From the Desk of Don Gehring                               Date: February 6, 2009

Federal Update

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – The House of Representatives passed their version of an economic recovery package (HR 1) on Wednesday, January 28th with a vote of 244 – 128.  Not a single Republican voted for the bill.  The Senate is currently debating their own version of the bill (SR 1).  Both versions of the bill contain varying levels of funding (as well as certain caveats and conditions) for:

• Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) Increase

• Increase in Pell Grants/Student Financial Aid

• Health Information Technology

• NIH Research Funding

• Higher Education Infrastructure Funding for Existing Buildings

Once the Senate passes its bill, differences between the House and Senate versions will be resolved by a conference committee. 

State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) - President Obama signed the SCHIP legislation on Wednesday, February 4th.  This bill would extend the current SCHIP law for another four and a half years, as well as expand this insurance program to an additional 4 million children. 

If you have questions, contact Don Gehring (dcgehrin@vcu.edu) or Mark Smith (mesmith@vcu.edu). Our office phone number is: 804-828-1235.