The DC Digest

Duke Government Relations

Duke in DC's Top News Today:

Appropriations Updates After 4th of July Recess
Senate Armed Forces Committee Files FY25 NDAA
NSF Appoints New CMO
House Ways and Means Committee Passes Two Bills Opposed by Higher Education Organizations
Federal Judge Blocks Title IX in Four More States
House Expected to Mark Up FAFSA Form Deadline Bil
Higher Ed Groups Urge State Department to Take Up Visa Delay Issues for Indian Students

The Highlights 📰

Budget & Appropriations

The latest coverage on Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations that are relevant to Duke.

Duke Government Relations' primer on the federal appropriations process.

THE LATEST APPROPRIATIONS UPDATES

Congress is back in session after the July 4th recess with a flurry of activity expected in the coming weeks. As a reminder, so far the House has passed five FY25 spending bills: Defense, Homeland Security, Military Construction-VA, Legislative Branch and as of this afternoon, the Commerce, Justice and Science bill. Tomorrow, House appropriators are expected to mark up the Labor-HHS-Education, Transportation-HUD and Agriculture spending bills. On the Senate side, the appropriations process is just getting started with plans for markups this week along with full panel consideration of the proposed Military Construction-VA, Agriculture-FDA and Legislative Branch spending.

SENATE ARMED FORCES COMMITTEE FILES NDAA

The Senate Armed Forces Committee Chairman Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Ranking Member Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) filed the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week after unveiling its outline and marking up the bill last month. Its filing means senators can eventually debate the bill, with its next move being to get passed by the full Senate. The Senate FY25 NDAA contains almost $912 billion, with about $33 billion for the DOE’s national security programs--similar to the House's $884 billion version. We reported on the House's bill last month.

Senate NDAA

Research

The latest updates on legislation and regulations that impact Duke's research enterprise.

NSF APPOINTS MICAH CHEATHAM AS CMO

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has named Micah Cheatham as its newest chief management officer. Cheatham will serve as principal advisor to the NSF director and deputy director on agency operations, business activities, financial management and strategic initiatives, "ensuring effective communication and compliance with applicable laws and regulations." Cheatham has served as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) chief of management and administration since 2016.

Chief Management Cheatham

Student Aid, Institutional Support and Taxes

The latest updates regarding legislation and regulatory actions related to student aid, higher education institutional support, taxes and more.

NASFAA Student Aid Reference Desk

HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE PASSES TWO BILLS OPPOSED BY HIGHER EDUCATION COMMUNITY

Earlier today, the House Ways and Means Committee passed two bills - H.R. 8914, the University Accountability Act and H.R. 8913, the Protecting American Students Act on party-line votes. The University Accountability Act is an attempt by the committee to enhance federal protections to students under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by subjecting colleges and universities to additional penalties/fines if found violating Title VI of the CRA in Federal court.

The Protecting American Students Act revises the calculation used to determine an institution's eligibility criteria to be subject to the “endowment tax.” This new formula would increase the number of schools paying the tax (Duke has been subject to it since 2017).

The American Council on Education and several leading higher education associations sent a letter opposing both pieces of legislation. Duke is also opposed and will continue to monitor the progress of the bills. Neither are expected to pass the Senate and become law this year.

Ways and Means Movement

ADDITIONAL TITLE IX CHALLENGES

Four additional states--Kansas, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming--have had the final Title IX ruling blocked by a federal judge. This brings the total number of states where the rule is on hold to 14. We reported on the last update last month. In addition to being on hold in these 14 states, the ruling is also facing legal challenges from 26 total states. There is also opposition in Congress to the rule as the House Rules Committee passed a resolution to nullify the Title IX rule. The measure heads to the House floor this week where it is expected to pass, but its future in the Senate remains unclear.

Title IX Troubles

HOUSE TO MARKUP FAFSA FORM DEADLINE BILL THIS WEEK

The House Education and the Workforce Committee is working to advance legislation that would require the Education Department to release the federal student aid form by October 1. This comes on the tail of the rocky rollout of the new FAFSA form this year, which was filled with issues ranging from form accessibility to digital filing errors. The bill would require the department to make the FAFSA application available to students by October 1, when the form is typically released. The bill is expected to be marked up this week.

FAFSA Forecast

Immigration

The latest updates on legislation and regulatory actions related to immigration that are relevant to Duke.

HIGHER ED GROUPS URGE STATE DEPT. TO TAKE UP VISA DELAY ISSUES FOR INDIAN STUDENTS

The American Council on Education (ACE) and a group of other higher education organizations have joined in a letter to the State Department urging the Department to address processing delays of F-1 and J-1 visa applications at U.S. consulates in India. The issue is of concern to higher ed institutions, as ACE President Ted Mitchell has noted a 35 percent increase in Indian student enrollment in the 2022-2023 academic year. Anticipating the trend to continue in the coming years, the groups are urging the State Department to take action to mitigate the risk of students missing parts of their academic years because of these delays.

Seeking State Department Action

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