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With a now-Republican-controlled Senate set to begin its term on Jan. 3, new senate committee leaders have Penn administrators hoping they might win a previously lost battle: reinstating sequestration cuts.

The 2011 Budget Control Act, often referred to as “sequestration,” set overall spending limits on Congress, which cut Penn’s federal research funding, decreased funding to the Perelman School of Medicine and reduced the amount of federal student aid and work-study jobs for students. Penn views new leadership in the Senate Budget and Appropriations committees as key to restoring funding for important programs.

“I think the biggest issue here is the whole question of the spending caps that are in place ... and the fact that sequestration is back in play,” said Penn’s Associate Vice President for Federal Affairs Bill Andresen, who acts as Penn’s chief lobbyist in Congress.

Since spending limits prevent Congress from increasing funding to numerous programs, “we could have the best members of Congress who really want to increase funding on some of these programs that we care about, but it’s hard under these caps,” Andresen added. “Basically any program that receives funding from the federal government can be affected ... by these limitations on spending and sequestration.”

The Budget Committee, which will either be chaired by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) or Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), determines how much money the federal government can spend, whereas the Appropriations Committee, which Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is expected to chair, decides which programs get funding. Because of sequestration, the power to allocate federal funds has been limited, but both of these committees still play a major role in shaping the federal budget.

Although gridlock has plagued Congress over the last few years, bipartisan agreement exists in eliminating the budget limits caused by sequestration. However, Penn administrators remain worried about some Republicans’ continued support for spending caps.

Members of both parties have indicated that they want to eliminate budget caps, which they see as “problematic for both domestic and defense programs,” Andresen said. “But there are a lot of other members, particularly in the Republican caucus in the House and Senate, who don’t want to eliminate the spending caps and sequestration.”

“We will just have to wait and see who emerges as the chair of those committees and what kind of approach Congress wants to take,” he added.

Although Republican resistance to increased spending might worry Penn’s lobbyist, other new Senate Committee Republican chairmanships could prove beneficial for higher education.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) is expected to lead the subcommittee that controls funding for the National Institute of Health, which provides Penn and other universities millions of dollar a year in research grants. In addition, former Secretary of Education and President of University of Tennessee, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn), will chair the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

“Sen. Alexander of Tennessee is a former university president, and I think he understands where most universities’ interests are and where priorities and concerns are,” Andresen said. He also spoke highly of Moran, noting he “has been an outspoken champion for funding NIH.”

“So those are good things,” Andresen added. “To some degree we will just have to wait and let the process play itself out and see.”

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