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

December 11, 2024

CONGRESS

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) published the House’s legislative calendar for 2025.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) announced the Senate’s legislative calendar for 2025.

Sen. Thune announced a potential budget reconciliation plan focused on border security, defense and energy matters, signaling that a separate reconciliation bill for tax issues would occur later in the year. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has stated that there is not yet consensus on what specific budget reconciliation plan will follow.

The House passed, by a 327 to 62 vote, H.R. 5349, the Crucial Communism Teaching Act. The bill would direct the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to develop a civic education curriculum and oral history resources for high school students regarding certain political ideologies such as Communism.

A group of Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Ed Markey (D-MA) and Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, urging the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to quickly cancel the remaining student loan debt of defrauded borrowers.

The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic published a report titled “After Action Review of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Lessons Learned and a Path Forward,” which discussed school closures among other pandemic-related matters.

ADMINISTRATION
ED unveiled new guidance to help school district and school leaders as they develop or revise their policies to guide the presence and use of personal devices in schools.

ED released new guidance on using Title II, Part A funds to strategically support educator recruitment, retention, professional learning, and improved student outcomes.

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

Federal Judge Rules Naval Academy Can Consider Race in Admissions [Inside Higher Ed]

States say, forget FAFSA. We got you [The Hechinger Report]

Student Wellness Tip: Increasing Access to Affordable Food [Inside Higher Ed]

Major Accreditor Proposes Cutting DEI Language From Its Standards [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

The STEM teacher workforce in high-need schools is surprisingly resilient [The Brookings Institution]

Will Trump’s Threats to Defund Colleges Over ‘Antisemitic Propaganda’ Become a Reality? [Inside Higher Ed]

How will colleges fare financially in 2025? It depends. [Higher Ed Dive]

The 2025-26 FAFSA Is Open. Here’s What You Need to Know [The 74]

Florida state lawmaker files measure eliminating tuition aid for undocumented immigrants [The Hill]

More colleges offering free tuition to middle-class families [The Washington Post]

Looming Declines in High-School Grads Will Mark ‘Inflection Point’ for Higher Ed [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Report: “Knocking at the College Door | 11th Edition | 2024”

Want to Offset Inflation for Working Families? Update the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit [The 74]

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

House Majority Leader

Press Release: Committee Cliff Notes: Weekly Preview – Week of December 9, 2024

House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Press Release: ICYMI: Foxx on her Tenure as Chair of the Education and the Workforce Committee

Press Release: Ranking Member Scott Statement on November Jobs Report

December 11: Subcommittee Hearing on “Examining the Policies and Priorities of AmeriCorps and Its FY 2024 Audit Failure”

Witnesses to be announced.

2175 Rayburn and via webcast.

10:15 a.m. ET

House Committee on Appropriations

Press Release: FACT SHEET: How the Trump Administration Plans to Steal Congress’s Power of the Purse

House Committee on the Budget

Press Release: Boyle Statement on November 2024 Jobs Report

December 11: Full Committee Hearing on “Sounding the Alarm: Pathways and Possible Solutions to the U.S. Fiscal Crisis”

Witnesses: The Honorable David Walker, Seventh Comptroller General of the United States; Mr. Kurt Couchman, Senior Fellow in Fiscal Policy Americans for Prosperity; Ms. Romina Boccia, Director of Budget and Entitlement Policy Cato Institute; and Minority Witness, TBA

210 Cannon and via webcast

10:00 a.m. ET

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

Press Release: Cantwell Secures Key Investments in NDAA to Accelerate American Tech Innovation, Protect America’s Networks from Adversaries and Drive America’s Economic Strength

House Committee on Ways and Means

Press Release: Chairman Smith: President Trump’s Pro-Worker Agenda Is Fuel For Rising Optimism

Press Release: Neal Statement on November 2024 Jobs Report

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

White House Press Release: Statement from President Joe Biden on the November 2024 Jobs Report

ED Press Release: White House Initiative for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities to Host Convening on Indian Education

DOL Press Release: Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on November jobs report

IES Press Release: PIAAC U.S. 2023 Technical Note Now Available

Legislative Movement in Congress:

H.R.10327 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize veterans who are entitled to educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to use such entitlement to participate in a career transition internship program for veterans.

Sponsor: Schneider, Bradley Scott [Rep.-D-IL-10] (Introduced 12/06/2024) Cosponsors: (3)

Committees: House – Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Action: House – 12/06/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:

ED Grant Notice: Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities-Personnel Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Personnel at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Serving Institutions. Applications due on or before December 12, 2024.

ED Rule: Income Contingent Repayment Plan Options. Comments are due on or before December 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Study of the Impact of English Learner Reclassification Policies. Comments are due on or before December 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Mandatory Civil Rights Data Collection. Comments due on or before December 16, 2024.

HHS Comment Request: Child Care and Development Fund Plan for Tribes for Fiscal Year 2026-2028. Comments due on or before December 19, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Comment Request; National Evaluation of the Pathways to Partnerships Program. Comments due on or before December 30, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act State Plan Guide. Comments due on or before January 2, 2025.

ETA Grant Notice: Program Year 2024 National Farmworker Jobs Program Youth Grant Funding. Applications due on or before January 5, 2025.

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

HHS Comment Request: Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Annual Aggregate Report. Comments due on or before January 6, 2025.

ED Comment Request: Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA): Interest Rate Limitation Request. Comments are due on or before January 6, 2025.

HHS Comment Request: Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Quarterly Case-Level Report. Comments due on or before January 6, 2025.

VA Comment Request: Monthly Certification of On-The-Job and Apprenticeship Training. Comments due on or before January 8, 2025.

VA Comment Request: Request for Reimbursement of Preparatory (PREP) Course for Licensing or Certification Test. Comments due on or before January 8, 2025.

ED Comment Request: Eligibility of Students at Institutions of Higher Education for Funds Under the CARES Act. Comments are due on or before January 14, 2025.

DOL Comment Request: Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grant Program Round 4 (SCC4) Evaluation, New Collection. Comments due on or before January 21, 2024.

ED Grant Notice: Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences. Applications due on or before March 7, 2025.

HHS Notice: Final Scientific Integrity Policy; Withdrawal

ED Notice: President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

ED Notice: National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity