HOUSE and SENATE

Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) was sworn into office, replacing retired Senator Johnny Isakson. Senator Loeffler will also take over Senator Isakson’s seat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN) announced that he will retire after his current term, which ends this year. Rep. Roe is a long-time member of the House Education and Labor Committee, including formerly serving as Chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee.

The House is scheduled to consider H.J.Res.76 next week. This Congressional Review Act resolution would nullify the Administration’s recently finalized Borrower Defense to Repayment (BDR) rule, leaving the Obama-era BDR rule in place.

The Senate confirmed Crosby Kemper III to be the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.

ADMINISTRATION

U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim is considering a request from former Corinthian Colleges students to increase the $100,000 fine she levied against the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for violating a court order to cease collecting on former Corinthian students’ loans.

ED’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) released a new report finding that the Federal government’s outstanding student loan portfolio is currently $1.51 trillion.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed suit against the mortgage lender Monster Loans and several companies that offer student loan debt relief, alleging that the companies deceived consumers, illegally obtained consumer credit reports and collected more than $15 million in illegal advance fees from thousands of consumers.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 

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