With educators already grappling with across-the-board budget cuts, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., face an even more ominous deadline of March 27 when a government shutdown could ground all federal education programs.
Congress and the White House face this looming deadline because they have failed to agree on spending bills for federal fiscal year 2013, which began last October. Education and other programs have operated with only temporary funds since that time, leaving schools, colleges and students at risk of funding disruptions.
With tensions still high after across-the-board cuts took effect March 1, education advocates are urging Congress to approve a spending package that will keep K-12 and college programs operating. “We can’t keep having a government in crisis,” said Ethan Senack, higher education fellow at US PIRG in Washington, D.C.
The Republican-led House of Representatives took one step back from the brink last week by approving a bill to fund programs for the rest of fiscal 2013 at last year’s levels—minus the 5.1 percent across-the-board cuts known as the sequester. While keeping the government in business, the sequester-related provisions would make permanent $85 billion in across-the-board cuts that formally took effect March 1.
But many Democrats favor a fiscal 2013 spending bill to undo or soften the sequester, which would reduce most major education programs except Pell Grants. House Republicans also said they will not agree to any new revenues, a position that concerns Antonio Flores, president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).
A balanced solution, including some reductions but more revenue through tax increases or the closing of loopholes, “is the best way to go about solving budget matters,” Flores told Diverse.
Congress’ failure to approve a 2013 education spending bill is already affecting colleges, Flores said. “Federal agencies aren’t issuing any new RFPs (requests for proposal),” he said, such as federal grant opportunities earmarked for Hispanic-serving institutions.
