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

CONGRESS

No legislative updates this week.

 ADMINISTRATION

The White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse held a youth roundtable.

The Biden Administration provided a preview for the application it will use to initiate between $10,000-$20,000 in loan forgiveness for Federal student loan borrowers.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) posted a blog post and sent a Dear Colleague Letter to institutions of higher education on requirements for institutional arrangements with financial institutions and their enforcement.

The Consumer Financial Protections Bureau (CFPB) released a report titled “2022 College banking and credit card agreements.”

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice of proposed rulemaking on determining employee or independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published the Workforce Planning Guide to support the formation of Digital Equity Plans and submissions to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

Penn Hill Group provides a list of grant opportunities and summaries for select grants. Please visit our website for more information.

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

White House unveils application form for Biden’s student debt relief [POLITICO]

American Universities Continue to Falter in World Rankings as China Rises [The Wall Street Journal]

How the Education Department is defending student loan forgiveness in court [Higher Ed Dive]

Op-Ed: Student-Loan Debt Is a Crisis for Black Borrowers [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Education Department ramps up oversight of college banking deals following critical CFPB report [Higher Ed Dive]

Stanford Apologizes for Limiting Jewish Admissions in the 1950s [The New York Times]

A Surge in Young Undergrads, Fully Online [Inside Higher Ed]

Student loan forgiveness applications now available online in ‘beta’ test [Los Angeles Times]

Proof Points: Colleges that ditched test scores for admissions find it’s harder to be fair in choosing students [The Hechinger Report]

A Petition on Sexual Assault Called for More Security. Then Came the Backlash. [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Biden’s student debt relief draws 8M+ applications in first two days [POLITICO]

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor:

Speaker of the House
Op-Ed: Nancy Pelosi to Latino Communities: ‘This November, the strength of our families is on the ballot’

Senate Majority Leader
Press Release: Majority Leader Schumer Statement On Launch Of Biden Administration’s Student Debt Relief Portal

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration:

White House Press Briefing: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, October 17, 2022

White House Press Release: President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions

White House Press Release: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

White House Press Release: Bills Signed: S. 169, S. 442, S. 516, S. 958, S. 1198, S. 2490, S. 2551, S. 2771, S. 2794, S. 3157, S. 3470, S. 4205, S. 4791

White House Press Release: Remarks by President Biden on the Student Debt Relief Portal Beta Test

ED Blog: Colleges Have a Responsibility to Protect Students’ Best Financial Interests

ED Media Advisory: Secretaries Cardona and Walsh to Visit Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology in Boston, Speak with Students and Leaders About Creating Opportunity and Supporting Students in Postsecondary Career Pathways

IES Blog: It Takes a Village: Supporting the Next Generation of Education Researchers

Legislative Movement in Congress Last Week:
H.R.7780 — Mental Health Matters Act
Sponsor: DeSaulnier, Mark [Rep.-D-CA-11] (Introduced 05/16/2022) Cosponsors: (3)
Committees: House – Education and Labor | Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Committee Report: H. Rept. 117-484
Latest Action: Senate – 10/11/2022 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S.1098 — Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act
Sponsor: Warner, Mark R. [Sen.-D-VA] (Introduced 04/13/2021) Cosponsors: (3)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: 10/11/2022 Became Public Law No: 117-200.

S.5072 — A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for institutional ineligibility based on low cohort repayment rates and to require risk-sharing payments of institutions of higher education.
Sponsor: Shaheen, Jeanne [Sen.-D-NH] (Introduced 10/11/2022) Cosponsors: (1)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: Senate – 10/11/2022 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S.5073 — A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a public education campaign across all relevant programs of the Health Resources and Services Administration to increase oral health literacy and awareness.
Sponsor: Lujan, Ben Ray [Sen.-D-NM] (Introduced 10/11/2022) Cosponsors: (2)
Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Latest Action: Senate – 10/11/2022 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:

ED Rule: Federal Student Aid Programs (Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Family Education Loan Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program).

ED Grant Notice: Reopening; Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program. Applications are due on or before October 14, 2022.

ED Comment Request: Federal Student Loan Debt Relief Application and Verification Forms Request. Comments due by or before December 16, 2022.