AAU joined ACE and four other higher education associations in sending a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to bring the nomination of James Kvaal as under secretary of education to the Senate floor for a vote. In April, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee advanced Kvaal’s nomination with strong bipartisan support, but the nomination has stalled since then with no floor vote currently scheduled. The under secretary of education oversees postsecondary education policy and manages issues such as student loan repayment and the administration of emergency relief programs. “Continuing to leave this role empty will necessarily have a detrimental, and long-lasting, effect on the ability of the Biden Administration to achieve their policy goals,” the letter states.