Government Affairs

Build Back Better Act Gets Pared Down | Policy Matters (October 2021)

October 29, 2021

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.

 

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UPCEA Policy Committee

Kristen Brown, University of Louisville, Chair
Mark Bernhard, North Carolina State University
Frank Principe, University of Maryland Global Campus
Ricky LaFosse, University of Michigan
George Irvine, University of Delaware
Stephanie Landregan, University of California, Los Angeles
Abram Hedtke, St. Cloud State University
Debra Iles, Harvard University


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