Below is RAMC’s weekly Washington Wrap Up from Wednesday. Find out more about Wrap Up and other RAMC resources here.

July 10, 2024

CONGRESS
U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy wrote several Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding how the agencies will comply with the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises et al vs. Raimondo. This decision overruled the court’s previous decision in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. vs. Natural Resources Defense Council regarding deference to agency interpretation of statutes passed by Congress.

The U.S. House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, July 8 to consider H.J.Res. 165, a Congressional Review Act measure pertaining to the Biden Administration’s recently promulgated Title IX regulations. This Rules Committee action signals that the full House is likely to consider this measure soon.

ADMINISTRATION
Media outlets reported that ED would place three million borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Federal student loan repayment plan in forbearance status after injunctions were issued by two District Court judges last week pertaining to the plan’s implementation.

JUDICIARY
A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10^th Circuit issued a stay of an injunction imposed by one of two District Courts blocking further implementation of the SAVE Federal student loan repayment plan.

A Federal District Judge in Texas imposed a preliminary injunction on DOL’s recently promulgated overtime rule citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine. The injunction only applies to employees of the State of Texas.

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]

FAFSA completions largely stalled in June, fueling enrollment concerns [Higher Ed Dive]

House Republicans Advance 2 Contested Antisemitism Bills [Inside Higher Ed]

Title IX athletics rule delayed yet again [K-12 Dive]

National Conference Convenes Education Leaders Around ‘Future-Focused Schools’ [The 74]

The College Board’s FAFSA Takeover [Inside Higher Ed]

Federal judge blocks final Title IX rule in four more states [Higher Ed Dive]

Race, Ethnicity, and Gender of Full-Time Faculty Members at 3,300 Institutions [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Many universities are abandoning race-conscious scholarships worth millions [The Washington Post]

College credit for working your job? Walmart and McDonald’s are trying it [NPR]

How will the rise of AI in the workplace impact liberal arts education? [Higher Ed Dive]

Is college worth it? Poll finds only 36% of Americans have confidence in higher education [The Associated Press]

Renowned Tech Analyst Urges Higher Ed Leadership in AI [Inside Higher Ed]

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

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

July 9: Subcommittee Hearing on “Everyday Expenses and Everyday Americans: How High Costs Impact Children and Families”

Witnesses: Mrs. Erin Wiggle, Consumer, Worcester Township, Pennsylvania; Mr. Daniel Lee, Owner, Farina Noodle and Pasta, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dr. Emily Gee, Senior Vice President, Center for American Progress, Washington, DC; Hon. David Malpass, Former President of the World Bank Group, Washington, DC.

562 Dirksen

10:00 a.m. ET

Press Release: Ranking Member Cassidy, Houchin Introduce Legislation Requiring FAFSA to be Available on October 1

House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Press Release: @EdWorkforceCmte Announces Markup on Bills to Expedite FAFSA, Optimize Workforce Data Collection, and Protect American Savers

Press Release: Rep. Houchin, Ranking Member Cassidy Introduce Legislation Requiring FAFSA to be Available on October 1

House Committee on Appropriations

July 10: Full Committee Markup of “Fiscal Year 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Bills and Revised Subcommittee Allocations”

2359 Rayburn

9:00 a.m. ET

House Committee on Ways and Means

July 9: Full Committee Mark Up of “H.R. 8914, the University Accountability Act; H.R. 8913, the Protecting American Students Act; H.R. 8915, the Education and Workforce Freedom Act; and Congressional Review Act on EV Tax Credit Regs (H.J. Res 148).

1100 Longworth House Office Building

10:00 a.m. ET

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Complaint Against Brown University Alleging Antisemitic Discrimination

ED Blog: New AI Guide Launched for Edtech Developers

IES Blog: Measuring the Homelife of Students During the Pandemic

Legislative Movement in Congress:

H.R.8913 — Protecting American Students Act

Sponsor: Ferguson, A. Drew [Rep.-R-GA-3] (Introduced 07/02/2024) Cosponsors: (9)

Committees: House – Ways and Means

Latest Action: House – 07/09/2024 Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 24 – 13.

