The Fast Track to College Act
Federal Update: March 24, 2009
The Fast Track to College Act (HR 1578) was introduced on March 18 by Congressman Dale Kildee (D-MI) and Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI). The bill seeks to increase high school graduation and college-going rates by increasing access to rigorous, college preparatory curriculum. The bill would award competitive grants to school districts and institutions of higher education to form partnerships to establish dual enrollment or early college high school programs. One of the required use of funds would be to provide academic and social support services, including counseling. Read a press release from Congressman Kildee’s office for more background on the bill.
The legislation’s purpose and use of funds aligns with NACAC’s policy principle on increasing access to rigorous curriculum. Visit NACAC’s policy recommendations page for more information.
Budget Markups Scheduled
Budget committees in the House and Senate are scheduled to markup their FY 2010 budget resolutions starting this week. The budget resolution is non-binding legislation that Congressional appropriators use as a blueprint to generate funding levels for individual federal programs. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, has indicated his intention to preserve most of President Obama’s budget requests, despite recent CBO analysis regarding the cost of such requests.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the non-partisan budget arm of the legislative branch, released an updated economic outlook that includes the President’s budget request in its analysis. The CBO report, updated from January 2009, estimates that the deficit will total $1.7 billion this year (12% of GDP), and $1.1 trillion next year (8% of GDP), the highest deficit as a percent of GDP since 1945. The CBO report also estimates that the President’s plan to eliminate FFELP will yield $94 billion in savings over ten years, twice the amount estimated in the President’s budget. Visit the CBO online to read a summary and full text of the report.
Senator Conrad has indicated he does not intend to include reconciliation instructions in the Senate budget resolution. Reconciliation is a budget process that is filibuster-proof in the Senate, and that could be a possible strategy for addressing some of President Obama’s budget recommendations, including those on student loans, climate change, and health care reform.
To follow the FY 2010 budget and appropriations process, visit NACAC’s web page devoted to the subject.
Find legislation in your state that affects your job and the students you serve: NACAC’s State Legislative Portal.
Please contact NACAC staff at legislative@nacacnet.org with any questions.