Washington Update

President-Elect Trump Nominates Linda McMahon for Secretary of Education 
President-elect Donald Trump announced that he intends to nominate Linda McMahon for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. APLU President Mark Becker issued a statement following the announcement, expressing congratulations and outlining the association’s willingness to serve as a resource to Secretary-designate McMahon to strengthen the impact of public research universities in service to the public. 

Lame Duck Action 
Although the country remains fixated on the makeup of government next year with a new administration and control of the Senate flipping, there is still much activity for the lame-duck session of the 118^th Congress. Below are items of active negotiation and potential action in Congress before next year. 

• FY2025 Appropriations Update   
  With government funding running through December 20 of this year, lawmakers must resolve the next step on Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations in the lame-duck session. In the House, multiple approaches towards addressing appropriations exist. Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) stated preferred approach is to pass a continuing resolution (CR) through March to enable President-elect Trump’s input into appropriations bills. In contrast, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and some other Republican leaders prefer to pass bills in the lame duck session to “clear the decks” for the administration in the new Congress. President-elect Trump, whose opinion will likely determine the direction appropriations bills take in the lame duck, has not yet publicly commented on his preference. 
  
• College Cost Reduction Act 
  House Republican Leadership and House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) have expanded efforts to generate support for advancing the College Cost Reduction Act in the lame duck. Although the bill will not be taken up by the Senate this year, many of the bill’s most harmful provisions are potential targets for inclusion in a GOP reconciliation package next congress.  
  
  The Big Picture: APLU President Mark Becker sent a letter to committee members in January outlining areas of concern, areas of support, and areas APLU could support in the bill with key improvements. Unfortunately, following committee passage, improvements to address APLU’s biggest concerns have not been made, so the association must oppose the legislation. APLU has urged the Council on Governmental Affairs to engage lawmakers in opposition.  
  
• FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act 
  The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are actively working to finalize the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act. Committee leaders anticipate Congress to vote on an agreed upon bill before it adjourns for the holidays in December. APLU staff continue to work with key congressional offices to underscore outstanding concerns with provisions of interest as described in the joint APLU-AAU conference priorities letter. 
  
• Antisemitism Awareness Act 
  In October, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced his intention to bring the Antisemitism Awareness Act for a vote, though recent reports state the legislation will likely be attached to the National Defense Authorization Act. However, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) opposes its addition to the NDAA, saying the defense bill is “strictly limited to matters pertaining to national security” and urging the Senate to vote on the Antisemitism Awareness Act as standalone legislation. 
  
  The Big Picture: The bill, which passed the House with strong bipartisan support in May, would require the Department of Education (ED) to “take into consideration” the definition and contemporary examples of a controversial definition of antisemitism when investigating Title VI violations on college campuses.  
  
• Farm Bill 
  Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released her version of the Farm Bill this week. Of note, the proposal includes $2.5 billion for the Research Facilities Act, equal to the House version and an increase of $2.4 billion over initial Senate proposals. While Republicans in both chambers have denounced the legislation, ultimately the timing of its release leaves little time for negotiation on a final large Farm Bill package. Congress must act to extend Farm Bill authorization into 2025 before the end of the year.  
  
• Stop Campus Hazing Act  
  Following House passage in September, efforts are now underway to pass the Stop Campus Hazing Act in the Senate, possibly through a unanimous consent agreement. The process would allow the Senate to swiftly take up the House-passed measure by restricting new amendments and debate. 
  
  APLU appreciates member engagement throughout the legislative process, which helped demonstrate the higher education community’s commitment to fostering safe campus environments and secure helpful changes in the House of Representatives. While the bill has substantially improved from earlier versions and APLU does not oppose the legislation, the association has expressed our preference for continued improvements. 
  
  Go deeper: Read APLU’s summary of the House-passed version in September’s Washington Update. 
  
• House Passes End of Year Veterans Package  
  This week, the House passed the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. APLU strongly supports the goals of the legislation’s education provisions, including Section 215 to improve the GI Bill Comparison Tool. Providing the public with accurate, transparent college outcomes data can help veterans make the best choices while also empowering policymakers to make evidence-based decisions. However, there are improvements needed in the legislation to streamline requirements on institutions and ensure the most accurate and useful data. APLU has been in contact with the relevant committees to share recommendations for improving Sec. 215 of the legislation that would require institutions to share data for the GI Bill Comparison Tool.  

FAFSA Deadline Act   
The House passed the FAFSA Deadline Act on November 15. APLU endorsed the legislation, which would require the U.S. Department of Education to make the FAFSA available beginning October 1 annually, rather than January 1 in current law. As APLU noted in its endorsement letter to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the tumultuous rollout of the FAFSA has created severe harms. Though the timeline is just one factor in a smooth implementation, it is a critical component.  

Go deeper: Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the incoming chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced companion legislation this year, but the Senate likely will not have enough floor time to pass the bill this year. Incoming Chairman Cassidy could push the bill in the Senate next year.  

U.S. Department of Education Announces All Students May Submit FAFSA 
Last week ED announced that 14,000 students have participated in FAFSA beta testing rounds 1 through 4. ED has not identified any critical software bugs, and as such, any students and families may now join expanded FAFSA Beta testing round 4. This week, students submitted an additional 50,000 FAFSA forms. ED will fully launch the FAFSA form later this month.  

ED has increased call center staffing by 80% (700 staff) since last year, with plans to add an additional 225 call center staff and expand hours in coming weeks. This week, call center wait times were less than one minute. ED’s full press release includes resources for students, families, and institutions of higher education to prepare for a large increase in FAFSA applications and Institutional Student Information Records later this month. 

Federal Judge Vacates FLSA Overtime Rule 
On November 13, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas ruled against the U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal Labor Standards Act Overtime Rule. As a result, the July 2024 and January 2025 salary thresholds, along with the automatic updates to the salary threshold, are fully vacated. 

The bottom line: The rule would have increased the minimum salary threshold for “white collar” exemptions to the FLSA overtime pay requirements to $58,656 on January 1, 2025 and again to the 35^th percentile of salaried wages for workers in the lowest-earning Census Region on July 1, 2027 and every three years thereafter. APLU previously submitted comments to the agency last year when the rule was initially proposed.