HOUSE and SENATE The House passed the Administration’s rescissions package (H.R. 3) by a vote of 210 to 206. The Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Kenneth Marcus to be the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) by a vote of 50 to 46. Speaker Paul Ryan stated that […]

HOUSE and SENATE The House and Senate were in recess this week and will resume next week. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said that the Committee was not going to produce a Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bill this year. ADMINISTRATION The Federal Commission on School Safety held […]

HOUSE and SENATE The House and Senate are in recess the week of May 28. The House Appropriations Committee approved the spending levels for each of the 12 appropriations subcommittees, referred to as 302(b) allocations, for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. The House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee (LHHS) was […]

HOUSE and SENATE Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Jeff Denham (R-CA) and Will Hurd (R-TX) filed a discharge petition to open floor debate on four immigration proposals that deal with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Appropriations will accept written testimony from […]

HOUSE and SENATE The House and Senate were in recess this week, and will be back in session next week. The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Appropriations will accept written testimony from outside witnesses on fiscal year (FY) 2019 appropriations. The deadline to submit written testimony is Friday, […]

HOUSE and SENATE The House passed the Innovators to Entrepreneurs Act (H.R. 5086) by a vote of 379-16. The bill provides several updates to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, including a requirement that the NSF develop a course to support commercialization-ready research ventures. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) […]

HOUSE and SENATE House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced that he will be retiring at the end of this Congress, ending his term as Speaker after approximately 3 years. It is being reported that the Administration, along with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), is considering use of procedures under the Impoundment Control Act of […]

HOUSE and SENATE The House and Senate resume session next week. The Senate returns on Monday, April 9, and the House returns on Tuesday, April 10. Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled, “Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities.” Press reports […]

APPROPRIATIONS This week Congress passed legislation to finalize appropriations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. The bill includes $70.9 billion in discretionary spending for the Department of Education (ED), which is an increase of $3.9 billion, or 6 percent, from the FY2017 enacted funding level. The bill includes significant increases for both K-12 and higher education […]

HOUSE  Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is scheduled to testify before the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Appropriations on her agency’s FY2019 budget request. The hearing is scheduled for March 20. House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) issued a statement after the Trump […]