as of 5 p.m. on September 16 SenateHouse
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AUTHORIZATION FOR FISCAL
983 (HR 5748). House bill would authorize $35 million for science-education programs. Senate bill would authorize $25 million for science-education programs.ReportedMay 20S Rep 97-407PassedMay 19H Rep 97-485
APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION, LABOR, AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR FISCAL 1983. The Administration proposes spending $9.95 billion for the Education Department, or $8.8 billion for the Foundation for Education Assistance if the Congress accepts a proposal to transfer several programs to other agencies. The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, in the Labor Department, would be replaced by a $1.8-billion block grant. The Head Start program, in the Department of Health and Human Services, would be funded at $912 million.Hearingsunder wayHearingsunder way
APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND OTHER AGENCIES FOR FISCAL 1983. The Administration proposes spending $96 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities and $100.9 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. No funds are requested for the Institute of Museum Services.Hearingsunder wayHearingsunder way
APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR FISCAL 1983 House bill would provide $2.8 billion for child-nutrition programs, including $452 million for school-lunch reimbursement.
HearingsconcludedCommitteeapprovedSept. 9
APPROPRIATIONS FOR INDEPENDENT AGENCIES FOR FISCAL 1983. HR 6956S 2080 The Administration and the Senate bill would provide $15 million for science-education programs in the National Science Foundation, with no funds for pre-college programs. House bill would provide $40 million for science education, and would earmark some of those funds for elementary and secondary school programs.ReportedSept. 9S Rep 97-537ReportedAugust 10H Rep 97-720
VOCATIONAL AND ADULT EDUCATION BLOCK GRANT (S 2325). Administration bill, sponsored by Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), would consolidate 11 separate vocational- and adult-education programs into a $500-million block grant to states. A comparable proposal has not been introduced in the House, and the Committee on Education and Labor has proposed a simple extension of the Vocational Education Act.Hearingsunder wayNo Action
SCHOOL PRAYER AMENDMENT (SJ Res 199). Administration-sponsored Senate resolution would begin the process of amending the U.S. Constitution to permit organized prayer in public schools, with a provision that any student not desiring to participate in school-board sanctioned prayer could be exempted. (The measure must be passed by both chambers of Congress and ratified by the legislatures of 38 states.) The Judiciary Committee held hearings on the proposal on July 29, Aug. 18, and Sept. 15.Hearingsunder wayNo Action
TUITION TAX CREDITS (S 2673). Administration bill, sponsored by Robert Dole, D.-Kansas, would provide a $100 federal income-tax credit for parents who pay private-school tuition. The amount of the credit would increase to $500 in three years. The Senator, chairman of the Finance Committee, has announced the committee’s intention to modify certain provisions of the bill. Mark-upconcludedNo action
TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS (HR 5313, S 2024, S 2029). Bills would amend the Internal Revenue Service Code to prohibit the granting of tax-exempt status to schools that discriminate against students on the basis of race. The House Ways and Means Committee held hearings on HR 5313, sponsored by Barber B. Conable Jr. (R-N.Y.). The Senate Finance Committee held hearings on S 2024 and S 2029, sponsored by Robert Dole (R-Kan.) and Jesse A. Helms (R-N.C.), respectively.HearingsconcludedHearingsconcluded
ANTI-BUSING AMENDMENTS TO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AUTHORI ZATION (S 951). Senate-passed bill includes amendments that would restrict the use of school busing for desegregation. The Justice Department would be prohibited from bringing desegregation lawsuits that would include the remedy of busing; federal courts would be prohibited from ordering busing of students more than five miles or 15 minutes beyond a “neighborhood’’ school; and the Justice Department would be permitted to participate in lawsuits that would overturn the remedy of busing in existing court desegregation orders. Sponsors are Jesse A. Helms (R-N.C.), J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.), and Howell Heflin (D-Ala.), respectively. The bill is pending in the House Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice, which has held hearings on the bill throughout the summer.PassedMar. 2S Rep 97-94Pending inJudiciarysubcommittee
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING (S 2036). Bill would replace the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act(ceta) program, which expires on Sept. 30, with a program that would provide grants to local governments to set up skills-training programs in cooperation with local businesses. The measure, funding for which was unspecified, would include incentives for joint projects between job-training programs and local schools.PassedJuly 1S Rep 97-469PassedAugust 4H Rep 97-537
TEACHER-EXCELLENCE COMMISSIONS (HJ Res 429). House resolution, sponsored by Paul Simon, D-Ill., would call on the states to establish commissions to study how to improve the quality of school and college teachers. (A resolution does not have the force of law.)No actionOrderedReportedJuly 27
bills enacted
CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL 1982 (P.L. 97-161). Joint resolution signed March 31 would continue spending authority through Sept. 30 for the Education Department and other federal agencies that have not received final appropriations for the fiscal year 1982. Education programs would be funded at approximately $13 billion.
URGENT SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL 1982 (P.L. 97-216). Supplemental bill signed July 18 would provide additional funds for two higher education programs: $1.3 billion for Guaranteed Student Loans and $5.65 million for administrative expenses in the Pell Grant Program for the fiscal year 1982.
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL 1982. Supplemental bill was vetoed by President Reagan on Aug. 28. Veto was overridden in the House on Sept. 9, and in the Senate on Sept. 10. Bill would provide an additional $148 million for the Chapter I program, formerly Title I, which aids in the education of disadvantaged children. The bill would also include $25.6 million in additional funds for the education of handicapped children.
FIRST CONCURRENT BUDGET RESOLUTION FOR FISCAL 1983. Resolution setting broad federal spending targets for the fiscal year 1983 allows $26.8 billion for education, training, and social-service programs, including approximately $14 billion for the Education Department. (A budget resolution does not need to be signed by the President. Senate passed S Rep 97-478 June 23; House passed H Rep 97-614 June 22.)