H.R.8914 — University Accountability Act

Sponsor: Malliotakis, Nicole [Rep.-R-NY-11] (Introduced 07/02/2024) Cosponsors: (12)

Committees: House – Ways and Means

Latest Action: House – 07/09/2024 Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 24 – 12.

H.R.8915 — Education and Workforce Freedom Act

Sponsor: Hern, Kevin [Rep.-R-OK-1] (Introduced 07/02/2024) Cosponsors: (4)

Committees: House – Ways and Means

Latest Action: House – 07/09/2024 Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 23 – 13.

H.R.8959 — To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to ensure DACA recipients are eligible for educational awards.

Sponsor: Allred, Colin Z. [Rep.-D-TX-32] (Introduced 07/09/2024) Cosponsors: (7)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 07/09/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.8960 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow participation in certain Fulbright programs to qualify for the repayment plan for public service employees, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Beyer, Donald S. [Rep.-D-VA-8] (Introduced 07/09/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 07/09/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

S.Res.755 — A resolution designating June 2024 as National Cybersecurity Education Month.

Sponsor: Cassidy, Bill [Sen.-R-LA] (Introduced 07/09/2024) Cosponsors: (3)

Latest Action: Senate – 07/09/2024 Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.

H.R.8943 — To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to support arts education at minority-serving institutions of higher education.

Sponsor: Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [Rep.-D-CA-37] (Introduced 07/08/2024) Cosponsors: (4)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 07/08/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.8944 — To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a personal finance education portal on a centralized website of the Department of Education pertaining to Federal financial aid.

Sponsor: Leger Fernandez, Teresa [Rep.-D-NM-3] (Introduced 07/08/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 07/08/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.8947 — To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to direct the Secretary of Labor to award grants to community colleges for high-quality workforce development programs.

Sponsor: McBath, Lucy [Rep.-D-GA-7] (Introduced 07/08/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 07/08/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

S.4632 — A bill to establish an earlier application processing cycle for the FAFSA.

Sponsor: Cassidy, Bill [Sen.-R-LA] (Introduced 07/08/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Latest Action: Senate – 07/08/2024 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

H.R.8534 — Protecting Student Athletes’ Economic Freedom Act of 2024

Sponsor: Good, Bob [Rep.-R-VA-5] (Introduced 05/23/2024) Cosponsors: (10)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 07/05/2024 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 474.

H.R.8932 — To establish an earlier application processing cycle for the FAFSA.

Sponsor: Houchin, Erin [Rep.-R-IN-9] (Introduced 07/05/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 07/05/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:
ED Comment Request: Assurance of Compliance-Civil Rights Certificate. Comments are due on or before July 15, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Pell Grant Reporting Under the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System. Comments due on or before July 17, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Evaluation of the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority Pilot Program Survey Data Collections. Comments due on or before July 25, 2024.

ED Comment Request: National Center for College Students With Disabilities (NCCSD) Database of Disability Services and Activities in Higher Education. Comments due on or before July 29, 2024.

ED Comment Request: William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loan Program) Promissory Notes and Related Forms. Comments due on or before July 29, 2024.

ED Notice: Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program. Applications due on August 5, 2024.

ED Grant: Technical Assistance on State Data Collection–National Technical Assistance Center to Improve State Capacity to Collect, Report, Analyze, and Use Accurate IDEA Part B Data. Applications due on or before August 8, 2024.

ED Grant Notice: Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities—National Center on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, etc. Applications due on or before August 12, 2024.

ED Grant: From Seedlings to Scale Grant Program and Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice. Applications due on or before August 15, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Impact Aid Electronic Data Collection (EDC) Program Questionnaire. Comments due on or before August 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Rural, Insular, and Native Achievement Programs Progress Update Protocol. Comments due on or before August 23, 2024.

DOL Comment Request: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Common Performance Reporting. Comments due on or before August 23, 2024.

ED Grant: State Personnel Development Grants (SPDG) Program. Applications due on or before August 23, 2024.

ED Grant Notice: Stronger Connections Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Grant Program. Applications due on or before August 26, 2024.

NSF Grant Notice: Advanced Technological Education. Applications due on or before October 3, 2024.