Congress returned from recess this week to a full agenda, but with little certainty as to which pieces of legislation would rise to the top of its priority list. With just over 6 months until the mid-term elections, the pace of legislative activity is likely to slow even further as partisanship and the campaigns take center stage. However, there are still some legislative issues getting attention. At the macro level, infrastructure is expected to receive some action, although questions remain about how comprehensive any effort will be. Congress is also expected to move forward with a package to address the opioid abuse crisis. Funding for the federal government for FY 2019 is one of the few “must pass” pieces of legislation before the midterms. With appropriations work on FY 2018 finally wrapped up, work shifts to FY 2019, and Appropriations Committees are in the midst of a flurry of hearings on a wide variety of topics related to funding.
More specific to education, discussions continue on both the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and the Perkins Act. While neither has been at the forefront of congressional attention in recent weeks, behind-the-scenes work is occurring. On Perkins, Senate staff continue to look for a path forward and ways to address underlying differences of opinion, particularly around Secretarial Authority, that have stalled work. Recently there have been new internal conversations among education committee staff, and language and ideas are being exchanged to prompt discussion. These initial ideas are not formal bills or proposals, but a starting point and just one part of the negotiations before action is taken. While some of the ideas we have heard are not aligned with ACTE priorities and would present significant concerns, we remain engaged in the process and are working with Hill staff to address these issues.
All members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee are open to and remain engaged in receiving feedback from constituents on Perkins and CTE generally. As soon as there is formal language to respond to, we will send a legislative alert and let you know it is time to take specific action!
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