Never the dull moment on Capitol Hill, on October 29 the House Education & Labor Committee began a mark-up on H.R. 4674, the College Affordability Act (CAA). The proposal, the House Democrats’ Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bill, has many similarities to the Aim Higher Act that Committee Democrats introduced last Congress. After three days of debate and amendments, the CAA was approved favorably out of Committee on a party-line vote. While all Democrats voted for the proposal, Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-NC) issued a strongly-worded statement in response, saying that “[t]his partisan legislation will contribute to exploding college costs, exacerbate our nation’s skills gap, and allow failing programs to go unchecked. This approach will force students to spend more to learn less.”
Among the many reasons Committee Democrats offered in support of the bill, Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) stated that the legislation would actually lower the cost of college, improve the quality of higher education and expand opportunity for students of all backgrounds to succeed. ACTE previously published a summary of the nearly 1,200 page bill on the CTE Policy Watch blog and highlighted the provisions that most impact the CTE community.
There were a number amendments offered and adopted at the markup. Some of those include:
- An amendment by Rep. Bradley Bryne (R-AL), with a sub-amendment by Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) would expand the use of Title III funds to include the development, improvement, alignment and integration of post-secondary CTE programs. Title III is intended to provide support for less-advantaged institutions that primarily serve low-income and historically under-represented populations in higher education. Institutions that qualify for Title III funds include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), American Indian and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNHs), Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs).
- Under the America’s College Promise Federal-State Partnership proposal, the federal government requires that states and tribes only provide funds to community colleges for the purpose of waiving all tuition and fees for eligible students. Then, if states can demonstrate they have met the demand for the program and have funds leftover, the proposal allows for a number of additional uses of funds. An amendment by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) would add an additional allowable use of funds to permit states to collaborate with industry or sector partnerships in an effort to expand the capacity of high-quality job training programs.
- An amendment by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), with a sub-amendment by Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) would require a state or tribe in their application to the Secretary to consider how to build capacity in CTE programs in order to receive federal funding under the America’s College Promise Federal-State Partnership proposal.
- Rep. DeSaulnier (D-CA) introduced an amendment that would give priority to grant applicants for teacher preparation programs that demonstrate a commitment to recruiting candidates with cultural and community ties to the students they would be teaching.
The Capitol Hill tea leaves don’t seem to indicate that the bill will be brought up for a full vote on the House floor anytime soon. While Chairman Scott has expressed interest in having the legislation passed out of the House before the December recess, House leadership has not indicated when, or even if, it will be scheduled for debate. Immediate priorities include impeachment proceedings, a prescription drug bill, the National Defense Authorization Act and perhaps a continuing resolution (CR) ahead of the current CR’s scheduled expiration on November 21, leaving little time for focus on HEA reauthorization.
Signs might point to a slowdown in HEA action, however, as is often the case in Washington, the landscape can quickly change. With a bill passed out of Committee in the House and a package of proposals recently offered by Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in the Senate, there certainly is a chance that things could pick up. You can follow the latest updates on HEA news, along with other CTE-related policy issues, on the CTE Policy Watch blog.
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