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

CONGRESS

Yesterday, H.R. 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act, passed the House floor on a vote of 378-26. This bill would reauthorize several titles under the the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and make other related changes. The bill will now go to the Senate.

ADMINISTRATION

ED provided updates on its plans to reprocess ISIRs affected by tax data errors. Additionally, ED discussed its response to issues concerning FAFSA form access for students with contributors lacking a Social Security number.

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), ED introduced new initiatives focused on increasing high-quality and affordable pathways into teaching, bolstering compensation and improving working conditions across the early childhood, K-12 and higher education workforce.

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]

Louisiana bill would allow governor to select higher ed board chairs [Higher Ed Dive]

Dartmouth basketball vote shows unionization ‘can happen anywhere,’ attorney says [Higher Ed Dive]

Higher Education is Most Trusted Source to Handle AI [Inside Higher Ed]

Biden makes another pitch for student loan relief, but challenges loom [The Washington Post]

After FAFSA Issues, Education Department Faces ‘Crisis of Credibility’ [Inside Higher Ed]

The (AI) Counselor Is in [Inside Higher Ed]

FAFSA Whiplash: Education Dept.’s Latest Move Reveals the Tension Between Two Competing Forces [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Student Interest in Gender Studies on the Rise, Despite Political Hostility [Inside Higher Ed]

California Community Colleges are Losing Millions to Financial Aid Fraud [The 74]

States Bristle at Cardona Plea to Push Aid Deadlines [Inside Higher Ed]

New Hampshire should explore uniting public college systems, task force says [Higher Ed Dive]

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

Senate Majority Leader

Press Release: Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The CHIPS And Science Act Driving Another Historic Investment And Record Job Growth Under President Biden And Senate Democrats

Press Release: Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The CHIPS And Science Act Driving Another Historic Investment In The American Economy With Today’s Announcement Of A $65 Billion Investment In Arizona

Press Release: Majority Leader Schumer Statement On President Biden Proposing Cancellation Of Student Loan Debt For Another 29 Million Borrowers Through Executive Action

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

Press Release: Ranking Member Cassidy Rebukes Biden’s Proposed Apprenticeship Rule Limiting Americans’ Access to Job Training

House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Press Release: House Passes Transformative Bill to Update Federal Workforce Development Programs

Press Release: What They Are Saying: A Stronger Workforce for America Act Will Put More Americans on the Pathway to a Successful Career

Press Release: Foxx to Biden: Quit Treating Taxpayer Dollars Like Monopoly Money

Press Release: Owens, Wilson to Hold Hearing on Ramifications of ED’s FAFSA Failure

House Committee on Appropriations

April 10: Subcommittee Hearing on “Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the Department of Education”

Witness: Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Education

10:15 a.m. EST

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

White House Press Release: Press Call by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and Senior Administration Officials on President Biden’s Efforts on Student Debt

White House Press Release: FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Plans that would Provide Relief to Borrowers Disproportionately Burdened by Student Loan Debt

ED Speech: Statement by Miguel Cardona Secretary of Education on the U.S. Department of Education Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request

ED Press Release: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Plans to Deliver Debt Relief to Tens of Millions of Americans

DOL Press Release: US Department of Labor announces $49.2M in available funding to support career training, wraparound services to connect rural workers with good jobs

Legislative Movement in Congress:

H.R.6655 — A Stronger Workforce for America Act

Sponsor: Foxx, Virginia [Rep.-R-NC-5] (Introduced 12/07/2023) Cosponsors: (29)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce; Ways and Means

Committee Report: H. Rept. 118-444

Latest Action: House – 04/05/2024 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 368.

H.R.7880 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require that institutions of higher education maintain certain adjusted cohort default rates to participate in programs under title IV of such Act, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Porter, Katie [Rep.-D-CA-47] (Introduced 04/05/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 04/05/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.7885 — To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to create a pilot program to award grants to units of general local government and community-based organizations to create jobs, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Wilson, Frederica S. [Rep.-D-FL-24] (Introduced 04/05/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 04/05/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:

ED Comment Request: Personal Authentication Service (PAS) for Federal Student Aid ID. Comments due on or before April 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Gainful Employment/Financial Value Transparency Reporting Requirements. Comments due on or before April 22, 2024.

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

ED Comment Request: College Affordability and Transparency Explanation Form (CATEF). Comments due on or before May 10, 2024.

ED Grant Notice: National Center on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and Other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities. Applications due on or before May 15, 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 Comment Request: Pell Grant Reporting Under the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System