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

January 8, 2025

CONGRESS

The U.S. House of Representatives elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as Speaker of the House for the 119^th Congress.

U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law a fiscal year 2025 Continuing Resolution, funding the Federal government at largely current levels through March 14. While this law included $100 billion in disaster assistance and a one-year extension on the farm bill, reauthorizations of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the Older Americans Act were not ultimately attached to this measure.

The House proposed a rules package for the 119^th Congress, which included renaming the House Education and the Workforce Committee as the House “Committee on Education and Workforce” and allowing certain bills, including one to amend Title IX to recognize sex based on a person’s biological and genetic sex at birth for compliance purposes, to be considered during the early days of this Congress. Regarding the latter, the rules package does not name a specific bill.

U.S. Senate leadership announced committee membership for the 119^th Congress. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee includes 12 Republican Members (full list found here) and 11 Democrat members (full list found here).

ADMINISTRATION
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a final rule on Distance Education and Return of Title IV (R2T4) funds. It is worth noting that the rule’s requirement to report on online enrollment will become effective July 1, 2027 (as opposed to July 1, 2026 when the rest of the package would become effective). Also, notably, the package does not include substantive expansions to TRIO program eligibility; a requirement for distance education courses to take attendance for R2T4 purposes; or any prohibition on asynchronous clock hour programs via distance education, as was proposed in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

ED withdrew a proposed rule that would have removed the requirement for schools to obtain parental consent before accessing public benefits or insurance to pay for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B services.

ED published the official earnings thresholds for the 2024 Gainful Employment and Fair Value Transparency earnings test.

U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen wrote a letter to Congressional leadership warning that the country will soon hit its debt ceiling limit.

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

Colleges prepare for new legal and political terrain under Trump [The Hill]

As Trump inauguration approaches, uncertainty for foreign college students [The Washington Post]

Should the U.S. Regulate Cost of Attendance? [Inside Higher Ed]

The number of 18-year-olds is about to drop sharply, packing a wallop for colleges — and the economy [The Hechinger Report]

Congress Failed to Pass WIOA Update. What Does That Mean for Higher Ed? [Inside Higher Ed]

House Republicans prioritize bill to restrict transgender students’ sports participation [Higher Ed Dive]

The Rise of the Accelerated M.B.A. [Inside Higher Ed]

Higher Ed’s Grim New Normal [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Tuition reimbursement cannot be factored into wage garnishment, DOL says [Higher Ed Dive]

Wanted: A new generation of pilots [The Hechinger Report]

December Brings Late Round of Job, Program Cuts [Inside Higher Ed]

College-bound students fear ‘outing’ undocumented parents on FAFSA financial aid form [Los Angeles Times]

Why more colleges are embracing AI offerings [Higher Ed Dive]

Can This Utah College Attract Latino Students Using Colorblind Strategies? [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Keystone College staves off accreditation loss for now [Higher Ed Dive]

U.S. Finalizes New Rules For Distance Ed And College Prep Programs [Inside Higher Ed]

Biden withdraws Title IX athletics, debt forgiveness proposals [Higher Ed Dive]

States want adults to return to college. Many roadblocks stand in the way [The Hechinger Report]

Why more colleges are embracing AI offerings [Higher Ed Dive]

Jimmy Carter, who enacted the creation of the Education Department, dies at age 100 [K-12 Dive]

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

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pension

Press Release: Cassidy Seated as Chair of Senate HELP Committee, Announces GOP Members

Press Release: Ranking Member Cassidy on Biden-Harris Admin Withdrawing its Student Loan Scheme

Press Release: Cassidy Bill Addressing Hazing on College Campuses Signed into Law, First National Anti-Hazing Law in U.S. History

Senate Majority Leader

Press Release: Leader Schumer Announces New Senate Democratic Committee Assignments

Speaker of the House

Press Release: Speaker Johnson Outlines Republican Agenda On Sunday Morning Futures

Press Release: Congress Certifies Donald Trump’s Election as President

Press Release: Speaker Johnson Reelected to Serve as Speaker of the House

Press Release: House Adopts Rules for the 119th Congress

House Minority Leader

Press Release: Leader Jeffries Announces New Appointments to Committees for the 119th Congress

House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Press Release: ICYMI: Chair Walberg Champions Bill to Protect Women’s Sports

Press Release: Chair Foxx Releases New Report Showing “Outrageous” Efforts by Biden, Harris to Cancel Student Loans

