Hello Folks!

I hope this message finds you well on this cool, rainy day (at least, it's cool and rainy here in Farmington!). I am writing to inform you of some new developments regarding the government and our funding. Without further ado:

Yesterday's COE weekly update stated that last week, Congress passed and the President signed the omnibus appropriations bill that will fund the Department of Education (amongst other departments) for FY 2019 (the 2019-2020 program year). This is the first time since 1996 this bill has been completed before the fiscal year. This legislation included another $60 million funding increase for TRIO programs, bringing the overall appropriation to $1.07 billion. It also included report language chastising the Department's allocation of TRIO funding in FY 2018, which disregarded previous report language. (You can view the specific report language here.)

This omnibus bill also included a "continuing resolution" or "CR" that extends current funding through December 7 for the programs in the other FY 2019 appropriations bills that have not yet been enacted. This now gives legislators the opportunity to spend the next several weeks in their home States and Districts during the final weeks before the November midterm elections. This time represents the perfect opportunity for TRIO supporters to connect with their Members of Congress.

Additionally, all TRIO programs should have received their GANs by now and the Department of Education has decided that all TRIO grants, whether they accepted or declined the increase in students served, would still receive a 4.25% funding increase in their base. I understand this may seem curious, and you might be wondering what will come of it if you did decide to accept the increase, while those who declined appear to still be receiving the increase. I will reach out as soon as I hear anything regarding this situation.

In other exciting, special news: As you may have heard, thanks to a letter penned to Secretary DeVos by Senators Susan Collins, Angus Kind, and Representative Chellie Pingree, on behalf of the USM VUB, they have received refunding to their grant at almost $300,000 to serve 125 veterans. This is a great success!

Thank you all for your time and presumed attention! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns and I will be in touch as soon as I hear more!

Take care and stay warm!

Eric

Eric Pratt

Pronouns: He|Him|His

Academic Counselor
MEEOA Government Relations Chair

Upward Bound | University of Maine at Farmington

252 Main Street
Farmington, ME 04938

C: 207.314.5499 | W: 207.778.7279

Toll Free: 1.888.237.1667