NASFAA State Association Presidents Asked to Contact Congress on Budget Resolutions; Senate Defeats First Education Amendment

NASFAA President Dallas Martin wrote to all state association presidents March 14 asking them to contact their congressional delegation about the House and Senate Budget Resolutions. Martin requested the state leaders urge federal legislators "to reject President Bush's budget request and vote against the Congressional Budget Resolution for FY-2006 unless it is amended to restore funding for essential higher education programs." Sample letters to senators and members of the House of Representatives, contact information, background information on the Budget Resolution, and program impact data were included in Martin's letter to state presidents.

Early yesterday evening, the Senate defeated an education funding amendment by a vote of 44 yeas to 49 nays. The amendment offered by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), would have modified the Senate's FY 2006 Budget Resolution by restoring funding, at last year's levels, for 48 Department of Education programs recommended for elimination by President Bush in the budget he submitted in February. Following are the higher education programs slated for elimination in the President's budget, and assumed to be eliminated in the Senate Budget Resolution, that would have had their funding restored if the Bingaman amendment had passed.

Note: programs listed by name and amount of FY 2005 funding scheduled for elimination in FY 2006.

By Larry Zaglaniczny
NASFAA Director for Congressional Relations

Posted March 15, 2005 on www.NASFAA.org, Web Site of the
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