FY 22 APPROPRIATIONS NEWS
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Debt-limit Suspension Passes House, Faces Standoff in Senate
The House passed Tuesday a measure keeping the government funded until early December and suspending its borrowing limit through 2022, but without having resolved the partisan standoff poised to derail it in the Senate. With less than two weeks before the government’s current funding expires at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1, the House passed in a 220-211 party-line vote a package unveiled earlier in the day that would fund the government through Dec. 3, 2021, and suspend the debt limit through Dec. 16, 2022. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure either later this week or early next, according to aides. Democratic leaders announced Monday they would combine the two measures, despite broad GOP resistance to increasing the debt limit, ensuring that the threat of a partial government shutdown next month would be linked with the possibility of the federal government not being able to pay its bills on time. ( The Wall Street Journal - Sept. 21, 2021)
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Biden Calls for 'United Response' to Emerging Tech, Cyber Warfare in U.N. Speech
President Joe Biden used portions of his 30-minute speech before the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday to call for partnerships among Democratic allies to address challenges posed by emerging technologies and the evolution of cyber warfare in what he hopes will be an era of “relentless diplomacy.” Biden called the present moment an inflection point, and listed several challenges that necessitate a united response, including “ending this pandemic, addressing the climate crisis, managing shifts in global power dynamics, shaping the role of the world on vital issues like trade, cyber and emerging technologies and facing the threat of terrorism as it stands today.” In May, the Biden administration issued an executive order focused on securing the nation’s critical infrastructure and government networks. Biden also pushed his plan to increase funding for research and development in emerging technologies. Biden made clear he’s interested in addressing technology challenges globally with Democratic allies and not with countries working against American interests. ( Nextgov - Sept. 21, 2021)
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BUDGET RECONCILIATION NEWS
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Biden’s Promise to HBCUs Unfulfilled by Congress
President Biden’s ambitious higher education agenda has had its disappointments as Congress turns it into legislation, with a strict budget forcing lower-than-anticipated funding levels for some of its provisions. While the bill includes funding for historically Black colleges and universities, advocates say it is well below what’s needed. The funding in the budget reconciliation bill is heavily based on the [IGNITE HBCU Excellence] Act. The biggest champion of that legislation, Representative Alma Adams, a Democrat from North Carolina, sent a letter to her colleagues Sunday, expressing concerns with how the infrastructure funding has been structured in the Build Back Better Act [and] said she won’t vote for the legislation as it currently exists because she believes it “will not serve its intended purpose.” ( Inside Higher Ed - Sept. 22, 2021)
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Thousands of Teachers Rejected for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, New Data Shows
Thousands of teachers have been rejected for federal student loan forgiveness because they could not get the government to approve their work as public service, a key requirement for the long-troubled program, according to new data shared with POLITICO. In some cases, educators were rejected for seemingly minor mix-ups, such as checking the wrong box or missing a date next to a signature. Others were rejected on the basis that their school did not qualify as a public service employer, according to the data. The disclosure suggests further bureaucratic problems with the management of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which has come under fire from Democrats in recent years for rejecting more than 98 percent of all borrowers who applied. Much of the controversy has centered on borrowers being rejected because they had the wrong type of federal loan or enrolled in the wrong repayment plan. ( Politico - Sept. 21, 2021)
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