Press Release: Foxx to OSHA: Abandon Your Federal Heat Rule that Hurts Workers and Job Creators

Press Release: DOL’s Willful Deficiency

Press Release: EdWorkforceCmte Members Call DOL’s Drastic 14(c) Rulemaking “Inappropriately Rushed”

Press Release: President Biden Signs Bipartisan Bill to Protect Students and Stop Hazing

House Committee on Appropriations

Press Release: Chair Murray Statement on Senate Passage of Disaster Relief Package and CR

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 Johns Hopkins University Alleging Shared Ancestry Discrimination

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid Reaches Settlement with Baker College for Misrepresentations Made to Prospective Students

ED Blog: Education Awards over $250 million to Support Data-Driven Innovation for Students and Educators

ED Press Release: U.S. Secretary of Education to Travel to Alaska to Uplift Student Postsecondary Success and Highlight Career Pathways Programs

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Complaints Against Rutgers University Alleging Shared Ancestry Discrimination

ED Press Release: Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Complaints Alleging Shared Ancestry Discrimination by Five Campuses in University of California System

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Releases Final Rules to Improve Distance Education Reporting

DOL Press Release: US Department of Labor awards $65M to help community colleges increase access to affordable, high-quality training, improve equitable outcomes

IES Press Release: New Data on Enrollment, Finance, Employees, and Academic Libraries in Postsecondary Education

IES Press Release: IES Invites Applications to NCER’s Education R&D Center Grant Competition

Legislative Movement in Congress:

H.R.5646 — Stop Campus Hazing Act

Sponsor: McBath, Lucy [Rep.-D-GA-7] (Introduced 09/21/2023) Cosponsors: (58)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: 12/27/2024 Became Public Law No: 118-173.

H.R.8915 — Education and Workforce Freedom Act

Sponsor: Hern, Kevin [Rep.-R-OK-1] (Introduced 07/02/2024) Cosponsors: (6)

Committees: House – Ways and Means

Latest Action: 12/24/2024 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 799.

H.R.9461 — USA Workforce Investment Act

Sponsor: Smucker, Lloyd [Rep.-R-PA-11] (Introduced 09/06/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Ways and Means

Latest Action: 12/24/2024 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 793.

H.R.46 — To direct the Federal Communications Commission to prioritize the timely processing of certain long-form applications in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase II auction.

Sponsor: Bergman, Jack [Rep.-R-MI-1] (Introduced 01/03/2025) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Energy and Commerce

Latest Action: House – 01/03/2025 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

H.R.28 — 119th Congress (2025-2026)

To amend the Education Amendments of 1972 to provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of such Act in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.

Sponsor: Steube, W. Gregory [Rep.-R-FL-17] (Introduced 01/03/2025) Cosponsors: (53)

Committees: House – Education and Workforce

Latest Action: House – 01/03/2025 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Press Release: U.S. Rep. Greg Steube Reintroduces his Landmark Legislation to Protect Women’s Sports

S.9 — A bill to provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.

Sponsor: Tuberville, Tommy [Sen.-R-AL] (Introduced 01/07/2025) Cosponsors: (30)

Latest Action: Senate – 01/07/2025 Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.

Press Release: Tuberville Introduces Hallmark Legislation to Preserve Title IX, Protect Women’s Sports

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:

DOL Comment Request: Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Implementation Evaluation. Comments due on or before January 13, 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.

ED Comment Request: Application for Grants Under the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act 2019 Programs. Comments due on or before January 15, 2025.

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

DOL Comment Request: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Common Performance Reporting. Comments due on or before February 5, 2025.

ED Comment Request: Evaluation of Teacher Residencies: District Perspective. Comments due on or before February 6, 2025.

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

ED Grant: Native American Career and Technical Education Program (NACTEP). Applications due on or before March 10, 2025.

ED Notice: Tests Determined To Be Suitable for Use in the National Reporting System for Adult Education

ED Grant Notice: Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs

ED Notice: Direct Grant Programs, State-Administered Formula Grant Programs; Withdrawal

ED Notice: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic Teams; Withdrawal

ED Notice: Program Integrity and Institutional Quality: State Authorization, Cash Management, Accreditation and Related Issues

ED Notice: Student Debt Relief Based on Hardship for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loans), the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins) Program, and the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program; Withdrawal

ED Final Rule: Program Integrity and Institutional Quality: Distance Education and Return of Title IV, HEA Funds

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

ED Notice: Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment: Earnings Thresholds for Calculation Year 2024

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