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

HOUSE and SENATE

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee scheduled an Executive Session to vote on the nomination of Carlos Muñiz to serve as General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday, October 18.

A bipartisan group of 59 senators sent a letter to HELP Committee leadership, calling on them to renew the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) sent a letter to ED’s Inspector General, urging ED to investigate the administration and timeliness of TRiO grants following a delay in the awarding of some TRiO grants.

ADMINISTRATION  

ED published, in the Federal Register, a “Notice of the Secretary’s Proposed Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary Grant Programs,” which includes 11 priorities. Comments are due by November 13.

President Trump announced his principles and policies for reforming the U.S.’s immigration system, instructing departments and agencies to conduct reviews of all immigration policies and outlining reforms that “must be included as part of any legislation addressing the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.”

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta released a statement supporting President Trump’s immigration principles and policies.

DOL announced the members of the President’s Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion.

The Washington Post reported that ED wants Purdue University to absorb the debts and liabilities of Kaplan University as a condition for approving Purdue’s acquisition of Kaplan University.

ED is expanding the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System database to include completion data for part-time and non-first-time students at every two- and four-year degree- or certificate-granting institution and to provide additional information on Pell Grant recipients at every college or university that awards Federal financial aid.

ED Secretary DeVos announced updates on ED’s hurricane relief efforts.

EVENTS

Penn Hill Group plans to provide clients with a summary of the following event next week:

• October 18: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Executive Session “Nominations, including Carlos G. Muniz nominated to be General Counsel Department of Education”

Education News Headlines

Betsy DeVos Finds ‘Bully Pulpit’ No Easy Perch [Education Week]

Why colleges are borrowing billions [The Atlantic]

A hiccup in Purdue’s acquisition of for-profit Kaplan University [The Washington Post]

Political scientists see the discipline’s historical division across four subareas as hindering their ability to understand Trump’s America [Inside Higher Ed]

DeVos Wants to Steer Grant Money to School Choice, STEM, and More  [Education Week]

University of Wisconsin officials announce plan to merge Colleges with four-year campuses [Wisconsin State-Journal]

New federal higher-ed outcome measures count part-time, adult students  [Inside Higher Ed]

House Democrats Propose Making Obama-Era Title IX Guidance Into Law [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Yet Another Group Sets Out to Accredit Teacher-Prep Programs [Education Week]

Questions Linger Over Companies’ $300 Million Computer Science Pledge [Education Week]

Legislative Movement in Congress

H.R.4000 — To provide for the establishment of a mechanism to allow borrowers of Federal student loans to refinance their loans, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance to employer payment of interest on certain refinanced student loans, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Comstock, Barbara [R-VA-10] (Introduced 10/10/2017) Cosponsors: (0)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce, Ways and Means
Latest Action:  House – 10/10/2017 Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction

H.R.4001 — To provide for the refinancing and recalculation of certain Federal student loans, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-3] (Introduced 10/10/2017) Cosponsors: (16)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action:  House – 10/10/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Press Release: Reps. Garamendi and Fitzpatrick Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Reduce Student Loan Debt

H.R.4030 — To amend the Department of Education Organization Act to codify into law the “Revised Sexual Harassment Guidance: Harassment of Students by School Employees, Other Students, or Third Parties”, issued January 19, 2001, by the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education, as in effect on January 1, 2017; the Dear Colleague letter issued April 4, 2011, by the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education, as in effect on January 1, 2017; and the “Questions and Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence” issued April 29, 2014, by the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education, as in effect on January 1, 2017.
Sponsor: Rep. Speier, Jackie [D-CA-14] (Introduced 10/12/2017) Cosponsors: (27)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action:  House – 10/12/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Press Release: Congresswoman Speier, Democratic Leadership Unveil Bill to Defend Title IX Protections for Sexual Assault Survivors

H.R.4048 — To require institutions of higher education to provide students with statistical employment information, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Carson, Andre [D-IN-7] (Introduced 10/12/2017) Cosponsors: (0)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action:  House – 10/12/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices

VA Comment Request: Application for Work Study Allowance; Student Work-Study Agreement (Advance Payment); Extended Student Work-Study Agreement; Student Work-Study Agreement. Comments due November 13, 2017.