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

June 12, 2018

HOUSE and SENATE
The House passed the Administration’s rescissions package (H.R. 3) by a vote of 210 to 206.

The Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Kenneth Marcus to be the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) by a vote of 50 to 46.

Speaker Paul Ryan stated that House GOP Members would continue to seek a compromise version of legislation for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program with the goal of a House vote in the coming weeks. As of Friday, active negotiations on this issue were ongoing, while a pending discharge petition, a House procedural move that would circumvent House GOP leadership and force floor votes on four immigration bills that is set to expire on June 12, has 215 of the 218 necessary signatures.

ADMINISTRATION
ED approved Nebraska and North Carolina’s consolidated Elementary and Secondary Education Act State plans. California, Florida, Oklahoma, and Utah are still awaiting approval.

ED has temporarily stopped the practice of partially relieving the debt of some student borrowers who filed borrower defense to repayment claims related to Corinthian Colleges. Instead, ED will grant those students a temporary postponement of loan payments while determining how to proceed with these claims.

The Federal Commission on School Safety held its first public listening session last week. 

Education News Headlines
[Click on the link to read the article online]

Betsy DeVos: America Can Learn a Lot From Swiss Apprenticeships [Education Week]

Education Dept. Report Says No to a For-Profit Accreditor — But It Might Not Matter [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

House defeats proposal to revive tech education office [The Hill]

Facebook Adds Community Colleges to Program [Inside Higher Ed]

Perspective | Why do so many students drop out of college? And what can be done about it? [The Washington Post]

Nominee to Lead Civil Rights Work Under Betsy DeVos Confirmed by Senate [Education Week]

DeVos: Apprenticeships Should Be for More Than Just Welders, Carpenters [Education Week]

Op-Ed: Why are college costs less clear than car prices? [The Los Angeles Times]

Back Mental-Health Support, Don’t Arm Teachers, School-Safety Panel Told [Education Week]

An Update of the Federal Law Governing Higher Ed Appears Dead. Now There’s a Fight Over Who Killed It. [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Facebook partners with community colleges to help students with digital literacy [Inside Higher Ed]

The Cost of Going Back to School as an Adult [The New York Times]

DeVos Says There’s One Thing Her School-Safety Commission Won’t Be Studying: Guns [The Atlantic]

The power of information: More data on Pell Grants could help bridge the graduation gap [The Washington Post]

Report on Confusion Created in Aid Award Letters [Inside Higher Ed]

New America Report: “Decoding the Cost of College: The Case for Transparent Financial Aid Award Letters”

There’s a growing need for child-care centers on college campuses [Market Watch]

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor:
House Education and the Workforce Committee
Press Release: This Week: Committee Hearing on the Power of Charter Schools

Press Release: Blunt Rochester Leads Education And Workforce Committee Democrats Call for Secretary DeVos to Clarify Testimony on Gun Violence and School Safety

Press Release: In Secretary Azar’s First Appearance Before the Committee, Democrats Seek Answers on Health Care Sabotage, Attacks on Civil Rights

Press Release: Rep. Adriano Espaillat Leads Congressional Call For Secretary DeVos to Correct Testimony and Uphold Obligation to Serve All Students

House Committee on Appropriations 
Press Release: House Passes First Package of Appropriations Bills

Senate Committee on Appropriations
Press Release: Senate Appropriations Schedule for the Week of June 11, 2018

Press Release: Committee Approves FY2019 Transportation, HUD Appropriations Bill

Senate Committee on the Budget
Budget Bulletin: Spending Caps and the New Fiscal Cliff

House Committee on the Budget
Press Release: Chairman Womack Speaks on “Commonsense” Rescissions Request

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation 
Press Release: Thune and Nelson Demand Answers from Facebook Amid New Reports of Privacy Concerns

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration:
White House Factsheet: President Donald J. Trump Is Taking Action to Stop Youth Opioid Abuse

ED Press Release: Secretary DeVos Praises Ken Marcus’ Confirmation to Lead Office for Civil Rights

ED Press Release: U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to Deliver Keynote Address at Third International Congress on Vocational and Professional Education and Training

ED Speech: Prepared Remarks from Secretary DeVos to the International Congress on Vocational & Professional Training

ED Speech: Prepared Remarks to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

ED Blog: Summer Melt: Why One Third of College-Bound Students Don’t Make It to Campus in the Fall

ED Blog: Betsy’s Blog – What America Can Learn from Switzerland’s Apprenticeships

DOL Blog: Ninety-Eight Years Later: Empowerment in the 21^st Century Workforce

IES Report: Postsecondary Institutions and Cost of Attendance in 2017-18; Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2016-17; and 12-Month Enrollment: 2016-17: First Look (Preliminary Data)

Legislative Movement in Congress Last Week:
H.R.6036 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965, to add a work-study program for off-campus community service at selected after-school activities, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Carson, Andre [D-IN-7] (Introduced 06/07/2018) Cosponsors: (1)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action:  House – 06/07/2018 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.6014 — To reauthorize the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act.
Sponsor: Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-5] (Introduced 06/06/2018) Cosponsors: (3)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action:  House – 06/06/2018 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.5731 — Securing Our Schools Act
Sponsor: Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10] (Introduced 05/09/2018) Cosponsors: (13)
Committees: House – Homeland Security, Judiciary, Education and the Workforce
Latest Action:  House – 06/05/2018 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

H.R.6002 — To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a grant program for the construction of schools in overcrowded areas, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Crowley, Joseph [D-NY-14] (Introduced 06/05/2018) Cosponsors: (0)
Committees: House – Education and the Workforce
Latest Action:  House – 06/05/2018 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Press Release: Congressman Crowley Calls For $10 Billion Investment to Build New Schools for Communities in Need

S.2986 — A bill to award grants to States to support efforts at institutions of higher education to increase degree attainment, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA] (Introduced 06/04/2018) Cosponsors: (2)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action:  Senate – 06/04/2018 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:
ED Correction: Federal Need Analysis Methodology for the 2019-20 Award Year-Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, and TEACH Grant Programs. Tables “Parents of Dependent Students” and “Independent Students Without Dependents Other Than a Spouse” are corrected. 

VA Comment Request: Dependents’ Application for VA Education Benefits. Comments due July 9, 2018.

ED Grant Notice: Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) Partnership Grants. Applications due July 13, 2018.

HHS Comment Request: Criteria for evidence of effectiveness for the What Works Clearinghouse of Proven and Promising Projects to Move Welfare Recipients into Work. Comments due August 5, 2018.

DOL Comment Request: Youth CareerConnect Evaluation. Comments due July 5, 2018.