Below is an abridged version of RAMC’s weekly Washington Wrap Up. Find out more about Wrap Up and other RAMC resources here.

HOUSE

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Foxx, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and House Budget Committee Chairwoman Diane Black (R-TN) released statements on President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget proposal.

House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) released a statement in opposition to President Trump’s FY18 budget proposal.

Alma Adams (D-NC), Co-Chair of the Congressional Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus and a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released a statement saying that President Trump’s FY18 budget proposal negatively impacts HBCUs.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies’ hearing on the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) budget, at which ED Secretary Betsy DeVos is scheduled to testify, has been postponed. The hearing was originally scheduled for March 22.

SENATE 

HELP Committee Chairman and Ranking Member, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA)  respectively, along with House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman and Ranking Member, Foxx and Scott respectively, sent a letter to ED Secretary DeVos asking for more information about the outage of the Internal Revenue Services’ Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), which is used by students to help complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

HELP Committee Democrats sent a letter to ED Secretary DeVos requesting information on her decision to rescind the guidance related to transgender students.

Senate Democrats sent a letter to ED Secretary DeVos requesting an explanation on ED’s decision to delay the implementation of the Gainful Employment rule.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education. The documents and webcast can be found here.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) released statements on President Trump’s FY18 budget proposal.

Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) released a statement in opposition to President Trump’s FY18 budget proposal.

ADMINISTRATION  

President Trump released his FY18 “skinny” budget proposal to Congress, which proposes $1.15 billion in discretionary spending. The budget proposes a $9.2 billion cut for ED (a reduction from $68.2 billion to $59 billion).

Federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii held hearings on President Trump’s revised executive order (EO) on immigration. Both judges issued nation-wide restraining orders on this EO prior to the order going into effect. The EO was originally scheduled to go into effect March 16.

ED announced the withdrawal of its Dear Colleague Letter issued during the Obama Administration that prohibited guaranty agencies from assessing fees on defaulted loans when the borrower enters an agreement for repayment within 60 days of receiving the default notice. The issue covered by the Dear Colleague Letter has also been the subject of several court cases.

ED Secretary DeVos released a statement on President Trump’s proposed FY18 budget.

EVENTS

Penn Hill Group plans to provide clients with summaries of the following events next week:

• March 21: House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development hearing on “Improving Federal Student Aid to Better Meet the Needs of Students”
• March 21: House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology hearing on “National Science Foundation Part II: Future Opportunities and Challenges for Science”
• March 22: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the “Nomination of Alex Acosta to serve as Secretary of Labor”

Education News Headlines

College-prep programs for the poor slashed in Trump’s budget [The Washington Post]

What Trump’s Budget Outline Would Mean for Higher Ed [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

White House courting of HBCUs ends with disappointing budget [The Washington Post]

Proposed U.S. budget would imperil Pell and low-income students, critics say [Inside Higher Ed]

Where Will the Government Look for Thousands of New Border Agents? On College Campuses [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Trump Ed. Dept. Has Yet to Hit the Accelerator [Education Week]

New monitor finds trouble signs at former Corinthian campuses [Inside Higher Ed]

Study shows widespread food and housing insecurity for students [Inside Higher Ed]
Wisconsin HOPE Lab and the Association of Community College Trustee Report: “Hungry and Homeless in College: Results From A National Study of Basic Needs Insecurity In Higher Education”

How a FAFSA malfunction could delay student aid, reports [The Atlantic]

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
March 22: Full Committee Hearing: “The Promises and Perils of Emerging Technologies for Cybersecurity”
Witnesses: Mr. Caleb Barlow, Vice President, Threat Intelligence, IBM Security; Mr. Venky Ganesan, Chair, National Venture Capital Association; Partner, Menlo Ventures; Mr. Steve Grobman, Chief Technology Officer and Intel Fellow, Intel Security; Mr. Malcolm Harkins, Chief Security and Trust Officer, Cylance Corporation
10:00 a.m. in 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building or webcast
 

U.S. Department of Education

Speech: Prepared Remarks by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to the National Lieutenant Governors Association

Legislative Movement in Congress

S.620 — A bill to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to support community college and industry partnerships, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN] (Introduced 03/14/2017) Cosponsors: (1)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 03/14/2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Press Release: Sens. Al Franken, Tammy Duckworth Continue Efforts to Train Workers for Open, High-Skill Jobs in Minnesota and Our Nation

S.628 — A bill to amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to raise the quality of career and technical education programs and to allow local eligible recipients to use funding to establish high-quality career academies.
Sponsor: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (Introduced 03/14/2017) Cosponsors: (3)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 03/14/2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1806-1807)
Press Release: Kaine Leads Bipartisan Effort to Raise The Quality of Career and Technical Education, Hosts Career Tech Fair

S.615 — A bill to establish an alternative, outcomes-based process for authorizing innovative, high-quality higher education providers to participate in programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (Introduced 03/13/2017) Cosponsors: (1)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 03/13/2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Press Release: Bennet, Rubio Introduce Alternative to Accreditation that Shifts Focus to Student Success

S.648 — A bill to establish a grant program to promote the development of career education programs in computer science in secondary and postsecondary education.
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (Introduced 03/15/2017) Cosponsors: (1)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 03/15/2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Press Release: Senators Gillibrand and Wicker Announce Legislation to Promote Computer Science Programs in Schools, Train Future Workforce for 21^st Century Economy

S.653 — A bill to amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to make the maintenance of effort provision less burdensome on States.
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT] (Introduced 03/15/2017) Cosponsors: (0)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 03/15/2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices

ED Grant Notice: Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). Applications due April 24, 2017.

ED Correction Notice: Measuring Educational Gain in the National Reporting System for Adult Education. Comments due April 14, 2017.

ED Correction Notice: Federal Perkins Loan Program