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 House and Senate passed legislation to amend the tax code, sending the legislation to the President. The final bill is different from the bill the House-Senate conference committee agreed on, due to Senate Democrats pressing points of order under the “Byrd Rule.” The Senate’s changes, including barring withdrawals from “529 Plans” for homeschooling expenses and expanding the coverage of a new excise tax on private college endowment income to institutions with at least 500 students (striking the “tuition-paying” requirement), required the House to take a second vote on the measure.

The House and Senate passed legislation to extend the Continuing Resolution (CR) to January 19. In addition to extending the existing CR, the bill: extends the authority in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act until January 19; provides temporary funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and other public health programs through March 2018; and waives mandatory sequestration that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would have instituted due to the passage of the tax bill.

The House passed a disaster relief package, separate from a CR, to provide $81 billion in Federal aid to assist in hurricane and wildfire recovery. Of the $81 billion, $2.9 billion is dedicated to hurricane education recovery to restart operations in schools in affected areas and provide assistance to serve displaced students. The funding bill will support Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and certain States impacted by wildfires.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee postponed a hearing on the policies and priorities of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), where ED Secretary Betsy DeVos was scheduled to testify. The Committee has not yet rescheduled the hearing.

House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) released a statement opposing ED’s new tiered relief system for resolving Borrower Defense to Repayment (BDR) claims.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) released a statement opposing ED’s new tiered relief system for resolving BDR claims.

ADMINISTRATION

The White House issued a National Security Strategy document, stating that the Administration will “consider restrictions on foreign STEM students from designated countries to ensure that intellectual property is not transferred to our competitors.”

ED announced that it has ruled on more than 21,000 BDR claims from students who attended Corinthian Colleges, Inc. ED is using a new “tiered relief” system, under which borrowers that ED determines were defrauded will have all or part of their loans forgiven based on how much ED believes a borrower to be earning, versus how much graduates of similar programs are making. Of note, 8,600 claims were denied; previously, only 2 claims had ever been denied.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly met with a group of bipartisan Senators to discuss the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, during which General Kelly laid out the Administration’s ideas for what should be included in any border security package, including discussing fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) publicly stated that he would schedule bipartisan DACA legislation that results from ongoing negotiations for consideration by the full Senate in January, should such legislation emerge.

Education News Headlines

Education Department sets up standard for partial relief of defrauded borrowers [Inside Higher Ed]

For-Profit And Online Education: What’s Going On? [National Public Radio]

Perspective | What they’re not talking about with Title IX that really matters [The Washington Post]

Graduate Students Escaped Tax Increases, but They Still Feel a Target on Their Backs [The New York Times]

National enrollments decline for sixth straight year, but at slower rate [Inside Higher Ed]

Betsy DeVos speaks at the University of Baltimore’s commencement, to protest and applause [The Washington Post]

White House May Restrict Some Foreign Students [Inside Higher Ed]

Use of Free Textbooks Is Rising, but Barriers Remain [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Large endowments would be taxed under final GOP tax plan [Inside Higher Ed]

House GOP higher ed bill could limit D.C.’s oversight of student loan companies [The Washington Post]

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor

House Education and the Workforce Committee
POSTPONED: Full Committee Hearing: “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Education”
Witness: The Honorable Betsy DeVos, Secretary, Department of Education

Blog: ICYMI: Higher Education Bill Could Heat Up Competition for Adult Students

Senate Committee on the Budget
Press Release: Senate Approves Far Reaching Tax Reform to Help Hardworking Families and Boost America’s Economy

Press Release: Parliamentarian Determines Three Provisions in Republican Tax Bill Are Impermissible

House Committee on the Budget
Press Release: Chairman Black Statement on House Passage of Tax Reform Conference Report

Press Release: Yarmuth Statement on House Passage of GOP Tax Scam

House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
Press Release: Science Day in Congress: House Approves Bipartisan Science Committee Bills

U.S. Department of Labor and the Administration

DOL Blog: From Apprenticeship to Mentorship

IES Report: Participation in High School Career and Technical Education and Postsecondary Enrollment

White House Press Release: Four Nominations Sent to the Senate Today

Legislative Movement in Congress

H.R.1 —Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Sponsor: Rep. Brady, Kevin [R-TX-8] (Introduced 11/02/2017) Cosponsors: (24)
Committees: House – Ways and Means
Committee Reports: H. Rept. 115-409 H. Rept. 115-466 (Conference Report)
Latest Action: Senate – 12/20/2017 Message on Senate action sent to the House.

H.R.1 — An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.
Sponsor: Rep. Brady, Kevin [R-TX-8] (Introduced 11/02/2017) Cosponsors: (24)
Committees: House – Ways and Means Committee Reports: H. Rept. 115-409; H. Rept. 115-466 (Conference Report)
Latest Action:  House – 12/20/2017 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

H.R.4254 — Women in Aerospace Education Act
Sponsor: Rep. Knight, Stephen [R-CA-25] (Introduced 11/06/2017) Cosponsors: (7)
Committees: House – Science, Space, and Technology | Senate – Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Reports: H. Rept. 115-472
Latest Action:  Senate – 12/20/2017 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R.4323 — Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act
Sponsor: Rep. Dunn, Neal P. [R-FL-2] (Introduced 11/09/2017) Cosponsors: (10)
Committees: House – Science, Space, and Technology | Senate – Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Reports: H. Rept. 115-473
Latest Action:  Senate – 12/20/2017 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R.4670 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide authority for certain members of the Armed Forces to transfer entitlement to Post-9/11 Educational Assistance to their dependents.
Sponsor: Rep. Connolly, Gerald E. [D-VA-11] (Introduced 12/18/2017) Cosponsors: (1)
Committees: House – Veterans’ Affairs Latest Action:  House – 12/18/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

H.R.4662 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to exclude the income and assets of dependent students in the calculation of the expected family contribution for such students.
Sponsor: Rep. Lawson, Al, Jr. [D-FL-5] (Introduced 12/15/2017) Cosponsors: (0)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action: House – 12/15/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices

ED Comment Request: Experimental Sites Initiative Reporting Tool 2017.  Comments due January 18, 2018.

ED Comment Request: Comprehensive Transition Program (CTP) for Disbursing Title IV Aid to Students with Intellectual Disabilities Expenditure Report. Comments due January 22, 2018.

ED Comment Request: Student Assistance General Provision—Subpart I—Immigration Status Confirmation. Comments due January 22, 2018.