Here’s a quick look at the news from last week (April 22 – 26) in Washington.

SENATE
The Senate Judiciary Committee announced that it will mark up the immigration bill released by the Gang of 8 on May 9. The bill includes several education-related provisions such as the DREAM Act, STEM education funding, and education visa requirements.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was scheduled to vote on the nomination of Secretary of Labor-Designate Thomas E. Perez last week, but they have postponed the vote to May 8 to allow more time for committee members to request additional information they need. The committee held a confirmation hearing for Secretary of Labor-Designate Thomas E. Perez last week. Secretary of Labor-Designate Perez received questions about Job Corps and job training programs as well as questions regarding his actions on civil rights matters at the Justice Department.

The Senate will be in recess this week.

HOUSE
The House Education and Workforce Committee, on a bipartisan basis, has asked for public input into the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. To submit feedback, email HEA.Reauth@mail.house.gov.

The House Education and Workforce Committee held a Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee hearing titled “Keeping College Within Reach: Enhancing Transparency for Students, Families, and Taxpayers.”

The House will be in recess this week.

ADMINISTRATION
The U.S. Department of Education released a new blueprint for the RESPECT initiative (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence, and Collaborative Teaching), included in their 2014 Budget Request.

The U.S. Department of Education announced that Brenda Dann-Messier will be Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, in addition to maintaining her role as Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education.

BUDGET
The U.S. Department of Education posted its final FY 2013 funding table on Friday.

Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees held subcommittee hearings on the FY2014 President’s budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services, with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifying.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Penn Hill Group provides a weekly list of grant opportunities, and summaries for select grants. Please visit our website for more information.