CONTENTS:
- Mary Sue’s Desk: International Talent is Vital to America’s Global S&T Leadership Role
- FY19 Appropriations Update
- Negotiators Release Final FY19 Labor-HHS-Education, Defense Minibus
- Appropriators Announce Continuing Resolution Through December 7
- Federal Judge Rules Against Education Department’s Delay of Student Loan Rules
- Associations Comment on Proposed Rule to Rescind Gainful Employment Regulations
- House Ways and Means Committee Releases Tax Reform 2.0
MARY SUE’S DESK: INTERNATIONAL TALENT IS VITAL TO
AMERICA’S GLOBAL S&T LEADERSHIP ROLE
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman on Monday released a new blog post featuring researchers from AAU universities who have come to the U.S. to conduct research, educate and train students, and contribute to our unique government-university partnership.
Share her blog post on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
FY19 APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
Final details of a two-bill package containing FY19 Labor-HHS-Education and Defense appropriations (H.R. 6157) were agreed to yesterday by House and Senate conferees. The FY19 Labor-HHS-Education and Defense minibus would provide a $2 billion increase to the NIH, a $100 increase to the Pell Grant maximum award, and Department of Defense 6.1 basic research would receive a sizeable increase of 11.8 percent over FY18. Ahead of final conference negotiations, AAU President Mary Sue Coleman wrote to Labor-HHS-Education conferees to urge they adopt Senate-passed FY19 funding levels for AAU priority programs. See AAU’s updated FY19 Defense Priorities table here.
The conference report includes a continuing resolution to fund all other government agencies and programs at FY18 levels through December 7. Congress is expected to pass the CR and the Labor-HHS-Ed and Defense minibus later this month.
Earlier this week Congress approved a separate FY19 minibus spending package (H.R. 5895) that combines Energy and Water, Military Construction-VA, and Legislative Branch appropriations. The bill would increase funds for the Energy Department’s Office of Science and ARPA-E, by 5.2 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively. The three-bill spending package awaits final approval by President Trump. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that President Trump “looks forward to signing this legislation.” See AAU’s updated FY19 Energy Priorities table here.
FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT’S DELAY OF STUDENT LOAN RULES
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday ruled against the Education Department’s actions to delay current borrower defense to repayment rules, which govern how the department cancels federal student loans of borrowers defrauded by their college. Secretary DeVos had previously delayed the rules until July 1, 2019, so the department could propose changes. In his 57-page decision, U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss ruled the final delay of the regulations until July 2019 was “procedurally defective,” because DeVos failed to conduct a negotiated rulemaking process on whether to postpone them. Judge Moss’s ruling did not immediately order the department to take any action. Judge Moss today said he would take the matter “under advisement” but did not indicate when he would decide on how the department must proceed.
AAU submitted comments on proposed changes to the rule earlier this year.
ASSOCIATIONS COMMENT ON PROPOSED RULE TO
RESCIND GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT REGULATIONS
AAU, along with several other higher education associations, wrote to the Education Department to express concerns with the department’s proposal to rescind existing gainful employment regulations and make changes to the College Scorecard. The comment letter says the associations oppose efforts to rescind, rather than revise, existing gainful employment regulations, and that simply replacing the rules with additional disclosures on the College Scorecard is not in the public’s best interest. “While data and transparency are useful tools and have the potential to improve the higher education marketplace,” the letter notes, “they are not a substitute for the sanctions provided by the gainful employment rule.”
HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE APPROVES TAX REFORM 2.0
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady released three bills Monday as part of the Tax Reform 2.0 package to: (1) make permanent individual and small business tax cuts under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that expire at the end of 2025; (2) promote savings for families and retirement; and (3) promote innovation. The package does not include provisions directly impacting higher education institutions. The package does, however, contain a provision expanding 529 plans to permit distributions to be used for qualified education loan repayments (principal or interest) up to $10,000 for either the beneficiary or a sibling of the beneficiary.
The committee approved the three-bill package yesterday; it is unclear if the legislation will receive House floor consideration.