University of Virginia Library

Appropriations Slowdown

After the bill emerges from the conference
committee funds must be authorized by the
Senate and House appropriations committees.
This could cause another slowdown because
these committees are allegedly more
conservative than the ones that write the
legislation.

The Senate's institutional aid program costs
700 million, and the House version calls for an
expenditure of about $1 billion. Since the
Office of Education spending for all higher
education programs totals $1.5 billion for the
current fiscal year it is unlikely that the
Administration will request a sum anywhere as
high as these two figures, according to the
Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Administration may not request any
funds at all if the conference committee
approves of a per-capita method of granting the
aid. In the past the Administration has
vigorously resisted any plan of educational aid
based on the number of students enrolled at an
institution.

The present Administration position favors
a system of granting institutions a set
percentage of the total federal student aid they
already receive.