Washington Update

FY24 Appropriations Update 

President Biden signed into law a continuing resolution to fund the government into March. The bill extends funding for the Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD appropriations bills through March 1, with the remaining eight bills extended to March 8. Ahead of the vote, APLU President Mark Becker sent a letter to Congress outlining the harmful impacts of a government shutdown and how a long-term continuing resolution would be a missed opportunity to prioritize investments that grow the economy, advance social mobility, and enhance our global competitiveness.   

As Congress turns its attention to enacting a funding package, Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (R-TX) reached an agreement on subcommittee allocation levels. The details of the agreement have not been publicly released. With the subcommittee allocations, committee staff are now able to draft legislation ahead of the March 1 and March 8 deadlines.  

Under an agreement earlier this month between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), FY24 topline spending totals $886 billion in defense spending and $773 billion for non-defense discretionary funding, the levels set in the Fiscal Responsibility Act and largely inclusive of the side deal for non-defense spending reached by President Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Defense spending would increase 3 percent and non-defense discretionary funding would remain roughly flat under the deal. 

College Cost Reduction Act   

At the time of drafting, the House Committee on Education & the Workforce is marking-up the College Cost Reduction Act, legislation introduced by the Chairwoman of the Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-NC), to reform higher education accountability and student aid.  

The bill is exceedingly complex with layers of formulas used to determine unprecedented risk sharing in the student loan programs and a redistribution of that funding to institutions through a new performance-based funding program. In other words, some institutions would essentially be fined, and those fines would be used to support other institutions. 

The legislation also makes substantial changes to student loan programs, including the creation of loan limits with caps based on a national median and elimination of PLUS loan programs. It also imposes requirements around financial aid award letters, makes changes to the accreditation process, and creates new requirements around upfront tuition pricing for the length of a degree program. 

There are also several positives in the bill, including the elimination of loan origination fees and interest capitalization, as well as language on “risk-based accreditation” that may alleviate burden on some APLU schools.  A link to the bill, a Committee summary, and factsheet are available here. Markup video and amendments are available here. While the markup is ongoing at time this newsletter was drafted, the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute, which is supported by the Committee, strikes the bill’s elimination of SEOG, and eliminates a new Pell Plus program that would have been created by the underlying bill. 

APLU President Mark Becker sent a letter to committee members outlining areas of concern, areas of support, and areas APLU could support in the bill with key improvements. APLU raised concerns about proposed risk sharing as well as regulations on the cost of college while underscoring support for key provisions, including the elimination of origination fees and risk-based accreditation. Prior to markup, APLU also expressed concern with the bill’s elimination of SEOG. 

Update on FAFSA Release 

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced on January 30 that they must delay providing FAFSA data to post-secondary institutions until the first half of March, which is later than the previous “late January or early February” timeline. For details, view the department’s press release here. ED is making this delay to adjust FAFSA Student Aid Index calculations for inflation, to meet the FAFSA Simplification Act’s requirements. ED estimates this change will provide students an additional $1.8 billion in Pell Grants. APLU understands the tremendous challenges the difficult FAFSA rollout has created for students, their families, and institutions. The association is in regular contact with ED and continues to push for an expedient resolution.  

 APLU President Mark Becker joined the presidents of national higher education organizations in releasing the following statement: 

“Due to the continued delays in the availability of FAFSA applicant data announced by the U.S. Department of Education, we encourage colleges and universities to provide flexibility to students and families as they consider their offers of admission and financial aid.  

During the pandemic, many institutions extended their enrollment, scholarship, and financial aid deadlines beyond the traditional May 1 date, and we urge institutions to make similar accommodations this year. We all want students and families to have the time they need to consider their financial options before making enrollment decisions.” 

In other FAFSA news, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and House Education and Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) led 26 other Republican lawmakers in requesting a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review into the 2024-2025 FAFSA rollout. 

The letter asks GAO to examine the challenges students and schools faced in applying for and administering financial aid, whether students and institutions were provided sufficient information to complete the new form, and what steps ED has taken to prevent a delay in next year’s award cycle.  

U.S. Department of Education Publishes Requests for Information on Sexual Violence at Educational Institutions & Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder 

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently published two Requests for Information (RFI) seeking feedback from universities and other stakeholders on student supports. 

The first Request for Information seeks information and research regarding prevention and response to sexual violence on campuses of educational institutions. The RFI lists seven questions for responses, focusing on factors and best practices for institutions to consider when establishing sexual assault and prevention teams, and how institutions can provide appropriate survivor resources. ED also seeks comments on culturally responsive and linguistically inclusive approaches to supporting survivors, best practices for responding to and preventing sexual violence, and on engaging student groups to address sexual violence and dating violence.  

ED also released a Request for Information seeking examples of effective interventions in addressing college student mental health and substance use disorder needs and how institutions have transformed campus culture and created campus-wide strategies to provide support. ED also seeks insights on how states agencies support college behavioral health, and challenges institutions face in design and implementation of behavioral health programs.  

White House Announces $4.9 Billion in Approved Student Debt Relief 
The White House announced an additional $4.9 billion in approved debt forgiveness for 74,000 students last week. ED was able to make the loan discharges by making administrative adjustments to the payments counted toward income-driven repayment forgiveness when loan servicers misused forbearance, and by continuing forgiveness Public Service Loan Forgiveness borrowers earned through the Administration’s limited eligibility waiver. The forgiveness follows an announcement that the Department of Education is fast-tracking additional loan forgiveness through early implementation of the Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan.