HOUSE and SENATE

The Senate confirmed Robert King as the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on a 56 to 37 vote.

The Senate confirmed John Pallasch as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on a 54 to 39 vote.

The House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (H.R. 2500) on a 220 to 197 vote.

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released new data on the outcomes of 2015-16 bachelor’s degree recipients.

Alexander Acosta announced that he is stepping down from his position as Secretary of Labor. Patrick Pizzella will serve as acting Secretary of Labor.

A Federal judge threw out the vast majority of a class-action lawsuit brought by teachers against student loan servicer Navient who claimed Navient misled them about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The judge ruled that only one of the 15 claims could proceed, that Navient was deceptive toward borrowers under New York State law.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed a lawsuit in Federal court against ED over the alleged mis-administration of PSLF.

The President announced that the Administration will end efforts to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 

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