Last Week in Congress and the Administration

HOUSE and SENATE

The House and Senate will be in recess until after the September 5^th Labor Day Holiday.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed several higher education related bills for which RAMC issued a statement of support, that the House Education and the Workforce Committee had approved on a bipartisan basis the week before. These bills are: H.R. 3178, The Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act; H.R. 3179, The Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act; and H.R. 5528, The Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act.

Additionally, RAMC’s statement on the importance of CTE was quoted in an article put out by the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

BUDGET

House Appropriations Committee approved the FY2017 Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill on a party line vote. A manager’s amendment plus three other amendments were adopted during Committee consideration. The bill considered by the Committee, the draft Committee report and related documents can be found here.

ADMINISTRATION 

Inside Higher Ed reported that U.S. Department of Education (ED) Under Secretary Ted Mitchell announced that ED was considering a new experimental sites initiative aimed at requiring more loan counseling for student-borrowers.

Bridgepoint Education, owner of several institutions of higher education, announced they are the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice civil investigative demand as to whether compliance with the 90/10 rule was misrepresented.
 

Education News Headlines

 
[Click on the link to read the article online]

Vocational Training in Blue-Collar Communities Helps Boys, Disadvantages Girls [The Atlantic]

Reaffirming America’s commitment to science and technology [The Hill]

Op Ed: New student debt rule could harm taxpayers and spur speculative litigation [The Hill]

Apollo Shareholders Sue Company to Stop Sale [Inside Higher Ed]

Op Ed: Proposed student loan forgiveness rule would leave universities, taxpayers on the hook for billions [The Hill]

Paper: Aid Deadlines Hurt Low-Income Students [Inside Higher Ed]
Wisconsin Hope Lab Report: “Too Late? Too Little: The Timing of Financial Aid Applications”

U.S. plans to let some colleges experiment with required counseling for borrowers [Inside Higher Ed]

Op Ed: When It Comes To Wiping Out The Achievement Gap For Hispanic Students Rigor Is Only Part Of The Battle [The Hechinger Report]

More Details on the House Education Funding Bill [Education Week]

Justice Department is investigating whether a for-profit college company violated federal financial aid rules [The Washington Post]

Meeting discusses challenges facing liberal arts colleges [Inside Higher Ed]

Competency-Based Education for Underprepared Students [Inside Higher Ed]
Jobs For the Future Report: Designing Competency-Based Education For Underprepared College Learners

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor

House Education and the Workforce Committee
Press Release: Scott Introduces Bill to Simplify the Federal Student Aid Application for Dependent Pell Grant Recipients

Press Release: Foxx Statement: All Education is Career Education

Press Release: House Passes Bipartisan Bills to Help More Americans Pursue Higher Education

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Documents and webcast of yesterday’s Full Committee Hearing: “Campus Safety: Improving Prevention and Response Efforts”

House Committee on Appropriations
Press Release: Appropriations Committee Approves the Fiscal Year 2017 Labor, Health and Human Services Funding Bill

Press Release: Chairman Rogers Hails Completion of all 12 Appropriations Bills in Committee
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Press Release: Budget Chairmen: Dept. of Ed’s Rule Could Cost Taxpayers Billions

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation 
Documents and webcast of yesterday’s Full Committee Hearing: “How Will the FCC’s Proposed Privacy Regulations Affect Consumers and Competition?”
 

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

White House:

• Press Release: Fact Sheet: Administration Announces an Advanced Wireless Research Initiative, Building on President’s Legacy of Forward Learning Broadband Policy

Department of Labor:

• Blog: #ApprenticeshipWorks Around the World

Institute of Education Sciences:

• Report: Postsecondary Institutions and Price of Attendance in 2015-16; Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2014-15; and 12-Month Enrollment: 2014-15: First Look (Preliminary Data)

Legislative Movement in Congress

H.R.5814: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve service-connected disability determinations for purposes of loan discharge.
Sponsor: Rep. Costello, Ryan A. [R-PA-6] (Introduced 07/14/2016)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action: 07/14/2016 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.5838: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the disclosure of the annual percentage rates applicable to Federal student loans.
Sponsor: Rep. Hultgren, Randy [R-IL-14] (Introduced 07/14/2016)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action: 07/14/2016 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Press Release: Transparency in Student Lending Act Ensures Student and Families Get all the Facts

H.R.5848: To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to include individuals participating in pre-apprenticeship programs offered by employers and provide that such employers may be reimbursed under…
Sponsor: Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3] (Introduced 07/14/2016)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action: 07/14/2016 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

S.3266: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from taxable income any student loan forgiveness or discharge.
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] (Introduced 07/14/2016)
Committees: Senate – Finance
Latest Action: 07/14/2016 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

S.3271: A bill to amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 regarding dual or concurrent enrollment programs and early college high schools.
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (Introduced 07/14/2016)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 07/14/2016 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

H.R.5755: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to provide students with annual estimates of student loan borrowing costs.
Sponsor: Rep. Messer, Luke [R-IN-6] (Introduced 07/13/2016)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action: 07/13/2016 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.5756: To establish Federal-State higher education financing partnerships to drive down the cost of tuition for millions of American students.
Sponsor: Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] (Introduced 07/13/2016)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action: 07/13/2016 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Press Release: Pocan, Ellison Introduce The Degrees Not Debt Act

H.R.5764: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude Federal Pell Grants from gross income.
Sponsor: Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-11] (Introduced 07/13/2016)
Committees: House – Ways and Means
Latest Action: 07/13/2016 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R.3178: Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act
Sponsor: Rep. Foxx, Virginia [R-NC-5] (Introduced 07/23/2015)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce | Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 07/12/2016 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Press Release: House Approves Foxx’s Bipartisan Legislation to Increase Transparency in America’s Higher Education System

H.R.3179: Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act
Sponsor: Rep. Guthrie, Brett [R-KY-2] (Introduced 07/23/2015)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce | Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 07/12/2016 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

H.R.5528: Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act
Sponsor: Rep. Heck, Joseph J. [R-NV-3] (Introduced 06/20/2016)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce | Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 07/12/2016 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Press Release: Heck’s Education Bills Pass House

H.R.5529: Accessing Higher Education Opportunities Act
Sponsor: Rep. Heck, Joseph J. [R-NV-3] (Introduced 06/20/2016)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce | Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 07/12/2016 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices

ED Comment Request: 2017-2018 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Comments due August 17, 2016.

ED Comment Request: Cash Management Contract URL Collection. Comments due September 13, 2016.

ED Comment Request: Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) Enrollment Document. Comments due September 12, 2016.

ED Grant Notice- Deadline Extension: Performance Partnership Pilots (P3) competition. The deadline was June 27, 2016, this notice reopens the competition until July 19, 2016.