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

August 14, 2024

ADMINISTRATION     
The Department of Education (ED) unveiled a new plan and timeline for rolling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form for the 2025-26 academic year. ED shared that the form will be released on December 1, but a select group of students and schools will have access to a test version starting October 1.

CONGRESS
Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) sent a letter to the Department of Education (ED) requesting an investigation into Secretary Miguel Cardona for possible breaches of the Hatch Act.

ELECTIONS

Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tim Walz as her running mate for the upcoming presidential election.

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

Biden administration urges Supreme Court to reinstate student loan relief plan in emergency appeal [The Hill]

Federal government extends Form I-9 expiration date to 2027 [Higher Ed Dive]

Bursting the Idea of the ‘Campus Bubble’ [Inside Higher Ed]

What education could look like under Harris and Walz [The Hechinger Report]

Walz rebrands progressive wins as household realities [Politico]

Chevron doctrine’s death leads 5th Circuit to ask: Is DOL’s salary test for overtime eligibility safe? [Higher Ed Dive]

Why Do Students Stop Out of College? [Inside Higher Ed]

Two-thirds of colleges are prioritizing online versions of on-campus programs, poll finds [Higher Ed Dive]

Federal government extends Form I-9 expiration date to 2027 [Higher Ed Dive]

New FAFSA delay sparks fear after last year’s chaotic rollout [The Hill]

Are Students College-Ready, or Are Colleges Student-Ready? [Inside Higher Ed]

As a new semester looms, students and colleges brace for more protests [NPR]

Disability Ruling Against Calif. College is ‘Wake-Up Call’ for Others [Inside Higher Ed]

FAFSA Was a Debacle Last Year. Here’s What the Ed. Dept. Is Changing [Education Week]

3 Columbia deans resign over texts that ‘touched on … antisemitic tropes’ [NPR]

Students Worry Overemphasis on AI Could Devalue Education [Inside Higher Ed]

Education Department Delays FAFSA Launch for Most Students [Inside Higher Ed]

Education Department: 2025-26 FAFSA to fully debut by Dec. 1 [Higher Ed Dive]

Community Colleges ‘Back to Reality’ After Federal Relief [Inside Higher Ed]

Universities face constraints in efforts to build more graduate student housing, Moody’s says [Higher Ed Dive]

How Florida A&M Was Tricked by an Entrepreneur With a $237-Million Check  [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

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

Senate Majority Leader

Press Release: Leader Schumer Exposes The Reality Of Project 2025: Far-Right MAGA Republicans’ Disastrous Roadmap For Future Would Devastate The US Economy, Decimate Public Safety, And Destroy Our Country

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

Press Release: Ranking Member Cassidy, Chairwoman Foxx React to New Report Showing Less than Half of Student Loan Borrowers Are Making Payments

Press Release: Ranking Member Cassidy Seeks OIG Investigation into Colleges Using Federal Funds to Promote DEI

Press Release: Ranking Member Cassidy on Biden-Harris Admin Missing October 1 FAFSA Release for Second Year in a Row, Threatening Students’ Access to College

House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Press Release: Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member Cassidy React to New Report Showing Less than Half of Student Loan Borrowers Are Making Payments

Press Release: Chair Foxx: “About time” Columbia deans resign

Press Release: Foxx: No More Excuses, Students Deserve Certainty

House Committee on Appropriations

Press Release: FACT SHEET: Trump’s Project 2025 Shaped House Republicans’ Funding Bills

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

White House Press Release: FACT SHEET: Two Years after the CHIPS and Science Act, Biden-⁠Harris Administration Celebrates Historic Achievements in Bringing Semiconductor Supply Chains Home, Creating Jobs, Supporting Innovation, and Protecting National Security

White House Press Release: Statement from President Joe Biden on the Two-Year Anniversary of the CHIPS and Science Act

ED Press Release: Statement form U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Supreme Court Filing on the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan

ED Press Release: Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on the 8th Circuit Court Ruling on Biden-Harris Administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Title IX Athletics Investigation of Minneapolis Public School District

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Announces Schedule and New Process to Launch 2025-26 FAFSA Form

ED Press Release: White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities Names 2024 HBCU Scholars

GAO Report: Federal Student Loans: Preliminary Observations on Borrower Repayment Practices after the Payment Pause

Legislative Movement in Congress:

H.R.9339 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to approve interstate commerce carrier apprenticeship programs for purposes of veterans educational assistance, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Pappas, Chris [Rep.-D-NH-1] (Introduced 08/09/2024) Cosponsors: (1)

Committees: House – Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Action: House – 08/09/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

H.R.6531 — TRAIN VA Employees Act

Sponsor: Pappas, Chris [Rep.-D-NH-1] (Introduced 11/30/2023) Cosponsors: (11)

Committees: House – Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Action: House – 08/09/2024 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 522.

H.R.9354 — To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make certain temporary provisions relating to the child tax credit permanent, to make such credit fully refundable, and to increase the corporate tax rate

Sponsor: Porter, Katie. [Rep.-D-CA-47] (Introduced 08/13/2024) Cosponsors: (2)

Committees: House – Ways and Means

Latest Action: House – 08/13/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:
ED Comment Request: Impact Aid Electronic Data Collection (EDC) Program Questionnaire. Comments due on or before August 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Program Integrity and Institutional Quality: Distance Education, Return of Title IV, HEA Funds, and Federal TRIO Programs. Comments due on or before August 23, 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.

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 September 9, 2024.

DOD Grant Notice: Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Consortium. Applications due on or before September 12, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Regarding Ways To Support the Successful Completion and Submission of the 2025-2026 FAFSA Form. Comments due on or before September 13, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) I, II and III Data Collection Form. Comments are due on or before September 13 2024.

ED Grant Notice: Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education-Tribal Controlled Colleges or Universities (TCCUs) Research and Development Infrastructure (RDI) Grant Program. Applications due on or before September 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Performance Reports for Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Program. Comments due on or before September 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Federal Student Loan Program: Internship/Residency and Loan Debt Burden Forbearance Forms. Comments due on or before September 18, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Federal Student Aid (FSA) Partner Connect System and User Access Management. Comments due on or before September 30, 2024.

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

HHS Grant Forecast: Tribal Colleges and Universities Head Start Partnership Program Grants. Estimated due date is on or before January 6, 2025.

ED Notice: National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity Meeting.