FY2014 Federal Funding
This week the U.S. Department of Education released its official FY2014 funding table based on the recent congressional action. This table includes the FY2013 numbers, the various proposals that were considered, and finally the amount passed for the year across the department's various programs.
Debt Watch
The U.S. will once again reach its borrowing limit on February 7th, so look for more posturing and debating around the importance of the debt ceiling. Senators Murray (D-WA) released a letter on Friday (and her prior memo) reiterating the position she and Senator Baucus (D-MT) took last September when the limit needed an increase.
State Government Finances
On Thursday, the Census Bureau released the 2012 Census of Governments: Finance - Survey of State Government Finances. But for a summary of the findings, check out the press release - State Government Expenditures Exceed Revenues for the Third Time in the Last Four Years. Spoiler alert:
"Total expenditures for state governments were $2.0 trillion in 2012, down 1.5 percent from 2011. Expenditures for education were $588.7 billion, down 0.7 percent from $592.9 billion in 2011. Education represents 35.8 percent of state government general expenditures.
"State government spending on education totaled more than 40 percent of general expenditures in 13 states, led by Indiana (46.3 percent), Georgia (45.7 percent) and Texas (45.0 percent). The accompanying table shows general expenditures and education expenditures and their shares of total spending for each of the 50 states for 2012 and 2011."
FY2015 Budget Coming March 4
The President is expected to release his FY2015 budget on March 4th. As Politico notes, this is once again past the deadline of the first Monday in February, but also, the budget is expected to be largely ignored and it is unlikely a budget deal will be reached by the end of the fiscal year.
State of the Union
Don't forget the State of the Union is on Tuesday. Here's what the NEA wants the President to say.