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

CONGRESS

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that this will be his last term as leader of the Senate Republican conference.

ADMINISTRATION

Next week, ED will conduct the final session of its negotiated rulemaking effort on program integrity and institutional quality covering regulations on cash management, State authorization, distance education, Return of Title IV funds, accreditation and regulations providing for the expansion of Federal TRIO program access to undocumented students.

ED issued a voter toolkit for schools, colleges and universities on “the promotion of voter participation for students.”

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]

Liberty University fined record $14M over campus safety law violations [Higher Ed Dive]

Dartmouth men’s basketball players vote to unionize [Higher Ed Dive]

Udemy reports surge in demand for AI, IT and leadership training [Higher Ed Dive]

Biden’s plan to increase educator pay could mean fewer kids in class [Politico]

University of Florida terminates all DEI positions to comply with new law [The Hill]

University of Idaho Needs More Students. Should It Buy an Online School? [The New York Times]

Walmart revamps education benefit with an eye toward internal mobility [Higher Ed Dive]

Game-Changing Access to Academic Materials in Prison [Inside Higher Education]

Op-Ed: How can governors oversee successful higher education mergers? [Higher Ed Dive]

Congressman seeks to block Labor Department’s new overtime rule [Higher Ed Dive]

Black, Hispanic students more likely to say they’ve considered leaving postsecondary program: Gallup [The Hill]

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

Senate Majority Leader

Press Release: Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Need To Pass Bipartisan Appropriations Legislation To Preserve Critical Investments In The American People

Press Release: Majority Leader Schumer And Senators Sanders And Warren Statement Calling For Investigation Into Student Loan Forgiveness Mismanagement By MOHELA

Speaker of the House

Press Release: Joint Statement on FY24 Appropriations Agreement

House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Press Release: Foxx Torches Education Department’s Self-Inflicted Direct Loan Ineptitude

Press Release: Foxx Calls on GAO to Investigate Department of Education’s Stonewalling of Committee Oversight Requests

Press Release: Foxx Statement on CR

Press Release: Scott Statement on Cuts to the Pell Grant Program

March 7: Subcommittee Hearing on “Divisive, Excessive, Ineffective: The Real Impact of DEI on College Campuses”

Witnesses to be announced.

2175 Rayburn and via webcast.

10:15 a.m. ET

Senate Committee on Appropriations

Press Release: Murray, Top Appropriators Release Minibus

Press Release: Schumer, McConnell, Johnson, Jeffries, Murray, Collins, Granger, DeLauro Joint Statement On FY24 Appropriations Agreement

House Committee on Appropriations

Press Release: Joint Statement on FY24 Appropriations Agreement

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

White House Press Release: Statement from President Joe Biden on Passage of the Bipartisan Government Funding Bill

ED Blog: ED Takes Climate Action on Multiple Fronts

GAO Report: Federal Student Loans: Education Should Enhance Reporting on Direct Loan Performance and Risk

Legislative Movement in Congress:

H.R.7478 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education, as a condition of participation in programs under title IV of such Act, to include a prohibition of antisemitic conduct in all documents relating to student or employee conduct.

Sponsor: Yakym, Rudy [Rep.-R-IN-2] (Introduced 02/29/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 02/29/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.7495 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to create a demonstration project for competency-based education and clarify eligible competency-based education programs.

Sponsor: Grothman, Glenn [Rep.-R-WI-6] (Introduced 02/29/2024) Cosponsors: (2)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 02/29/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Press Release: Grothman Leads Student-Focused Legislation with Broad, Bipartisan Support

H.Res.1058 – Congratulating Iowa native Caitlin Clark on becoming the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I basketball leading scorer.

Sponsor: Rep. Miller-Meeks, Mariannette [R-IA-1] (Introduced 03/05/2024)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 03/05/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Press Release: Iowa Congressional Delegation Recognizes Basketball All-Star Caitlin Clark

S.3849 — A bill to promote United States leadership in technical standards by directing the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of State to take certain actions to encourage and enable United States participation in developing standards and specifications for artificial intelligence and other critical and emerging technologies, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Warner, Mark R. [Sen.-D-VA] (Introduced 02/29/2024) Cosponsors: (1)

Committees: Senate – Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Latest Action: Senate – 02/29/2024 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Press Release: Warner, Blackburn Introduce Legislation to Reestablish U.S. Leadership in International Standards-Setting for Emerging Tech

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:

ED Comment Request: Application for Grants Under the Predominantly Black Institutions Formula Grant Program. Comments are due on or before March 11, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Work Colleges Application and Agreement. Comments due on or before March 18, 2024.

HHS Comment Request: Health Professions Student Loan Program, Loans for Disadvantaged Students Program, Primary Care Loan Program, and Nursing Student Loan Program Administrative Requirements. Comments due on or before March 21, 2024.

ED Notice: Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program. Applications due on or before March 29, 2024.

ED Comment Request: The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) Annual Performance Report (APR). Comments due on or before April 7, 2024.

ED Comment Request: PLUS Adverse Credit Reconsideration Loan Counseling. Comments due on or before April 16, 2024.

ED Grant Notice: Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Higher Education Programs (HEP): Institutional Service – Alaska Native-Serving Institutions Program. Applications due on or before April 29, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2024-25 Through 2026-27. Comments due on or before May 3, 2024.

ED Notice: Annual Notice of Interest Rates for Variable-Rate Federal Student Loans Made Under the Federal Family Education Loan Program Prior to July 1, 2010.

ED Rule: Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program

NIH Comment Request: Collection of Grants and Contracts Data the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Small Businesses May be Interested in Pursuing.

ED Final Rule: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Effectiveness in Serving Employers Performance Indicator