- Negotiations Continue on Pandemic Relief, President Promises Action
- Bipartisan Reps. Highlight Higher Education Priorities for COVID-19 Relief Bill
- AAU, Organizations Outline Student and Institutional Aid Priorities in Pandemic Relief Measure
- AAU Joins Letter to Support Expansion of the Paycheck Protection and Main Street Lending Programs
- AAU, Associations Urge Support for US Research Enterprise in “Phase Four” COVID-19 Relief Bill
- Senators Introduce TREAT Act to Extend Medical Provider License Reciprocity
NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE ON PANDEMIC RELIEF, PRESIDENT PROMISES ACTION
Negotiations continue between House and Senate leaders and administrative officials. As of this writing, no deal has been reached on the forthcoming pandemic relief measure. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday said, “I think there is a lot of issues we are close to a compromise position on, but I think there's handful of very big issues that we are still very far apart on.”
The president yesterday told CQ News that he would take executive action in lieu of a deal, which would reportedly include relief for student loan borrowers, a payroll tax holiday, the suspension of evictions, and renewed unemployment benefits. If no deal is reached, the president promised to sign an executive order as early as today or Saturday.
Senate Republicans on July 27 introduced their $1 trillion COVID-19 relief plan, collectively known as the “Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protections, and Schools (HEALS) Act.” House Democrats introduced their $3 trillion proposal, the “Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act,” in May.
BIPARTISAN REPS. HIGHLIGHT HIGHER EDUCATION PRIORITIES FOR COVID-19 RELIEF BILL
Yesterday, Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) led 29 representatives on a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to underscore the importance of supporting students and colleges and universities as they prepare for fall amid the pandemic. The representatives requested House leaders consider many important provisions for the forthcoming COVID-19 relief measure, including: strong investment in higher education; the use of existing frameworks to distribute funding; broadened relief eligibility for students; flexibility for colleges and universities to distribute funds as needed; relief for student loan borrowers; and language to ensure pandemic relief does not replace state funding for colleges and universities. These priorities “will ensure that universities and colleges can continue to do their part in the fight [against] COVID-19 while providing continued educational offerings for American students to build the foundation for a strong economic recovery,” the representatives say.
AAU, ORGANIZATIONS OUTLINE STUDENT AND INSTITUTIONAL AID PRIORITIES IN PANDEMIC RELIEF MEASURE
AAU Wednesday joined ACE and 70 other higher education organizations on a letter to House and Senate leaders to outline their priorities for higher education and student aid in the forthcoming pandemic relief measure. The organizations’ priorities include: broadened relief eligibility for students; flexibility for the allowable usage of relief funds; disbursement of funds through existing Education Department mechanisms; flexibility for colleges and universities to use the funds as needed; no limitations on funding based on endowment size; assurance that relief funds will not replace state funds for colleges and universities; extension of loan relief provisions for federal student loan borrowers; increased funding for minority-serving institutions; and other types of institutional aid. These proposals – many of which are included in either the HEROES or HEALS Acts – will help colleges and universities navigate “the biggest crisis to confront students and institutions in our lifetimes.”
AAU JOINS LETTER TO SUPPORT EXPANSION OF THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION AND MAIN STREET LENDING PROGRAMS
Yesterday, AAU joined ACE and 65 other higher education organizations on a letter to congressional leaders to support the changes to the Paycheck Protection and the Main Street Lending Programs; the changes would increase college and university access to the critical relief programs. The organizations also request that Congress consider making these programs available for all small colleges regardless of location, and consider exempting student workers from employee calculations for any new loan program that includes a maximum employee threshold. The letter notes that these changes would help colleges and universities, which are often the largest employers in their communities and sometimes in their states, recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS URGE SUPPORT FOR US RESEARCH ENTERPRISE IN “PHASE FOUR” COVID-19 RELIEF BILL
On Monday, AAU joined AAMC, APLU, and ACE on a letter to House and Senate leaders and White House officials currently negotiating the next COVID-19 relief measure urging inclusion of our recommendations for research relief in the forthcoming bill. In the letter, the associations thank the members of Congress for recognizing the need for research relief in the House HEROES Act and Senate HEALS Act – including $15.5 billion for the NIH in the latter – but note that more relief is needed to address the interruption of scientific research caused by the pandemic. The bipartisan RISE Act, H.R. 7308 and S. 4286, details how the associations’ requested $26 billion in research relief funds should be divided to “protect American science and the STEMM jobs that underpin our research enterprise.”
SENATORS INTRODUCE TREAT ACT TO EXTEND MEDICAL PROVIDER LICENSE RECIPROCITY
Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) on Tuesday introduced S. 4421, the “Temporary Reciprocity for Emergency Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act,” which would temporarily extend license reciprocity for health care and mental health workers across the United States. This important bipartisan bill would help ensure that Americans have continuous access to their health care and mental health providers during the pandemic. AAU joined more than 50 other organizations to endorse the measure.