A quick look at the news from last week, compiled by Penn Hill Group:

SENATE

Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs James Lankford (R-OK) sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Education John King expressing concern that two U.S. Department of Education (ED) Dear Colleague letters on colleges’ handlings of cases of sexual violence and harassment improperly created regulatory changes.

BUDGET

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shaun Donovan announced that the President’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget will be released on February 9.

ADMINISTRATION
President Obama will deliver the State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 12.

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) released data collected from winter 2014–2015 from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) on postsecondary graduation rates, financial aid and postsecondary admissions.

ED will begin negotiated rulemaking meetings next week on borrower defenses related to repayment of federal student aid. Meetings are scheduled from January 12–14. A list of negotiators can be found here.