WiRSA Update - March 20, 2024

Update From CEF (Center for Education Funding)

I. Policy Intelligence and Education News

• Appropriations update – I had a CEF Update ready to send yesterday with a clover leaf on it, hoping to share the text and analysis of the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Labor-HHS-Education bill. Alas, a last-minute disagreement about funding for the Homeland Security bill – one of the six that will be in an omnibus package with the Labor-HHS-Education bill – held up the negotiations and the Appropriations Committees have not yet released the package. Appropriators are continuing to work on the Homeland Security bill – they had last week decided to abandon work on a regular bill and instead write a year-long continuing resolution (CR) with adjustments where necessary but then there were disagreements about the necessary changes, so they are back to work on a regular funding bill. I gather that the other bills are finished or close to finished but have not seen a new timeline for when the package will be released, but it must be soon; the existing funding for the six bills runs only until Friday night at midnight, and Congress is slated to be in recess for the following two weeks. There does not seem to be any appetite for another CR for these six bills, but that could change, too. The House aims to abide by its rule to release a bill three days before members must vote on it but can waive that rule if necessary. Senate rules provide for lots of time for Senators to debate bills, which can also be waived by unanimous consent. I will send around links to the Labor-HHS-Education bill text and report once it’s available, and then later send around a short analysis and CEF’s education funding table updated to reflect the FY 2024 levels.

• Membership change on the House Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee – An opening on the House Appropriations Committee due to the retirement of Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) has led to some changes in the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee. Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX) has left and is now on the Defense Subcommittee, and freshman Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) has been appointed to that opening on Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee. He supports school choice and more transparency from school boards, opposes mandates, school closures and the teaching of critical race theory. Rep. Edwards is a member of both the conservate Republican Study Group and the Main Street Caucus.

• 12% of House members already won’t return to 119th Congress to (update since I last reported on this in January) – Currently, twelve percent of the members of the House who were there at the start of the 118th Congress in January 2023 will not be returning in the 119th Congress because they are leaving or have left to run for other office or retire, or have resigned, died, been defeated in a primary, or been expelled. The House Press Gallery keeps a “casualty list” showing who will be leaving; it is updated as members announce retirements, if any are defeated in a primary, or leave for other reasons. As of March 12, the list includes 62 Representatives – 33 Democrats and 29 Republicans – and 9 Senators. The Press Gallery also keeps a tally of the party breakdown showing House Republicans currently have a two-vote margin. However, that margin could change after this Friday, when Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) resigns before the swearing in of the winner of tomorrow’s special election to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). It will change again after the April 30 special election to replace Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY), and any time another member leaves, which has been happening a lot this Congress.