Thursday, September 30, 2010

Congress Passes Continuing Resolution, Adjourns till November

Last night, the Senate and House passed the continuing resolution which will fund the federal government till December 3rd. The new federal fiscal year is slated to begin on October 1st, but the continuing resolution will fund most programs at FY2010 levels. Although, the total funding provided in the resolution is $9 billion less than the total appropriated level in FY2010. After passing the continuing resolution, Congress adjourned until after the fall elections. Congress is scheduled to return for a lame-duck session starting on November 15th. Congress will need to move the appropriations bills to fund the federal government for the duration of the federal fiscal year. Read more!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Congress Readies Continuing Resolution; More White House Summit Details

This week, the Senate and House leaders are working to finalize a continuing resolution quickly in order to adjourn Congress until early December. The continuing resolution would fund the federal government at the FY2010 levels for most programs, but the overall funding level would be $9 billion than was allocated in FY2010. Currently, there is some discussion by Senate Republicans to delay the continuing resolution until sometime in February 2011, but congressional leaders are working to resolve the continuing resolution as soon as possible. It is unclear which date will be chosen. Congress was supposed to wrap up during the week of October 4, but there is major effort to end the session as soon as possible. As for the tax-extenders bill, it appears that with the shortened congressional schedule, Congress is putting off debate on the bill until after the election.

The White House recently released a media advisory for the White House Summit on Community Colleges, to be held on October 5, 2010. The event will begin at 12:15 p.m. and will likely end around 4 p.m. Eastern time. The opening plenary session and closing session of the Summit will be streamed LIVE on www.WhiteHouse.gov/live. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, a former trustee at Rio Hondo Community College in California, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former student at Canton Junior College in Illinois (now Spoon River Community College), recently wrote about community colleges from their personal perspectives on the summit’s official website. ACCT encourages you to visit the summit website for more information. Please forward this information to your fellow trustees, presidents, and college communities to encourage participation in Tuesday's historic White House Summit on Community Colleges.

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