Congress Makes First Steps in the Federal Education Budget Process

Last Thursday the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education passed its fiscal year 2011 funding bill – the first step in the annual appropriations process that will determine funding levels for all but a few federal education programs. Fiscal year 2011 begins October 1st, 2010. Overall, the chairman’s mark included total funding of $176.4 billion, $1.5 billion less than the president’s 2011 budget request. This includes $72.0 billion for the Department of Education, $1.5 billion less than the president’s request and $7.7 billion more than the current year funding level.

The Subcommittee’s mark up provides more funding for education programs than the fiscal year 2010 appropriations bill in all but a couple occasions. The largest increase (in terms of percent of funds) went to the Promise Neighborhood program, which the subcommittee provided $60 million up from $10 million in 2010. However, the Promise Neighborhood increase provided in the mark up dwarfs the president’s requested funding level of $210 million for the program.

The subcommittee mark up also includes a significant increase for Innovation and Improvement programs, which would receive $2.4 billion in 2011, up from $1.4 billion in 2010. The Innovation and Improvement increase over 2010 levels can be attributed almost entirely to Race to the Top and the Investing in Innovation fund, which received no appropriation in the 2010 fiscal budget. These programs, which were created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and funded at a combined $5 billion, have become favorites of the Obama Administration for their emphasis on education reforms. The president requested $1.5 billion for Race to the Top and $500 million for Investing in Innovation for fiscal year 2011. However, the subcommittee mark up provides $800 million for Race to the Top in fiscal year 2011 and $400 million for Investing in Innovation.

Innovation and Improvement programs also include teacher-centric programs like the Teacher Incentive Fund, school choice programs like Charter School Grants, and subject-specific programs like Teaching American History grants. The president’s budget request included a substantial reorganization of these programs including several consolidations and a few eliminations which would have brought total Innovation and Improvement spending not include Race to the Top and the Investing in Innovation fund funding to $4.5 billion. The relatively low appropriation for these programs included in the subcommittee-passed bill suggests that the Democratic majority on the subcommittee has chosen to ignore the President’s proposed program consolidations in this budget cycle, likely so they can be considered during the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act next year.

The subcommittee mark up also includes $23.1 billion for Pell Grants, $5.7 billion more than the 2010 appropriation. In contrast, the president requested $0 in discretionary spending for Pell Grants because he proposed making it a mandatory spending program. Congress rejected this proposal. But the $23.1 billion in the mark up is not enough to maintain the current maximum grant level of $4,860. Congress also passed a reconciliation bill earlier in 2010 that provides an additional $13.5 billion for Pell Grants. Combined with the $23.1 billion in 2011 spending, these funds will cover the full $35.1 billion cost of the program.

Title I Grants to School Districts and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Grants to States also received increases in the subcommittee mark up. Title I would be funded at $14.9 billion under the chairman’s mark, $400 million more than in 2010 and than the president’s requested level. IDEA would be funded at $13.0 billion, $412 million above the 2010 level and $153 million more than the president’s request.

The subcommittee mark up also provides $5.3 billion for School Improvement Programs, $30 million less than the 2010 funding level but $2.2 billion more than the president’s requested level. School Improvement Programs include Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, Educational Technology State Grants, State Assessment Grants, and other programs aimed at improving education services. The president’s budget request made dramatic changes to these programs including some consolidations and eliminations that would have resulted in a total appropriation of on $3.1 billion. However, the subcommittee’s mark up maintains near 2010 spending levels for these programs, suggesting that they have chosen to ignore the president’s requested changes.

Unfortunately, the subcommittee has only made a summary table of its mark up available to the public – instead of the full text or a comprehensive table. The summary includes very few program-specific funding levels, making it impossible to determine how much a program like the Teacher Incentive Fund would receive in 2011 based. That said, the House subcommittee mark up represents a large increase in education funding for 2011 over 2010 levels, though it does not quite reach the president’s request. This increase is sure to be unpopular with deficit-sensitive legislators once the bill reaches the full Appropriations Committee and is later considered on the House Floor (which might not be until after the November election). Check back with Ed Money Watch for updates on this process.