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

April 27, 2021

HOUSE and SENATE
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee advanced the nominations of Cindy Marten to serve as Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education (ED), James Kvaal to serve as the Department’s Under Secretary and Julie Su to serve as Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor, by 14 to 8, 19 to 3 and 13-9 margins respectively.

ADMINISTRATION
ED issued guidance on the maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act.

ED released a State plan template and a notice of interim final requirements for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.

ED announced State allocations of American Rescue Plan funds dedicated to support students experiencing homelessness.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona held a roundtable with students, educators and administrative staff who are eligible for the Dream and Promise Act.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture extended several school meal flexibilities through June 30, 2022.

President Biden nominated former Florida Congressional Representative Gwen Graham to be Assistant Secretary of Legislation and Congressional Affairs at ED.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on the distribution of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding at institutions of higher education (IHEs).

Education News Headlines
[Click on the link to read the article online]
Washington pumped $35 billion into emergency grants for college students. Here’s how it’s going. [The Washington Post]

Proposed changes to Pell Grant program could transform it [The Hechinger Report]

Biden to use address to Congress to lay out plans for child care, police reform [The Hill]

UC And Cal State Systems To Require COVID-19 Vaccinations For In-Person Fall Classes [NPR]

Nearly 200 colleges have openings for fall, but more are likely: NACAC [Higher Ed Dive]

Community colleges keeping more classes online [Inside Higher Ed]

Colleges claimed a large share of student relief grant money: report [Higher Ed Dive]

Opinion: Targeted internships keep opportunities for students alive [The Hechinger Report]

Biden’s mammoth education agenda would expand the federal role from cradle to college [The Washington Post]

Sanders And Top Progressives Push To Make College Free For Most Americans [NPR]

Lawmakers Asked to Consider Funding for Apprenticeships at 2-Year Colleges [Inside Higher Ed]

Number of Hispanic-serving institutions continues to grow [Higher Ed Dive]

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor:
Speaker of the House
Blog: New Poll Underscores Overwhelming Support for American Rescue Plan Across Party Lines

Senate Majority Leader
Press Release: Majority Leader Schumer, Senator Young, And Representatives Khanna And Gallagher Introduce Endless Frontier Act With 12 Bipartisan Senators And 5 Representatives To Dramatically Increase U.S. Investment And Leadership In Science And Tech Innovation, Strengthen Economic And National Security And Keep The U.S. Strategically Competitive With China And Other Countries

Senate Minority Leader
Press Release: Democrats Vote To Allow Colleges To Discriminate Against Asian-Americans

House Education and Labor Committee
April 28: Full Committee Hearing: “Building Back Better: Investing in Improving Schools, Creating Jobs, and Strengthening Families and our Economy”
Witnesses: to be announced
12:00 p.m.

Press Release: Scott, Murray Reintroduce Child Care for Working Families Act

Press Release: Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Foxx Launch Bipartisan Effort to Update Federal Workforce Development Programs

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
April 27: Full Committee Hearing: “Supporting Children, Workers and Families by Strengthening America’s Child Care Sector”
Witnesses: Dr. Myra Jones-Taylor, Chief Policy Officer, ZERO TO THREE, Washington, DC; Ms. Susan Gayle Perry, Chief Deputy Secretary, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC; Ms. Dasja Reed, Parent, New Orleans, LA; Ms. Khadija Lewis Khan, Executive Director, Beautiful Beginnings Child Care Center, Providence, RI
10:00 a.m. in 216 Hart Senate Office Building or webcast

April 28: Full Committee Hearing: “Examining Our COVID-19 Response: Using Lessons Learned to Address Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders”
Witnesses: to be announced
10:00 a.m. in 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building or webcast

April 29: Full Committee Hearing: “Nominations of Jennifer Abruzzo to serve as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board and Seema Nanda to serve as Solicitor for the Department of Labor”
Witnesses: Jennifer Abruzzo and Seema Nanda
10:00 a.m. in 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building or via webcast

Press Release: HELP Committee Votes to Advance Labor and Education Nominees Julie Su, Cindy Marten, James Kvaal

Press Release: Burr: Workforce Development Should Continue to Be Space for Bipartisan Solutions

Home Committee on Rules
April 28: Hearing: “Ending Hunger in America: Challenges, Opportunities, and Building the Political Will to Succeed”
12:00 p.m. via Cisco WebEx

House Committee on Appropriations
April 28: Subcommittee Hearing: FY 2022 Budget Request for the Department of Labor
Witnesses: The Honorable Martin J. Walsh, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
10:00 a.m. via webcast

