Here’s a quick look at the news from last week (December 30 – January 3).  

BUDGET
Press reports say that a $1 trillion, 12-part omnibus budget package will be released this week and will be considered by the House. Appropriations staff worked on the legislation over the holiday break. This omnibus package was made possible after the budget deal worked out by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) passed both the Senate and House in late December, providing additional spending authority for discretionary appropriations. Information has not been released publicly on how the omnibus package will allocate appropriations among individual programs. It is anticipated that the Senate will follow the House in considering the omnibus package at the end of this week or early next week.

SENATE and HOUSE
The House and Senate were in recess last week. The Senate is scheduled to return to session on January 6, and the House on January 7.

ADMINISTRATION
The National Center for Education Statistics released the “Digest of Education Statistics 2012” which is a compilation of statistical information on education from pre-K to graduate school. NCES also released a report on postsecondary enrollment statistics, financial statistics and graduation rates for selected cohorts between 2004-2009. The report includes new graduation rate data which shows that a significant percentage of students who are first-time, full-time students do complete their program when tracked over double the expected time for program completion.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Penn Hill Group provides a list of grant opportunities and summaries for select grants. Please visit our website for more information.