BUDGET RECONCILIATION NEWS
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House Science Panel Unveils $45 Billion Blueprint for More Research
Research facilities at the national laboratories owned by the Department of Energy (DOE) are big winners in the science component of a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that Democrats hope to move through both chambers of Congress this month. The legislation before the science committee authorizes 5- and 10-year spending plans for agencies under its jurisdiction, which include DOE, the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The increases are aimed at boosting research across many disciplines, including efforts to combat climate change and bolster innovation. The bill is separate from a $1 trillion package of infrastructure spending approved last month by the Senate and pending in the House. The legislation is also distinct from stand-alone bills passed in June by the House that authorize future spending levels for specific programs at NSF and DOE. ( Science Magazine - Sept. 7, 2021)
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Higher Ed Spending Not as Big as Hoped
Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee revealed their proposals Wednesday for billions of dollars in new higher education spending —from tuition-free community college to increased Pell Grants —as Congress works to develop President Biden’s Build Back Better Act. The bill text is modeled on Biden’s American Families Plan, released in April, and will be a part of a package that Democrats intend to pass using a procedural process called budget reconciliation. The primary difference between the initiatives Biden proposed and what congressional Democrats included is the level of investment —with a $3.5 trillion limit on the overall package and other committees jockeying to fund their priorities, the amount of funding appropriated for individual programs often doesn’t match the president’s initial goals. For example, the legislation includes a $500 increase to the maximum Pell Grant for the 2022-23 award year —and a staggered boost of $500 for subsequent award years until 2030 —while Biden initially proposed a $1,400 increase. ( Inside Higher Ed - Sept. 9, 2021)
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Democrats Sacrifice Major Increase in Pell Grants for Universal Community College in Budget Bill
President Biden set an ambitious agenda of pouring federal dollars into students and institutions of higher education with the fewest financial resources, but trade-offs in bringing that plan to fruition could undermine some key objectives. The House Education Committee unveiled its piece of Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending package Wednesday, making good on many of the president’s commitments but scaling back his vision for higher education. The bill delivers on Biden’s pledge to cover two years of community college tuition and extend the benefit to many students attending historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and other minority-serving institutions. But the legislation falls flat on Biden’s call to up the maximum Pell grant for students in financial need by $1,400, lowering the increase to $500. The bill scraps Biden’s plan to upgrade research infrastructure at historically Black and minority-serving institutions. It also whittles down his proposed $62 billion investment for college retention and completion grants to $9 billion over seven years. ( The Washington Post - Sept. 8, 2021)
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AAU Joins Letter Advocating for Repeal of Pell Grant Taxability in Reconciliation Package
On September 3, AAU joined nine other higher-education associations in sending a letter to leaders of the House and Senate tax committees to urge them to repeal the taxability of Pell grants by incorporating the “Tax-Free Pell Grant Act” as part of their final FY2022 reconciliation bill. Since 1986, scholarships and grant aid used on non-tuition expenses (such as student housing and meal plans) have been taxed as a form of unearned income. Repealing this taxability for Pell grants would permit low-income students to retain more of this critical financial aid. ( Association of American Universities - Sept. 8, 2021)
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AAU Joins Letter Asking Congressional Leaders to Delete Problematic Aspects of USICA, NSF for the Future Act, and EAGLE Act in Conference
Yesterday, AAU joined other leading higher-education associations in a letter to House and Senate committee leaders expressing serious concerns about provisions of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, the NSF for the Future Act, and the Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement (EAGLE) Act as those bills go to conference. In particular, the letter asks for removal of provisions that, while designed to enhance research security, would actually be counterproductive or unnecessarily onerous. The letter is consistent with arguments AAU made last month in a letter to congressional leaders about USICA, the NSF for the Future Act, and other legislation. The new letter also includes a memo addressing the creation of a new Section 124 reporting requirement, which would require institutions to maintain a “searchable” database that collects information from faculty and other staff. As the memo concludes, “Section 124 is unworkable, burdensome, overly complicated, and it’s unclear if it would actually discourage foreign influence or improve research security.” ( Association of American Universities - Sept. 8, 2021)
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Lawmakers Push Agencies to Establish U.S.-Israel Artificial Intelligence Center
Bipartisan legislation introduced in both Congressional chambers would require multiple federal agencies to form the U.S.-Israel Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Center—a new hub for the two nations to collaboratively push forward the rapidly evolving technology. If passed, the bill would authorize to be appropriated $10 million to fund the center for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026 according to its text, which was shared with Nextgov on Tuesday. The center would be a mechanism to “leverage the experience, knowledge, and expertise of institutions of higher education and private sector entities in the United States and Israel to develop more robust research and development cooperation in” areas including machine learning, image classification, object detection, speech recognition, natural language processing, data labeling, computer vision and model explainability and interpretability, officials note in the text. Heads of the State and Commerce departments, National Science Foundation and other relevant federal agencies would be tasked with forming the center. ( Nextgov - Sept. 8, 2021)
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Federal Agency Acts against Income-share Agreement Lender
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action Tuesday against a company offering income-share agreements to help students finance their degrees. The company misrepresented its product and failed to comply with federal consumer financial law, according to the federal agency. Better Future Forward Inc., a nonprofit led by former congressional staffer and American Enterprise Institute researcher Kevin James, falsely represented that income-share agreements, or ISAs, aren’t loan products and don’t create debt, failed to provide disclosures for private education loans as required by federal law, and imposed unlawful prepayment penalties on its private education loans, according to the CFPB. ISAs offer students up-front financial support and, in exchange, require them to pay back a portion of their future income for a set number of years. Unlike other companies that offer ISA programs through colleges and universities, Better Future Forward offers its contracts directly to students. ( Inside Higher Ed - Sept. 8, 2021)
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Delaware State President to Lead HBCU Advisory Board
President Biden announced Wednesday that he plans to appoint Tony Allen, president of Delaware State University, to serve as chair of the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Allen will be a key part of the Biden administration’s mission to break down systemic barriers for HBCU participation in federal government programs, as outlined in a Sept. 3 executive order. Prior to becoming president of the university in 2020, Allen served as provost and executive vice president at DSU. He has worked in both the private and nonprofit sectors and began his career as a speechwriter for then-Senator Biden. Harry L. Williams, president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, said in a statement that he was pleased to learn Allen would be serving as chair. ( Inside Higher Ed - Sept. 9, 2021)
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