The DC Digest

Duke Government Relations

Duke in DC's Top News Today:

Appropriations Update
Labor-HHS Bill Provision Expands Professional Degree Status to Advanced Nursing Programs
Administration Appeals $100K H‑1B Visa Fee Pause; Other Ruling Likely to Be Challenged

Editor's Note: The DC Digest will return next Tuesday after the Juneteenth holiday.

The Highlights 📰

Budget & Appropriations

The latest coverage on Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations that are relevant to Duke.

Duke Government Relations' primer on the federal appropriations process.

APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE

This week, only the Senate is in session, with the House on recess. Below is a chart of the current status of appropriation bills that are priorities to Duke. The House Appropriations Committee has advanced 11 of its 12 bills so far, with the Defense bill slated for full committee markup on June 24, and has already passed the Agriculture-FDA and Military Construction–VA bills on the floor. The Senate has not yet begun its markup process, though they have held hearings on appropriations bills.

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

LABOR-HHS BILL PROVISION EXPANDS PROFESSIONAL DEGREE STATUS TO ADVANCED NURSING PROGRAMS

A provision in the recently advanced Labor-HHS-Education bill, which we covered last week, would designate advanced nursing programs as professional degrees. This would increase federal student loan limits for those students. The provision responds to earlier Department of Education regulations that excluded these programs from the professional degree designation, which allows borrowing up to $200,000. Specifically, the text notes that "For purposes of this section, the term
“advanced nursing program” means a post-baccalaureate educational program that
prepares students for advanced practice registered nursing licensure, certification, or authorization, including nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse-midwife, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or other advanced practice registered nurse programs."

Professional Degree Label

Immigration

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

ADMINISTRATION APPEALS $100K H‑1B VISA FEE PAUSE; OTHER RULING LIKELY TO BE CHALLENGED
As expected, the Trump administration has filed appeals on recent judicial action related to immigration. We covered in the digest last week that two federal judges had struck down policies related to the administration's proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee, as well as a series of USCIS policies, including immigration benefit processing for nationals of 39 countries and halted asylum adjudications. The appeal of the H-1B visa fee decision was filed Thursday, and USCIS also posted to its website Friday that "USCIS strongly disagrees with the Court’s order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review," and that "USCIS will issue updated instructions pending further litigation developments." Resources on these issues can be found on the Duke Visa Services page.

Government Relations Resources

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