From Capitol To Campus

As the Advocate goes to press, it's clear that major changes are in the works for almost every Congressional committee that plays a role in deciding higher education issues.

With House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman Bill Goodling (R-PA) now retired, three committee members are competing for the position. One, Rep.Tom Petri (R-WI) supports the Direct Student Loan program. The others tend to be conservative on education issues.

The ranking Democrat, Bill Clay (D-MO), also has retired. He'll be replaced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA), a strong advocate of education.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer (R-TX) is gone, too. Three contenders are lining up to replace him, while Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) returns as ranking Democrat. It's also unclear who will chair the House subcommittee responsible for higher ed funding, since Rep. John Porter (R-IL) retired.

In the Senate, NEA-endorsed Sen. Jim Jeffords (R-VT) will continue as chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, and ranking Democrat Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will also return.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) will take the reins of the Finance Committee from Sen. William. Roth (R-DE), who was defeated. The ranking Democrat will be Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), following Sen. Daniel Moynihan's (D-NY) retirement.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) may not stay on as chair of the Senate subcommittee responsible for higher ed funding. Specter is a strong supporter of increased funding for Pell grants and other higher education programs, and it's likely that a successor would be more conservative.

Stay tuned!