TO: COHEAO Members
FR: Harrison Wadsworth
Andrew Stringer
Last night, the House of Representatives passed the conference report to the FY2006 Budget Resolution by a vote of 214-211. Seven Democrats and three Republicans did not vote.
As expected, the resolution sets discretionary spending at $843 billion and includes reconciliation instructions requiring approximately $13 billion in savings from mandatory programs under the jurisdiction of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. To date, it is not yet clear how much savings will come from changes to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and how much will come from student loan programs.
Later in the evening, the Senate passed the conference report by vote of 52-47. Republican Senators DeWine (OH), Voinovich (OH) and Chafee (RI) voted with Democrats in opposition to the conference agreement. Senator Lieberman (D-CT) did not vote.
Since the budget resolution is a concurrent resolution, it does not have to go to the President for his signature. The passage of the resolution in no way eliminates the Perkins Loan Program. The actual conference report does not assume that the Perkins Loan Program will be eliminated. However, nothing is set in stone and there some danger does remain in the reconcilliation process. COHEAO encourages its members to continue to advocate both for saving the program and providing funding for the Federal Capital Contribution and Loan Cancellation Reimbursements.
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