million for the second year of the multi-agency Brain
Research through Application of Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative, an increase of $60
million.
For student financial aid, the subcommittee-approved bill would maintain the discretionary portion of the
maximum Pell grant award at $4,860 for the 2015-2016 school year. When combined with mandatory
funding, this would raise the maximum award by an estimated $100, to $5,830. The bill also would
increase funding for several campus-based student aid programs. (See updated AAU Department of
Education chart here.)
For the campus-based aid programs, the Senate bill would:
·
raise funding for Federal Work Study by $35 million;
·
raise funding for TRIO by $8.4 million;
·
raise Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants by $15 million; and
·
raise funding for GearUP by $3 million.
In addition, the bill would fund Title VI International Education programs at $81.2 million, an increase
of $9 million. Some $5 million of the increase is for study abroad. The bill also includes $75 million for
the President’s First in the World initiative, with $20 million set aside for minority-serving institutions.
For the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program, the bill would provide $31
million, an increase of $1.7 million. As the higher education community requested, the humanities and
social sciences are included as eligible fields for GAANN awards.
--Senate FY15 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill and Report
The Senate Appropriations Committee has also posted the report to accompany its draft FY15 Energy and
Water appropriations bill.
Reportedly, the measure would provide $5.086 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of
Science, a $15 million, or .3 percent, increase over FY14. The Advanced Research Projects AgencyEnergy would receive $280 million, which is the same as the FY14 and House FY15 levels, and $45
million below the Administration’s FY15 request. The bill would also provide $2.073 billion for the DOE
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, a $171.24 million, or 9 percent, increase over
FY14, but $243.821 million below the Administration’s request.
Within the DOE Office of Science total, the Senate bill would provide:
·
$557 million for Advanced Scientific Computing Research, a $78.4 million, or 16.4 percent, increase
over FY14, and $16 million above either the House number or the Administration request;
·
$1.8065 billion for Basic Energy Sciences, a $93.7 million, or 5.5 percent, increase over FY14 and
level with the Administration’s request; within the total, the Senate would allocate $100 million
to Energy Frontier Research Centers, $24.175 million to the Batteries and Energy Storage Hub, and
$24.175 million to the Fuels from Sunlight Hub (contingent on the Office of Science completing an
internal and peer review of the hub);
·
$627.5 million for Biological and Environmental Research, a $17.34 million, or 2.8 percent, increase
over FY14 and a reduction of $467,000 from the Administration request;
·
$341 million for Fusion Energy Sciences, a $164.68 million, or 32.6 percent, reduction from FY14 and
$75 million below the Administration request. The bill provides just $75 million for the international
ITER project and directs DOE and the Office of Science to withdraw from the project;
·
$774.482 million for High Energy Physics, a $23.04 million, or 2.9 percent, cut from FY14, but
$30.48 million above the Administration request;
·
$601.573 million for Nuclear Physics, a $31.64 million, or 5.6 percent, increase over FY14 and $8
million above the Administration request; and
·
$29.5 million for Workforce Development, a $3 million, or 11.3 percent, increase over FY14 and $10
million above the Administration request; the total includes $10 million to continue the Computational
Sciences Graduate Fellowship.
The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy that supports making the AOTC
permanent, but opposes the bill on the basis that it provides no funding offsets for its estimated 10-year
cost of $16 billion.
themes from earlier years.” These include advanced manufacturing, clean energy, climate research,
information technology, biological innovation, national security, and R&D for informed policymaking.
OTHER CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
SENATOR HARKIN INTRODUCES BILL TO RESTORE PURCHASING POWER OF NIH
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHSEducation, introduced legislation on July 24 aimed at restoring the buying power of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH). The Accelerate Biomedical Research Act (S. 2658) has been endorsed by
several organizations, including AAU.
The Senator’s press release notes that after Congress doubled the NIH budget between 1998 and 2003,
“austere budget caps” led to a 20-percent erosion in the agency’s purchasing power for biomedical
research. The bill seeks to reverse that trend by instituting a budget cap adjustment that gives priority to
NIH over the remaining fiscal years of the Budget Control Act. The measure would “require the
Appropriations Committee to maintain the current funding of $29.9 billion for NIH, above which
appropriations will rise up to $46.2 billion at the end of the seven year period from Fiscal Year 2015 to
2021.”
Close the Innovation Deficit
Thursday, July 31st will mark the one-year anniversary of the Close the Innovation Deficit initiative.
Next Week, TSC, AAU and APLU, will be rolling out new elements of the campaign, and encourage
members to share within your institutions and via social media.
See Memo
Congressional Activity Week July 28- August 1, 2014
Floor Activities
The Senate reconvenes at 2 p.m. and resumes consideration of a judicial nomination. A
confirmation vote is expected at 5:30 p.m. Afterwards, four additional confirmation votes on
nominations are expected.
The House will reconvene at 2 p.m. and is expected to consider measures under suspension of
the rules. Roll call votes are expected at 6:30 p.m.
Committee Activities

Tuesday, July 29
House Energy and Commerce Committee
Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Hearing: “Nanotechnology:
Understanding How Small Solutions Drive Big Innovation”
Witnesses: James Tour, Professor, Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science &
Technology, Rice University; Christian Binek, Associate Professor, University of
Nebraska-Lincoln; Milan Mrksich, Professor, Northwestern University; Jim Phillips,
Chairman & CEO, NanoMech, Incorporated
Hearing Memo
10:15 a.m., 2322 Rayburn

Wednesday, July 30
House Judiciary Committee
Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Hearing: The U.S. Patent
& Trademark Office: The America Invents Act and Beyond, Domestic and International
Policy Goals.
3 p.m., 2141 Rayburn
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Markup on Veterans’ Affairs Legislation
10 a.m., 334 Cannon

Thursday, July 31
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Full Committee Hearing: Financial Products for Students: Issues and Challenges
Witnesses: David A. Bergeron, VP for Postsecondary Education Policy, Center for
American Progress; Christine Lindstrom, Higher Education Program Director, U.S.
Public Interest Research Group; Kenneth Kocer, President, South Dakota Association of
Student Financial Aid Administrators & Director of Financial Assistance; Richard Hunt,
President and CEO, Consumer Bankers Association
10 a.m., 538 Dirksen