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
April 28: Full Committee Hearing: Executive Session
10:00 a.m. via webcast

April 29: Full Committee Hearing: Nomination hearing for Dr. Eric S. Lander to be Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
Witnesses: Dr. Eric S. Lander, of Massachusetts, to be Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
10:00 a.m. via webcast

Senate Committee on Appropriations
Press Release: Closing Remarks of Chairman Leahy on “The American Jobs Plan: Infrastructure Climate Change, and Investing in Our Nation’s Future” Hearing

House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
April 28: Subcommittee Hearing: “National Science Foundation: Advancing Research For The Future Of U.S. Innovation”
Witnesses: Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director, National Science Foundation; Dr. Ellen Ochoa, Chair, National Science Board
10:00 a.m. via webcast

House Committee on Energy and Commerce
April 28: Subcommittee Hearing: “The Long Haul: Forging A Path Through The Lingering Effects Of Covid-19”
Witnesses: to be announced
11:00 a.m. via Cisco Webex.

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
Press Release: Clyburn Applauds Biden Administration For Reaching 200 Million Coronavirus Vaccine Shots In Under 100 Days

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration:
White House Press Release: Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Plan Empowers and Protects Workers

White House Press Release: Nominations Sent to the Senate

White House Press Release: Remarks by President Biden on the COVID-19 Response and the State of Vaccinations

White House Press Release: Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Plan Will Support Women’s Employment

ED Press Release: Education Department Announces State Allocations of $800 Million in American Rescue Plan Funds to Support Students Experiencing Homelessness

ED Blog: Let’s Talk about Title IX

DOL Press Release: US Department Of Labor Awards More Than $146m To Support Workforce Agencies’ Efforts To Return Unemployed To Workforce More Quickly

GAO Report: “COVID-19:Emergency Financial Aid for College Students under the CARES Act”

IES NCES Blog: Tips for Navigating the Digest of Education Statistics

Legislative Movement in Congress Last Week:
H.R.2784 – To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to create a new national program to support mid-career workers, including workers from underrepresented populations, in reentering the STEM workforce, by providing funding to small- and medium-sized STEM businesses so the businesses can offer paid internships or other returnships that lead to positions above entry level.
Sponsor: Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy [D-PA-6]
Committees: House – Education and Labor
Latest Action: House – 04/22/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Press Release: Representatives Houlahan, Baird and Senators Rosen, Hyde-Smith, Kelly Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral STEM RESTART Act to Support Workers Re-Entering or Transitioning to STEM Jobs

H.R.2790 – To establish jobs programs for long-term unemployed workers, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Levin, Andy [D-MI-9]
Committees: House – Education and Labor
Latest Action: House – 04/22/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Press Release: Levin, Van Hollen Introduce Bicameral Subsidized Jobs Legislation

H.R.2804 – To establish State-Federal partnerships to provide students the opportunity to attain higher education at in-State public institutions of higher education without debt, to provide Federal Pell Grant eligibility to DREAMer students, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
Committees: House – Education and Labor
Latest Action: House – 04/22/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

H.R.2817 – To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 and the Head Start Act to promote child care and early learning, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Scott, Robert C. “Bobby” [D-VA-3]
Committees: House – Education and Labor
Latest Action: House – 04/22/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Press Release: Scott, Murray Reintroduce Child Care for Working Families Act

S.937 – COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act
Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (Introduced 03/23/2021)
Latest Action: Senate – 04/22/2021 Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Roll Call Votes: There have been 5 roll call votes
Press Release: Senate Passes COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act

H.R.2696 — To direct the Secretary of Transportation to designate certain consortia as Community and Technical College Centers of Excellence in Transportation Workforce Training, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Langevin, James R. [D-RI-2] (Introduced 04/20/2021) Cosponsors: (1)
Committees: House – Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Action:  House – 04/21/2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

H.R.2730 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to ensure College for All.
Sponsor: Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] (Introduced 04/21/2021) Cosponsors: (34)
Committees: House – Education and Labor; Budget; Ways and Means
Latest Action:  House – 04/21/2021 Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on the Budget, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of…

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:
ED Grant Notice: FY 2021 for the Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNH) Program. Applications due on or before June 10, 2021. 

Census Comment Request: Data Collection Form for Reporting on Audits of States, Local Governments, Indian Tribes, Institutions of Higher Education, and Non-Profit Organizations. Comments due on or before June 21, 2021. 

ED Final Regulations: Calculation of the Endowment Factor for Allocations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities Under Section 314(a)(2)(A) of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021.

FCC Final Rule: Establishing a 5G Fund for Rural America.