Clinton budget appears favorable, U. officials say

University administrators are being cautious in evaluating the effect President Clinton's budget proposal would have on financial aid and federally-funded research, stressing the months of congressional consideration that will occur before a final plan is approved. Assistant Vice President for Policy Planning David Morse said the proposal is "pretty good" with respect to higher education. He pointed to proposed tax deductions for tuition for post-secondary education and deductibility for interest on student loans as examples of this. In addition, the proposed budget would keep loans for in-school lending intact, Morse said. Student Financial Aid Director William Schilling said he favors the deduction for tuition. "I think it would relieve the parents and it would help schools allocate limited grant resources in a better way," Schilling said, adding that parents could contribute part of the savings toward education. He also supports the proposal to make interest on student loans deductible. "Student loans are becoming a more and more important part of financing higher education as grants fail to keep pace with the costs of higher education," Schilling said. But the Patricia Roberts Harris and Jacob Javits Fellowships, which are aimed at minority graduate students, are not included in Clinton's budget. Vice President for Community and Government Relations Carol Scheman wants to see this changed when a final budget is passed. "We're very determined to work to restore funding for the Harris and Javits Fellowships," she said. Funding for research is also left in relatively strong shape in the Clinton budget, with funding for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health receiving increases of just under 4 percent, according to Morse. "Budgets for research are pretty good given the circumstances," he said. Morse was referring to the push to reduce federal spending, which has become one of the main issues on which the new Republican majorities in both houses of Congress have concentrated their efforts. The House Republicans' Contract With America calls for a balanced budget by the year 2002, and the House recently passed a draft constitutional amendment that would require this. Administrators were reluctant to predict what would eventually emerge from Congress after the bill goes through subcommittee and full committee hearings and mark-ups, floor consideration and is finally submitted for consideration by a conference composed of members of both chambers. "It will be somewhere between where the administration is and the draconian cuts that have been proposed by some members of Congress," Morse said. He said, however, that student aid programs and research funding have "an awful lot of support in the Congress and among the public" in comparison to other federal programs. "That augers well for the programs on which Penn students and faculty have a direct interest," Morse said. He said Congress will most likely not vote on a budget proposal until late summer.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.