CONGRESS

The House and Senate convened for the start of the 118^th Congress on January 3.  The U.S. Senate was in session briefly and will be returning for legislative business on January 23. The U.S. House of Representatives Clerk gaveled the chamber into session on January 3, but the body has yet to get past the initial order of business for the House at the start of a new Congress – the election of a Speaker of the House.  At the time of publication, the House has taken 13 votes for Speaker with no nominee achieving the majority necessary to become Speaker. At the time of this writing, the House has agreed to recess until 10pm Eastern Time on Friday, January 6. It is unclear how long the House will continue voting today and if it will vote over the weekend.  The House must elect a Speaker before proceeding to any other business such as adopting any rules changes for the chamber and considering legislative matters.

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced that she will not seek reelection in 2024.

ADMINISTRATION

The Biden Administration released its Fall 2022 Unified Regulatory Agenda. The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) agenda can be found here, the U.S. Department of Labor’s agenda can be found here and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agenda can be found here.

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued a statement on ED and the U.S. Department of Justice filing a legal brief with the Supreme Court of the United States on the Biden Administration’s student debt relief program.

ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released a fact sheet on “Protecting Students from Discrimination Based on Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics.”

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

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