Federal Funding Landscape
August 8, 2013
Kevin O’Neill & Jessica Monahan
Federal Funding Landscape
• FY 2014 and FY 2015 appropriations
• Tax Reform
• Debt Ceiling (October/November)
• Sequestration
• Grand Bargain?
FY 2014 Appropriations
• House: Passed 4 of 12 bills
(Defense, Energy &Water, Homeland Security, and Military
Construction/Veterans Affairs)
• Senate: Passed 0 bills
• Fiscal year ends September 30th, short-term
CR likely
CONFIDENTIAL
FY 2014 Sequester
• Spending must be cut by $109.3 billion in FY 2014
• Reductions enforced by lowering spending caps –
providing Congress more flexibility
• Senate and House budgets are $91 billion apart
• Failure to agree on appropriations at the reduced
spending levels would result in across-the-board
sequester – just as indiscriminate as FY 2013
CONFIDENTIAL
House vs. Senate FY 2014 Spending
House
• Proposals act as if
sequester will continue
but violate 50-50
defense/non-defense
cuts, pushing more onto
discretionary domestic
appropriations
Senate
• Proposals ignore
sequester and builds on
FY 2011 baseline,
resulting in huge funding
differences
Congress’ failure to conference Ryan-Murray budgets adds
to the problem as chambers are free to work off dramatically
different blueprints
CONFIDENTIAL
Implementation of the
Affordable Care Act (ACA)
• Employer Mandate: The ACA’s employer shared
responsibility penalty and reporting requirements have
been delayed until 2015
• Individual Mandate: Individuals who can afford medical
insurance must obtain coverage by January 1, 2014 (or
pay a penalty)
– Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace starts
October 1, 2013 with coverage beginning in 2014
– Variable-hour employees, including student workers, who work an
average of 30 hours + per week, must be offered access to the
employer medical plan
CONFIDENTIAL
Tax Reform
• House and Senate tax committees solicited
recommendations for reform
• “Blank slate” approach
• Tax provisions of interest:
– Education tax provisions (education savings, tuition tax
credits and exemptions, student loan interest deduction and
forgiveness, etc.)
– Charitable giving incentives
– Employee benefits
– Tax-exempt bond financing
CONFIDENTIAL
Reauthorization of the
Higher Education Act (HEA)
• HEA Reauthorization will address:
– Reporting requirements
– Financial aid
– College affordability
– Accountability measures
• UA submitted comments and feedback to the House
Education and the Workforce Committee on August
2nd
• No major action in the Senate
• Reauthorization of HEA unlikely before 2015
Other Legislation
• Workforce Investment Act (WIA):
– House passed WIA reauthorization earlier this year, Senate
to bring their bill to the floor in the fall
– Working to ensure UA’s eligibility for grants, minimize
funding reductions, and allow for funding to be used for
cross-purposes (i.e. Carl D. Perkins)
• Farm Bill:
– Expires on September 30, 2013
– Includes research funding
– One-year extension expected because of unsuccessful
conferencing due to vast differences between the House and
Senate bills
CONFIDENTIAL
Questions?
CONFIDENTIAL