A quick look at the news from last week, compiled by Penn Hill Group:

HOUSE

The House is scheduled to consider the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 this week, which reauthorizes the U.S. National Science Foundation and other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related agencies.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a committee hearing on May 14 on the federal government’s mismanagement of Native American schools. Witnesses for this hearing have yet to be announced.

The House was in recess last week.

BUDGET

The House and Senate passed a budget resolution conference report. The House passed the conference report by a vote of 226 to 197 on April 30 and the Senate passed the conference report by a vote of 51 to 48 on May 5. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) said he next plans for the Committee to write 12 appropriations bills that reflect the passed conference report. The conference report does not adjust Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 spending caps for defense or non-defense spending, but does include reconciliation instructions for both the House Education and the Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to produce legislation savings of $1 billion over the 2016–25 period.

Shaun Donovan, Director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, issued a memorandum to all heads of departments and agencies calling for agencies to submit their FY2017 budget requests with a five percent reduction below their agency’s net discretionary total, compared to the FY2016 budget. The memorandum also instructs agencies to identify additional investments that further agency missions and have “strong evidence of effectiveness.”

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education awarded more than $24.8 million to 67 school districts to establish or expand counseling programs.

The National Center for Education Statistics released the Digest of Education Statistics, 2013, which provides statistical information related to Pre-K through graduate school education on topics including the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, graduates, attainment and finances.