E-Update for November 17, 2017
Highlights
- On November 17, the White House requested $44 billion in additional supplemental disaster relief funding, including $1.2 billion for an education recovery fund. The supplemental proposal is partially offset with a rescission of $3.9 million from the Pell Grant surplus.
- On November 15, the House passed H.R. 4174, the “Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2017” by voice vote.
- On November 14, the White House announced the nomination of Alex Azar to be the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary.
- On November 15, Acting Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education Jason Botel announced that states that submitted their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plans in the fall should anticipate receiving feedback from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) in the next two weeks.
Budget and Appropriations
White House Requests Additional Disaster Funding; Pell Grant Surplus to Partially Offset Cost: The White House sent a request to Congress for $44 billion in additional supplemental disaster relief funding to support hurricane recovery efforts, including $1.2 billion for an education recovery fund. The funding request includes a proposal to rescind $3.9 million from the Pell Grant surplus, among other proposed cuts, to help offset the cost of the relief effort. The Office of Management and Budget letter is available here.
November 17, 2017
Tax Reform
House Passes its Tax Reform Bill; Senate Finance Committee Approves its Tax Reform Proposal: The House approved its tax reform bill yesterday by a vote of 227-205 with 13 Republicans and all Democrats opposing the bill. The vote record can be found here. Additionally, the Senate Finance Committee wrapped up this week consideration of its modified Senate tax reform plan, which was passed by a partisan vote of 14-12. During debate of the Senate tax reform proposal in committee, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) offered a modified proposal which was noteworthy for its repeal of the ObamaCare individual mandate. The modified proposal also included an additional $350 increase to the child tax credit for a total of $2,000 and increased the current deduction for teachers for out-of-pocket expenses to $500, which is up from $250 that is currently allowed. This was a change as the original Senate tax reform proposal had called for eliminating the deduction for teachers for out-of-pocket expenses. More information on the modified proposal, including all of the changes to the original proposal, and the Senate Finance Committee markup can be found here. It is expected that the Senate will consider its tax reform proposal following the Thanksgiving recess.
November 16, 2017
Congress:
Democratic Members Send Letter to USED Warning Against Limit on Debt Relief to Defrauded Students: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and 26 other Members of Congress sent a letter to USED Secretary Betsy DeVos and Federal Student Aid chief Dr. A. Wayne Johnson warning them against setting a limit on the amount of student loan debt relief USED would provide to defrauded students. The members sent this letter after new stories reported that USED Secretary DeVos is considering only partial forgiveness of loans for students who were defrauded by certain for-profit colleges. The letter text is available here. On November 14, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) also released a staff report “Insult to Injury: How the DeVos Department of Education is Failing Defrauded Students,” which they sent to USED Secretary DeVos along with a letter signed by 16 Senators asking her to review the report and respond to its recommendations. Senator Warren press release here. Senator Durbin’s press release is available here. The full report is available here.
November 14, 2017
Negotiated Rulemaking Panel Convenes; Democratic Members Send Letter to USED on Rulemaking Process: USED’s Negotiated Rulemaking panel convened to begin the negotiations over replacing the Obama-era borrower defense to repayment rule. Borrower defense to repayment regulations set the rules for forgiveness of student debt for student borrowers that were defrauded by certain colleges. Acting Undersecretary of Education James Manning told the borrower defense to repayment rulemaking panel that USED is in the process of working through the backlog of pending borrower defense to repayment claims, noting that approvals or denials of the claims will soon resume. This week, Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) and House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) also sent a letter to USED Secretary DeVos raising concerns about the lack of transparency associated with the borrower defense to repayment rulemaking process and urging the Secretary to open all meetings on the rewrite of the borrower defense rule to the public. The press release is available here. The letter text is available here.
November 13, 2017
Senate:
HELP Committee Holds Hearing for USED Nominees: The Senate HELP Committee held a nomination hearing for Brigadier General Mitchel Zais, nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of Education, and James Blew, nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. The hearing also included two nominees for positions at the Department of Labor. Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) opening statement is available here. A recording of the hearing is available here.
November 15, 2017
House:
Bill Introduced to Simplify FAFSA: Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced H.R. 4416, the “Simple FAFSA Act of 2017.” This bill would remove barriers to students seeking Federal financial aid by reducing the complexity and length of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and increasing support for working students and vulnerable populations.
