LAST-MINUTE MANEUVER COSTS HIGHER ED $7.5 MILLION, MAY HURT PELL GRANTS - December 10, 1985

Sep 28, 2026

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A last-minute budget maneuver by House and Senate leaders, influenced by the Office of Management and Budget, trims $38 million from the education appropriations bill and adds further reductions tied to higher-education library construction and medical training funding. The Pell Grant program faces potential future loss, since lawmakers do not request a supplemental appropriation and intend to rely on existing statutory authority if conference funding proves insufficient. The change also slips without formal amendment scrutiny, prompting complaints from education advocates and staff.

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LAST-MINUTE MANEUVER COSTS HIGHER ED $7.5 MILLION, MAY HURT PELL GRANTS

Pell Grant funding risk and supplemental approach

Budget trims to education and health-linked programs

Continuing resolution and balanced budget plan

Tuesday,December 10,1985 # LAST-MINUTE MANEUVER COSTS HIGHER ED $7.5 MILLION,MAY HURT PELL GRANTS A last-minute deal forged by House and Senate leaders and the Office of Manage-ment and Budget(OMB)has cost higher education programs $7.5 million and couldresult in a $70 million loss for the Pell Grant program down the road. Shortly before approving an $18.4 billion education budget_for fiscal 1986,theHouse last Thursday agreed to trim a total of $38 million from H.R。3424,thelabor,health and human services and education appropriations bill agreed to inconference last month(HED,Dec.7). Bowing to pressure from OMB,Rep.William Natcher,D-Ky.,offered a last-minutemotion to trim $3 million more from higher education 1ibrary construction and$5 million from the National Health Service Corps.,which pays medical schoolcosts for doctors who agree to work in health personnel shortage areas. No SupplementalTo garner additional support from President Reagan forthe bill,Natcher said the committee would not request a supplementalappropriation for the Pell Grant program,which ED estimates will need $71million over the amount agreed to in conference to keep operating. If the $3.6 billion fiscal 1986 appropriation agreed on in conference "is laterfound to be insufficient to fully fund this policy,it is our intent that theSecretary use the authority in the basic law"to reduce the program rather thanrelying on a supplemental appropriation from Congress,Natcher said. But Charles Saunders,vice president for governmental relations for theAmerican Council on Education,said"no one knows"whether the Pell Grantappropriation will fall short,and he added that education lobbyists couldstill succeed in pressing for a supplemental appropriation. Other Programs Cut The revisions by Natcher,who chairs the Labor-HHS-EDAppropriations Subcommittee,also included cuts in several elementary andsecondary education programs,Including math and science education,impact aidconstruction programs and Chapter 2 discretionary projects. Because the motion was not considered a formal amendment,it slipped by manyeducation advocates and congressional staffers unnoticed until after the con-ference report was passed by the House Thursday and approved by the SenateFriday. Henry Neil,chief staff assistant to the House Labor-HHS-ED AppropriationsSubcommittee,said Natcher introduced the revisions "because of objections by(more) 0MB"that the bill exceeded Senate,though not House,budget targets by$38 million.Neil said OMB told Natcher that Reagan would not sign the billunless that amount was shaved off the total. Staffers say the House and Senate education committees did not learn of themaneuver until after the conference report for H.R.3424 was passed. "We're unhappy that the cuts were made,"said Eugene Sofer,a budget and ap-propriations analyst for the House Education and Labor Committee."This isjust another indication of the kind of pressure the administration is able toput on a commmittee to reduce domestic funding." While another education staffer called the unexpected cuts"sickening,"hesaid,"Politically,I understand why Natcher did it." Continuing Resolution Should the president not sign the appropriationsbi11,ED would have to depend on a third stopgap spending measure to continueoperating after Thursday.The president has threatened to veto H.J。Res.465,an interim spending bili passed by a slim margin in the House last week(HED,Dec.6)。 The Senate is expected to vote this week on its version of the bill,whichcomes closer to the administration's budget targets but still falls short ofthe mark,congressional sources say. Meanwhile,House and Senate leaders reached a tentative agreement late Fridayon the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings balanced budget plan,which has been holding uppassage of H.J。Res。372,a debt ceiling extension bill needed to stave off agovernment default by tomorrow. Across-The-Board CutsHouse and Senate conferees convened yesterday towra

FAQs

What caused the $7.5 million impact on higher education programs?

A last-minute deal influenced by House and Senate leaders and the OMB trimmed funds in the education appropriations bill, producing a $7.5 million cost to higher education programs.

How might the Pell Grant program be affected later?

The Pell Grant program could face a $70 million loss down the road if the conference-approved funding later proves insufficient to fully fund the policy.

Why didn’t lawmakers seek a supplemental appropriation for Pell Grants?

Natcher said the committee would not request a supplemental appropriation for the Pell Grant program, relying instead on the Secretary’s authority under the basic law if conference funding falls short.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Elsa