HOUSE and SENATE

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 302(b) allocations, which determine the level of overall funding for each of the 12 appropriations bills, on a 16 to 15 party-line vote. The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) appropriations bill was allocated $187.7 billion. Earlier this year, the House Appropriations Committee allocated $189.9 billion in discretionary funding for its FY2020 LHHS bill.

The Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee and the full Appropriations Committee cancelled their markups of the FY2020 LHHS appropriations bill.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced that it will hold a confirmation hearing next week on the nomination of Eugene Scalia to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Labor.

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) regulations on Accreditation and Related Issues have been sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review before being published as a final rule.

ED posted a notice announcing that it will reimburse institutions of higher education (IHEs) for the costs of cancelling Federal Perkins loans.

ED confirmed, in a letter to Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), that it has stopped sharing student loan information with State Attorneys General if they are “purporting to exercise [State] regulatory or enforcement power that [ED determines] is preempted” by Federal law.

ED’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) completed an investigation into Chicago Public Schools District, finding that the district violated Title IX regulations because the district failed to respond promptly and equitably to complaints alleging sexual harassment.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss an appeal sought by ED of an earlier court ruling that it violated the Administrative Procedures Act in delaying the Obama-era special education disproportionality regulation.

EVENTS

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

• September 19: House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement” at 10:00am
• September 19: House Education and Labor Subcommittee hearing on “Broken Promises: Examining the Failed Implementation of the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program” at 10:15am

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 

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