Education Report May 14, 2010

1. Budget and Appropriations
-It was a tumultuous week on Capitol Hill with little progress made on congress' long "to do" list.
-With Memorial Day approaching the military is growing anxious for their funds, and appropriators met to mark-up an emergency supplemental bill that would pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and address crises on the domestic front brought on by oil spills, floods and other natural disasters.
-The FY 2011 Budget Resolution has not been in the conversations much in the last couple of weeks. But it appears increasingly likely that a resolution will be necessary to get the appropriations process moving.

2. House Fails to Pass legislation to Reauthorize America COMPETEs
-May 12 and 13, the House debated legislation, HR 5116, that would reauthorize the America COMPETEs Act, originally enacted in 2007. The legislation was unfortunately pulled from the floor after there was a motion to recommit the bill.
-The heart of the conflict between Democrats and Republicans is the appropriate cost, size and role of the federal government.
-Democratic supporters of the bill in the House will be scrambling in the coming days to determine how they might get the bill approved next week. It is still unclear if the Senate intends to act on this bill this year.

3. In Brief
-AACTE and NEA Release Policy Briefs on Effective Teaching
-Nationwide Events mark National Lab Day
-CAP Report examines potential of Peer Assistance and Review
-Task Force on Childhood Obesity releases Action Plan

Be sure to also check out sections #4 (New Publications) and #5 (In the News)** for articles of interest.