The DC Digest

Duke Government Relations

Duke in DC's Top News Today:

Shutdown Concludes, Appropriators Work on DHS Funding Deal
NIH Director Discusses NIH Modernization at HELP Hearing
Education Department Launches Probe into Tufts University, Education Data Group
FAFSA Completions for Class of 2026 Outpacing Last Year's

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.

SHUTDOWN CONCLUDES, APPROPRIATORS WORK ON DHS FUNDING DEAL

The partial government shutdown ended this week, lasting just four days before the House passed a funding deal, which President Donald Trump signed into law. Congress now has just a week to negotiate and reach a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was funded through a two-week continuing resolution (CR) that expires on February 13th. DHS is the final appropriations bill needing approval. If a deal is reached, the federal government will be fully funded through September.

DHS Talks

Research

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

NIH DIRECTOR DISCUSSES NIH MODERNIZATION AT HELP HEARING

On Tuesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing entitled Modernizing the National Institutes of Health: Faster Discoveries, More Cures. The hearing followed the Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy’s M.D. (R-LA) 2024 White Paper on modernizing NIH. At the hearing, Chairman Cassidy discussed moving in a bipartisan way to modernize NIH and discussed his views on strengthening grant review, expanding access to shared research resources, and leveraging AI. He also mentioned that “losing mRNA research threatens our defense against future pandemics and puts American families at risk.” Chairman Cassidy raised bipartisan concerns about recent grant cancellations and funding reductions. His full remarks can be viewed here.

The only witness for the hearing was Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the National Institutes of Health, who answered questions from members on a range of topics including those related to grant terminations, gain‑of‑function research, drug pricing, mRNA research, Long COVID research, and multi‑year funded grants.

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

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES PROBE INTO TUFTS UNIVERSITY, EDUCATION DATA GROUP

The Department of Education announced Thursday that it has launched an investigation into whether Tufts University’s National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE) and the National Student Clearinghouse violated federal student privacy laws. According to reporting from POLITICO Pro, the review focuses on potential breaches of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) involving data used in a long‑running, nonpartisan project that helps colleges assess student voter registration and participation rates.

Probe Announcement

FAFSA COMPLETIONS FOR CLASS OF 2026 OUTPACING LAST YEAR'S

FAFSA submissions among high school seniors are significantly ahead of last year’s pace, with the class of 2026 completing 1.6 million applications as of Jan. 23, a 52 percent increase over the class of 2025, according to data from the National College Attainment Network. The Department of Education reports processing 7.6 million total applications for the 2026-27 cycle as of Jan. 30.

FAFSA News

Government Relations Resources

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