CONGRESS

The House passed H.R. 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act, by a vote of 378-26.

The House Republican Conference elected Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) as the House Appropriations Committee Chair.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona asking for details on the Department’s Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant administration.

Rep. McMorris-Rodgers (R-MA) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released draft legislation on the American Privacy Rights Act.

ADMINISTRATION

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke in Madison, Wisconsin about the upcoming actions his Administration plans to take on student loan forgiveness. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced updated total Public Service Loan Forgiveness amounts and additional forgiveness under the Saving a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan’s small loan balance provision.

ED, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), along with several other Federal agencies, released a joint statement committing to enforce civil rights laws in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Secretary Cardona wrote a letter to college presidents, chancellors and financial aid directors about ED’s efforts to improve Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) navigation and rollout.

ED announced several updates on how it is addressing tax data and other errors impacting the FAFSA. Additionally ED released updates for State grant agencies regarding the FAFSA Completion Initiative for the Better FAFSA and guidance to State grant agencies to participate in outreach to applicants regarding other Federal means-tested benefits programs.

ED described its approach to enforcing two provisions related to limits on program length for gainful employment programs and educational requirements for licensure or certification in distance education programs that are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2024.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget concluded its review of regulations pertaining to student loan relief and Title IX.

EVENTS

Penn Hill Group plans on providing clients a summary of the following events next week:

April 16: Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on “A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Department of Health and Human Services”

April 16: Senate Special Committee on Aging Full Committee Hearing on “The Long-Term Care Workforce: Addressing Shortages and Improving the Profession.”

April 17: House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing on “Legislative Solutions to Protect Kids Online and Ensure Americans’ Data Privacy Rights.”

April 17: House Committee on Education and the Workforce Full Committee Hearing on “Columbia In Crisis: Columbia University’s Response to Antisemitism.”

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

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