Major Updates

• Build Back Better Act Gets Pared Down
  President Biden and Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending bill has been pared down to $1.75 trillion in light of a lack of full Democratic party support for the larger amount, and no Republican votes expected. The bill retained measures to significantly fund climate change initiatives and other priorities. Higher education took a significant cut, as the bill does not contain free community college for all, but does include education provisions including: 
  
  • $40 billion for workforce training and higher education, including increasing Pell grants annually by $550.
  • $400 billion for universal free pre-K to 3- and 4-year-olds, and reducing child care costs for working families earning up to $300,000 a year.

The bill still needs to work its way through votes in both the Senate and the House but the president has called for immediate movement on the bill. 

• US Department of Education Holds First Round of 2021 Negotiated Rulemaking Sessions
  The Department of Education held the first round of the main committee sessions as well as the sessions specifically created for discussion on the 90/10 rule changes. The main committee generally is discussed topics like college affordability and student loans. Some other issues discussed included granting total and permanent disability discharges, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, improving access to closed school discharges, borrower defense to repayment, among others. The committee will reconvene in November and December. To view the recordings and materials from those sessions, and to sign up to register to attend future sessions, click here for the Department’s web page.

Other News

• FCC Announces Over Six Million Households Enrolled in Emergency Broadband Benefit
  A program which allows for individuals, including all Pell Grant recipients, to receive lower costs on broadband and device access has enrolled over six million households. Encourage your students to find out if they are eligible for this important benefit.  www.getemergencybroadband.org

• US Department of Education Establishes an Office of Enforcement within Federal Student Aid (FSA)