Biden Signs Short-term Spending Bill, Averting ShutdownPresident Joe Biden signed a stopgap funding measure Thursday with hours to spare before federal agencies would otherwise have to start shutting down. The continuing resolution gives lawmakers and the White House nine more weeks to reach agreement on spending levels and negotiate a dozen fiscal 2022 appropriations bills. The temporary spending bill, which cleared the House earlier in the day on a 254-175 vote, is "not a permanent solution," House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said during debate. Thirty-four Republicans joined all Democrats to back the stopgap measure in that chamber. ( Roll Call - Sept. 30, 2021)
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Congress Weighs In on College Athletes Leveraging Their BrandSince the NCAA adopted a new policy this summer allowing college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL), many players have signed brand deals and contracts . . . . A number of states have also passed their own NIL laws, and on Wednesday the National Labor Relations Board issued a memo classifying private college athletes as employees who deserve the same rights and protections as the pros. Now Congress is taking up the issue. On Thursday, the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce held a hearing on NIL with testimonies from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National College Players Association (NCAP), the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and others. Subcommittee chair Jan Schakowsky, who introduced the College Athletes Bill of Rights last year, said the subcommittee would serve as forum to discuss the next steps for NIL. NCAA president Mark Emmert, in his opening statement, called on Congress to meet the “urgent” need for a “federal framework” around NIL. ( Inside Higher Ed - Oct. 1, 2021)
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BUDGET RECONCILIATION NEWS
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Cardona Fears Effort to Reimagine Public Education Is Slipping AwayEducation Secretary Miguel Cardona fretted in the back of a tour bus . . . about the future of President Joe Biden’s signature proposal to reshape American higher education. Cardona was concerned a $45.5 billion free community college program, one of the Biden initiatives he’s supposed to shepherd, won’t make it into the final version of the multitrillion-dollar social spending package Congress is hashing out. “I'm worried that's one of the things that is being looked at to be cut from the Build Back Better agenda,” Cardona said in an interview last week . . . . [A]way from the crowds, he turned serious when asked if hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of congressional aid and pandemic-spurred federal stimulus for schools could carry out his vision to reimagine public education after the pandemic exposed deeply entrenched inequities. He doesn't want educators to recycle old strategies.( Politico - Sept. 30, 2021)
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The Importance of $3.5 Trillion Rebuilding Plan for Community CollegesWhile Democrats continue to spar and jostle on Capitol Hill over the $3.5 trillion federal rebuilding plan and others, there is a rush of excitement . . . building among community college leaders. [T]heir institutions are on the cusp of a massive breakthrough from this “once-in-a-generation” investment package. Two years of free tuition for all is on the line, along with a number of other initiatives that support education for a diverse and often underserved pool of students. Because it has no Republican support, the entire pool of Democrats must agree on it, and both Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia are said to be posturing for a lower “top line” number. On Thursday, Manchin said he would only consider a $1.5 trillion plan. At stake are close to 2,500 pages worth of social programs that aim to boost the lower and middle classes, with more than $100 billion going to community colleges. ( University Business - Sept. 30, 2021)
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Commerce Department Seeks Nominations for the National AI Advisory Committee
The Department of Commerce is seeking nominations for candidates to serve on the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee. The committee will provide advice to the president and the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office on matters related to artificial intelligence, including research and development and maintaining AI competitiveness. According to a press release from the Department of Commerce, the committee “will consist of expert leaders from a broad and interdisciplinary range of AI-relevant disciplines from across academia, industry, non-profits and civil society, and federal laboratories.” The department is also seeking nominations for the Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence and Law Enforcement. Nominations for both the committee and the subcommittee are due at 5:00 p.m. ET on October 25, 2021. ( Association of American Universities - Sept. 29, 2021)
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Pandemic Causes Delay and Cost Increase for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope has passed its critical design review, but the impact of the pandemic will delay its launch by several months and increase its cost. NASA announced Sept. 29 that Roman completed its critical design review, confirming that all the design and engineering work for the space telescope is complete. The review allows the mission to proceed into full-scale assembly and testing of the spacecraft. At the time of the mission’s confirmation in March 2020, just as the pandemic was taking hold in the United States, Roman had a launch readiness date of no later than October 2026, although mission officials were hoping for a launch as soon as a year earlier. In the announcement of the critical design review, though, NASA said the mission is now scheduled to launch no later than May 2027. That delay is because of lingering effects of the pandemic, which slowed work on the spacecraft and affected supply chains. ( SpaceNews - Sept. 30, 2021)
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Up to 80,000 Unused Green Cards for Workers Set to Expire FridayThe government is set to let as many as 80,000 employment-based green cards expire Friday, leaving foreign workers waiting for a permanent resolution to their immigration limbo. Because of a quirk in immigration law, the government began its fiscal year last October with 120,000 more green cards than the 140,000 it typically hands out, . . . . [I]mmigration authorities have been unable to process the windfall, exacerbating frustration felt by many of the 1.2 million immigrants—most of them from India and working in the tech sector—who have been sponsored for green cards and will continue working on temporary visas that limit their ability to change jobs or travel. Congress is considering several possible legislative solutions, but they have become ensnared in broader debates on immigration occurring in both parties. ( The Wall Street Journal - Sept. 30, 2021)
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