HOUSE and SENATE

The House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler (D-NY) confirmed that the Committee will be marking up the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act next week.

The House Education and Labor Committee passed the Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act (H.R. 2574) and the Strength in Diversity Act (H.R. 2639). Both bills were approved by the Committee on a party-line vote of 26 to 20.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed the Building Blocks of STEM Act (S. 737) by a voice vote.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science passed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 appropriations bill by a voice vote. The National Science Foundation (NSF) would receive a $561 million increase over FY2019 under the bill.

The deadline to submit written testimony to the Senate Labor, Health and Human Service, and Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee on the FY2020 budget is June 3.

ADMINISTRATION

The President released a new immigration proposal, which would move the U.S.’s immigration system toward a “merit-based” system and increase border security.

The White House submitted a revised budget request to Congress that would cut an additional $1.9 billion from the Pell Grant surplus, for a total $3.9 billion cut, largely to be directed toward the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in an effort to return U.S. astronauts to the moon by 2024.

In a letter, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger said that student loan servicers have declined to produce information requested by CFPB for supervisory examinations related to Federal student loans, based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published in December 2017.

Politico reported that ED extended the contracts of the Title IV Additional Servicers (TIVAS) for six months. TIVAS currently service the majority of Federal student loans.

EVENTS

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

• May 21: House Education and Labor Committee hearing on “Eliminating Barriers to Employment: Opening Doors to Opportunity” at 10:15am
• May 22: House Education and Labor Subcommittee hearing on “Engines of Economic Mobility: The Critical Role of Community Colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions in Preparing Students for Success” at 10:15am
• May 22: House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee hearing on “Examining For-Profit College Oversight and Student Debt” at 2:00pm

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 

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