DC Shuttle …
Education Department Reduces Verification of Student Aid. The U.S. Department of Education announced temporary changes to the federal student aid verification process for the 2021–22 award year. The temporary changes are intended to help students and colleges facing challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and will require less verification for many students. The department will focus aid verification on identity theft and fraud for the 2021–22 application cycle, reducing other barriers that have prevented students most in need, from accessing critical financial aid funds. The Washington Post reports.
House Committee Approves Education Funding. The House Appropriations Committee approved the draft fiscal 2022 Labor-HHS-Education spending bill by a vote of 33 to 25. The vote was along party lines. Leadership has indicated that the House will take up seven fiscal 2022 spending bills, including Labor-HHS-Education, during the week of July 26 as one package. The education portion of the bill would provide $102.8 billion for the Education Department, a $29.6 billion increase from fiscal 2021 and matching the amount the Biden administration requested. Most of the increase goes to a $20 billion hike in funding for Title I grants to local schools, to $36 billion. The maximum Pell Grant under the program would increase by $400, to $6,895. Federal student aid programs would receive an additional $2.6 billion, to $27.2 billion. It would provide $2.2 billion for career, technical and adult education. The bill would include $49 billion for the National Institutes of Health. The bill does not contain the Hyde amendment, which bans federal funding from going to abortions. The change is likely to draw controversy. Inside Higher Ed reports.
We publish the DC Shuttle each week Congress is in session featuring higher ed news from Washington collected by the New England Council, of which NEBHE is a member. This edition is drawn from the Higher Education Update in the Council’s Weekly Washington Report of July 19, 2021. For more information, please visit: www.newenglandcouncil.com.
Photo by Monica Melton on Unsplash.
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