Washington Update

Appropriations Update 
President Trump signed into law a Fiscal Year 2026 spending package earlier this month that funds the federal government through September 30, apart from DHS which was given a short-term continuing resolution that has now expired.   

The Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs, of which APLU is a member, also issued a joint statement thanking Congress for strong support of research funding, including support for F&A costs essential to conducting research on behalf of the American people, in the final FY26 appropriations legislation. 
 
Key Resources: APLU developed an analysis of funding levels and policy language relevant to public research universities, as well as a tracker of F&A policy provisions. The F&A tracker has been updated to include a summary of which provisions are enacted in law. A simplified chart that only includes funding levels is also published on APLU’s appropriations webpage. 

Congressional Budget Office Projects Worsening Pell Grant Shortfall 
An updated Congressional Budget Office baseline projection released Friday shows the Pell Grant program will face an estimated $5.45 billion budget shortfall in FY26, worsening to $11.5 billion in FY27 and beyond. The updated FY26 projection reflects a one-time injection of $10.5 billion in mandatory funding provided through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which helps mitigate the shortfall but does not fully address the concerning budget forecast. 
 
There are a number of reasons for the shortfall, which include a substantial uptick in the number of Pell recipients and number of recipients of the maximum grant, both of which largely stem from the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act. Additionally, years of Congress flat-funding discretionary appropriations to the program and years of Congress repurposing the “Pell reserve” when the program was running a budget surplus have contributed to the difficult budget situation. 

The Big Picture: Congress has previously addressed Pell budget shortfalls in a few ways, including the infusion of additional funds as well as program eligibility cuts and eliminations. Long-term APLU will continue to advocate for the certainty of a fully mandatory program to guard against budget swings jeopardizing the promise of Pell to the next generation of students. 

House Majority Releases Farm Bill Text 
House Committee on Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson (R-PA) released Farm Bill text on Friday. The bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, will begin markup on Monday, February 23 at 1:00 pm EST and will be livestreamed here. 

Additional resources on the bill were also released by the House Agriculture Committee, including the bill text, a short overview, and a title by title summary.  APLU is developing a bill analysis that will be released later this week. 

ED Interpretive Rule to Eliminate Use of “Regional” or “National” by Accrediting Agencies  
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education published a proposed interpretive rule in the Federal Register to clarify how accrediting agencies, institutions of higher education, state licensure boards, and other stakeholders can use the terms “regional” and “national” to describe their accreditation status.  
 
The proposed interpretive rule is meant to address the administration’s concerns that “sometimes conflation of – ‘national’ versus ‘regional’ leads to a misguided understanding of the quality of education that an institution recognized by a ’national’ accrediting agency offers in comparison to the education provided by an institution recognized by a ’regional’ accrediting agency.”   

U.S. Department of War Terminates Harvard Academic Partnerships, Announces Review of Other Programs 
On February 6, U.S. Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in a video posted to X that the Department of War “is formally ending ALL Professional Military Education, fellowship, and certificate programs with Harvard University.”  

In the video, Hegseth also stated that the Department will specifically review graduate programs at other Ivy League and civilian institutions, suggesting that future partnerships could be evaluated based on whether those programs deliver “cost-effective strategic education for future senior leaders when compared to, say, public universities and our military graduate programs.” 
 
Go Deeper: A Pentagon press release reiterates details described in the video, further noting that support for personnel attending graduate-level programs at Harvard will be discontinued beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. “Military personnel who are currently attending classes will be able to finish those courses of study,” according to the video and release. A list of the Army’s proposed “at-risk schools” was first reported by CNN. The article also contains insight on the Pentagon’s approach. CNN reports “the guidance’s broad terminology has injected confusion and concern into the military branches.” 

U.S. Department of Education Issues Dear Colleague Letter to University Presidents Regarding Voter Data and Student Privacy  
On February 5, the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office issued a Dear Colleague Letter to presidents of institutions of higher education. The letter announces that ED is reviewing whether aspects of the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) program comply with Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects the privacy of students’ education records. 

NSLVE is a research partnership between Tufts University and the National Student Clearinghouse to measure student voting and registration rates, using data from over 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities.  

GSA Issues Notice, Request for Comments on System for Award Management Eligibility Changes Regarding Unlawful Discrimination  
On January 28, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a notice and request for comment on proposed changes to the pre-award registration requirements for applicants and recipients of Federal financial assistance using the System for Award Management (SAM).  

What’s New: The proposed amendment would update certification requirements to align with the Department of Justice’s July 2026 “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination” and January 2025 executive order “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The new requirements would be applicable to “all entities receiving grants, cooperative agreements, and financial assistance such as loans, insurance, and direct appropriations.”  

Comments are due on or before March 30, 2026.  

House Science Committee Passes NASA Reauthorization  
On February 4, the House Science Committee unanimously passed the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026, during a full committee markup. The one-year reauthorization supports, “a balanced science and workforce portfolio by advancing discovery missions and expanding education programs that prepare the next generation of explorers.”  

The bill authorizes several NASA activities of interest to the APLU membership, including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II flexibility, a modernized Space Grant funding structure, a decadal survey for aeronautics research, and continued support for several ongoing science missions.  

White House Office of Management and Budget Withholds Funds for NASA Science Missions 
The Office of Management and Budget directed NASA to pause work on several science missions. While the White House proposed to cancel these missions in the 2026 President’s Budget Request, Congress recently provided funding for them in the FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill.   

The letter did not explain why the administration is holding funds. The letter explains a “temporary hold” on funds is expected to last for 10 days “but may be extended.” Further, the NASA notice indicates additional instructions will be provided once formal guidance from OMB is received. APLU will share updates as more information is available.