November 16, 2017
House Passes Evidence-Based Policymaking Bill: The House passed H.R. 4174, the “Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2017” by voice vote. This bill would implement some of the Commission for Evidence-Based Policymaking’s bipartisan and unanimous recommendations. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) floor statement on the bill is available here. Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray’s (D-WA) statement is available here.
November 15, 2017
Senior Counselor to USED Secretary Testifies on Implementation of Regulatory Reform E.O.’s: Robert Eitel, Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Education testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Affairs and Subcommittee on Healthcare, Benefits and Administrative Rules on USED’s progress in implementing President Trump’s Executive Order (E.O.) 13771 Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs and E.O. 13777 Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda. Eitel’s testimony is available here. The hearing recording is available here.
November 14, 2017
Administration:
Nominations:
White House Announces Key Administration Nominations: The White House announced the nomination of Alex Azar to be the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary. The press release is available here. Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) each released a statement on the nomination of Alex Azar to serve as HHS Secretary. On November 29, the Senate HELP Committee will conduct a hearing on Mr. Azar’s nomination. The Chairman’s statement is available here. The Ranking Member’s statement is available here. The White House released statements from Members of Congress and advocacy groups in support for Mr. Azar. The press release is available here. On November 15, The White House announced the nomination of Johnny Collett to be Assistant Secretary of Education for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at USED. The press release is available here.
November 14, 2017
U.S. Department of Education (USED):
Letter from USED Inspector General Stating Opposition to Administration’s Gainful Employment and Borrower Defense Rules Made Public: A letter dated October 31 from Kathleen Tighe, USED’s Inspector General, to Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) was made public. The letter stated that the Office of the Inspector General internally opposed the Trump Administration’s decision to postpone portions of the gainful employment and borrower defense to repayment rules.
November 15, 2017
Upcoming Events:
- On November 29, the KIPP Foundation will be hosting a briefing called “Growing Up With a Dream: Why Nurturing the Talent and Potential from Every Student is a Win for Us All.” The discussion will feature former Secretaries of Ed, College Presidents, and other Dreamer advocates who will discuss the path to a bipartisan solution to protect Dreamers. More information is available here.
- On November 28, the Senate HELP Committee will conduct a hearing on “Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: Examining Proposals to Simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).” The hearing will be livestreamed here.
- On November 19, the Senate HELP Committee will conduct a nomination hearing for Alex Azar to be the HHS Secretary. Azar will also have to appear before the Senate Finance Committee as part of the nomination process; however, a hearing has not yet been scheduled. The press release is available here. The hearing will be livestreamed here.
Publications:
- On November 14, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) published a What Works Clearinghouse report detailing new evidence on Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). The report shows that “SRSD had potentially positive effects on writing achievement for students with a specific learning disability.” The IES report overview is available here. The full report is available here.
Legislation:
H.R. 4416
“Simple FAFSA Act of 2017”
A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to remove barriers for students seeking Federal financial aid by reducing the complexity and length of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and increasing support for working students and vulnerable populations.
Sponsor: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
H.R. 4414
A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require students who do not complete a program of study to repay Federal Pell Grants.
Sponsor: Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL)
H.R. 4404
A bill to amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to provide for an exception to the reduction to State allotments under the Children’s Health Insurance Program for fiscal year 2018.
Sponsor: Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN)
H.R. 4402
A bill to amend section 479(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify when the Secretary shall consider an independent student without dependents to have an expected family contribution equal to zero.
Sponsor: Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
H.R. 4399
A bill to expand the monthly payments that may be eligible for public service loan forgiveness.
Sponsor: Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA)
H.R. 4387
A bill to amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to increase the allocation for rural areas, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI)
H.R. 4379
A bill to ensure that significantly more students graduate college with international knowledge and experience essential for success in today’s global economy through the establishment of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program in the Department of Education.
Sponsor: Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL)
H.R. 4375
A bill to provide for a study on broadening participation in certain National Science Foundation research and education programs, to collect data on Federal research grants to science agencies, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA)
H.R. 4372
A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require borrowers to repay Federal student loans under and income-based repayment plan or a standard repayments plan, and for other purposes
Sponsor: Rep. Drew Ferguson IV (R-GA)
H. Res. 623
A resolution recognizing the importance of providing services to children of incarcerated parents.
Sponsor: Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN)
H. Res. 622
A resolution supporting the designation of the week beginning November 13, 2017, as “National Apprenticeship Week.”
Sponsor: Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY)
S. 2136
A bill to expand the monthly payments that may be eligible for public service loan forgiveness.
Sponsor: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)