Norton Alerts D.C. Residents and Council to Risk of DC Promise Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released a memo Norton sent to the D.C. Council today concerning the pending DC Promise bill. In addition, in an earlier memo, Norton had alerted the Council that federal appropriators indicated that the Promise bill could threaten future DCTAG funding.

In her memo, Norton said, "Needless to say, I regret these rules even more than you, and I will not give up and will make every effort to save DCTAG from total or partial defunding. In turn, however, if the Promise bill is passed, whether or not funded, the Council must be prepared to fund DCTAG students in case of loss of funding."

The full text of Norton's memo follows.

MEMORANDUM

TO: District of Columbia Councilmembers

FR: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

CC: Mayor Vincent Gray

DA: February 3, 2014

RE: DC Promise Establishment Act

Last week, I wrote the Council because there was no mention at the January 23, 2014, Committee of the Whole Meeting of the risk to DCTAG students from the Promise bill, despite detailed discussions in my office with Councilmember Catania and later by phone with Chairman Mendelson. I write now because if the current Promise bill passes, whether or not funded, the Council should be prepared to fund at least any current DCTAG students who may lose DCTAG funding and to fund future students, if necessary.

Currently, approximately 5,000 D.C. students are in college, funded by DCTAG. The numbers have increased every year since DCTAG was enacted, and 62.2% (up from 57.8% last year) have family income of $0-50,000. No qualified DCTAG student has been denied funding. However, DCTAG has been in jeopardy ever since appropriators learned of the DC Promise bill. I continue to encourage last dollar funding, if D.C. students are both to retain DCTAG funds and secure additional D.C. government funding. I also have suggested that perhaps non-tuition, last dollar supplemental funding might be a distinguishable feature, although appropriators have said nothing of the kind, and have only stressed the total cost of the Promise bill as determinative. For that reason, I am in no position to "negotiate" a Promise bill or to know in advance what appropriators will do. Nevertheless, my staff attended a meeting with Chairman Mendelson and Councilmember Catania on January 30, 2014, when I had a conflict, and emphasized all that we know now – that appropriators seem interested only in the bottom line in determining whether D.C. should fund its own college access program.

Chairman Mendelson and Councilmember Catania responded with a letter noting the differences between DCTAG and the Promise bill while conceding that "funding for individuals will be at most three-fourths of what is available under DCTAG, and in the aggregate, the FY 2017 funding would be two-thirds what Congress has appropriated for DCTAG this year." The appropriators did not indicate how much funding might be appropriate, but in our view, the current funding in the DC Promise bill will indicate that D.C. can fund to its own program, given what they have said and two additional indicators of how they view DCTAG. First, in its 2014 appropriations bill, the House cut DCTAG funds by 50% and invited the city to fund the rest, saying that "the District of Columbia can contribute local funds to this program if there is demand for the program." (Report 113-172, page 40). We succeeded in getting the funds restored, but only with a great deal of effort, including informing appropriators we were working with Councilmember Catania on the total cost figure of the Promise bill. Second, the appropriators are aware of current last dollar programs available to DCTAG students – the city's $1.5 million scholarship program, and the privately funded DC-CAP program ($2.7 million) – but they had never raised the notion of risk to DCTAG until the Promise bill.

Please remember that DCTAG is unique and generous among federally funded college programs. If the Promise bill is passed, even though not yet funded, it puts DCTAG funding at risk, not only because of specific concerns raised about the DC Promise bill, but also because of federal rules that significantly limit local funds for federally funded programs. Needless to say, I regret these rules even more than you, and I will not give up and will make every effort to save DCTAG from total or partial defunding. In turn, however, if the Promise bill is passed, whether or not funded, the Council must be prepared to fund DCTAG students in case of loss of funding.

Published: February 3, 2014