HOUSE and SENATE

The House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a public witness fiscal year (FY) 2020 hearing on Tuesday, April 9. The deadline to submit written testimony is Monday, April 8.

ADMINISTRATION

The Administration released additional materials on its FY2020 budget, including the budget proposals for independent agencies such as the National Endowments, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

The Administration released its principles that it would like to see in a Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization.

The President issued an executive order that directs Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to certify that institutions of higher education (IHEs) receiving Federal funds comply with existing Federal laws and regulations touching on free academic inquiry and that they comply with their “stated institutional policies” on freedom of speech. It also directs ED to: publish program-level data in the College Scorecard on measures of student outcomes; conduct a report on State and local best practices on transfer of credit; improve collections on defaulted student loans; and submit policy recommendations for developing a student financial aid risk-sharing system between the Federal government and IHEs.

Next week, ED will begin holding the last rounds of negotiated rulemaking sessions on a number of higher education topics. The Accreditation and Innovation Committee will meet from March 25 to March 28 and from April 1 to April 3 to conclude the negotiations.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will release a new H-1B Employer Data Hub on April 1, which will allow the public to access information about employers who use the program.

EVENTS

Penn Hill plans to provide clients with a summary of the following events next week:

• March 26: House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on “Department of Education Budget Request for FY 2020” at 10:15am
• March 26: House Education and Labor Subcommittee hearing on “Strengthening Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect” at 2:00pm
• March 27: House Education and Labor Subcommittee hearing on “Innovations in Expanding Registered Apprenticeship Programs” at 10:15am
• March 28: Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on “Department of Education Budget Request for FY 2020” at 10:00am

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 

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