Higher Education Reauthorization
The past few weeks have cast doubt on whether Congress can reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) in 2018. House Education and Workforce Chair, Virginia Foxx (R-NC), has attempted to advance a floor vote on the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform Act, or the PROSPER Act. Despite a series of roundtables and colleague meetings, Chairwoman Foxx has been unable to secure the 218 votes needed for House passage. Over in the Senate, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has stated that the Senate is not advancing HEA legislation this year. He hopes to try again next year. Emory has concerns about the PROSPER Act, and we are pleased that several delegation members have shared our concerns with leadership.
Due to the congressional stalemate, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is taking a more active role in the regulatory process. She has proposed a regulatory agenda that seeks to change eligibility requirements and define “credit hours” for college classes. The OCGA team is closely monitoring these changes along with our colleagues at NAICU and AAU.
Immigration
House Republicans have announced that they will bring a pair of immigration bills to the floor for a vote the week of June 18. The announcement defuses, for now, a rebellion from centrist Republicans who had sought to use a discharge petition to force a vote on four immigration bills against the wishes of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and GOP leadership. The House will vote on one immigration bill authored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), and a separate compromise bill. The Goodlatte bill is almost certain to fail; and the compromise bill has been criticized by President Trump. Senate action remains uncertain. Like the rest of higher education, Emory continues to monitor provisions related to the Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (DACA) program.
FY2019 Appropriations
Today, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (L-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee passed its fiscal year 2019 funding bill. The bill includes good and bad news: $38.3 billion for the National Institutes of Health, an additional $1.25 billion over the FY18 level; and a cut of $663 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared to FY2018. Senate Appropriations action will occur later this month. Emory will continue to advocate for programs important to our mission.
The committee summary can be found here: https://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395353 |