According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation’s current unemployment rate sits at an uninspiring 9%. And with today’s economy ripe for continued hard times, this issue is often alarmingly compounded by an associated lack of domestic skilled workers available to fill necessary positions.

Ever since last November, when Republicans retook the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, the G.O.P. has successfully focused the national policy agenda almost entirely on debt and deficits.

While Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 and FY2012 budget talks will likely continue to dominate the political psyche for the foreseeable future, other important legislative endeavors remain alive - albeit in a much more latent way. Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) has been a standing priority for the Obama administration, as it remains an area of possible bipartisan achievement.

President Obama's second State of the Union speech may have easily been titled "Investing in Innovation," borrowing from one of his signature education reform grant programs funded under the Recovery Act. Throughout this speech to the U.S. Congress and nation, Obama emphasized the imperative to support innovation for the health of the U.S. economy and future welfare of the country. While the speech was short on specific policy items or legislative goals, Obama made clear broad priorities going forward, including energy, education, and infrastructure.

Of the two bills signed into law that enacted the historic health care reform effort under President Obama, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 features one of the least cited yet critically important grant opportunities since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

By Chris LaPage
December 2010

The biggest news for the health sector funding landscape came in the form of the election results from November. The fact that the Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives (House) has fueled speculation that the health reform package that was passed earlier this year may be repealed. The health reform legislation, which is known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), included appropriations for several demonstration projects and grant programs that are scheduled to open over the next several fiscal years. While the exact dollar amount is unknown, it is estimated that the total amount available through PPACA grants will reach ten figures. Many of the Republicans that came to office as part of the TEA Party (Taxed Enough Already) movement ran on a platform of repealing PPACA.

It has been two years of high price-tag legislation, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the upcoming debate over the extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Given these kinds of historic legislation, Americans are experiencing something of a national sticker shock and demands for deficit reduction continue to grow. All of this is hardly auspicious news from the vantage point of grantseekers.

Like most components of the $787 billion Recovery Act passed into law in 2009, the $4.35 billion Race to the Top grant program often receives notice as "unprecedented" for its sheer size. With nearly every state in the U.S. facing a budget deficit or outright fiscal crisis, the billions for education funding represent a critically important source to keep local school districts afloat.

With most schools officially on summer vacation, now is the perfect time for developing projects and mapping out a grant strategy for the coming months. As many grant programs for educational institutions involve significant collaboration, the summer months can provide time for creating relationships and beginning dialogue with potential grant partners.

For grantseekers, writers, and experts, the closest thing to a "Coming Attractions" notification any of us enjoys is the congressional calendar, as the life of any federal grant program begins with a bill. The same "I'm Just a Bill" from the popular School House Rock cartoons isn't just a lesson in U.S. civics, it's the starting point for some of the most anticipated funding of the year.