CONGRESS

The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate Appropriations Committees released a final FY 2024 appropriations package that includes bill text and the explanatory language for several fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill. You can find the bill text here and the explanatory statement for the LHHS bill here. The House passed this package on a 286 to 134 vote and as of 3 pm on Friday, March 22 the U.S. Senate had begun debate on the measure.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a markup of H.R. 6418, the Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act, H.R. 3724, Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2023, H.R. 7683, the Respecting the First Amendment on Campus Act and H.J. Res. 116, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution on the “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” The Committee reported H.R. 6418 and H.J. Res. 116 favorably on votes of 22-13 while H.R. 3724 and H.R. 7683 were reported favorably on a 24-14 vote.

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chair Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote a letter inviting Scott Giles, the Chief Executive Officer of Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA), to testify before the Committee at its upcoming hearing titled “MOHELA’s Performance as a Student Loan Servicer.”

The Senate confirmed José Javier Rodríguez as Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor on a 50-48 vote.

House Committee on Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (R-TX) sent a letter to House Republican leadership announcing that she will step down as Committee Chair after FY2024 appropriations are finalized.

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced approval of $5.8 billion in loan forgiveness for borrowers enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

ED highlighted availability of the following resources on implementation of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): a 2024–25 ISIRs: Transmission Support and Delivery Ramp Up Live Webinar; an  EDconnect 8.6.1 Plain Language Installation Guide Video Walkthrough on EDconnect, and Part 1 and Part 2 of Student Aid Index (SAI) Webinars from 2023.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

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