Both the House and the Senate are back in session and are working toward a consensus on FY 21 appropriations bills, which they hope to complete during the lame duck session. The continuing resolution (CR) currently funding the government expires on December 11, so some action must be taken before that date to avoid a government shutdown. In addition, the House and the Senate have still not reached an agreement on a COVID-19 stimulus relief package and are far apart on how much to invest, with House Democrats wanting $3 trillion in relief funding and Senate Republicans wanting $500 billion. Here are a few more notes from last week:
- National Apprenticeship Act Passed in the House: The National Apprenticeship Act was introduced and passed in the House on Friday. This new Act would invest more than $35 billion to fund one million new apprenticeship opportunities over the next five years, and creates pathways for students and employees to participate in registered apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, among other things. ACTE endorsed this bill earlier this Congress, but it is not expected to be taken up by the Senate this Congress.
- New Online Portal for CARES Act Data: The Department of Education created a new online portal to show how states and other grantees are using the CARES Act funding which was allocated to ensure continued learning during the pandemic. The online portal is interactive and features state profiles which provides information on both the award recipients and expenditures within each state. However, the data should be interpreted with caution, and is not necessarily an accurate picture of how much money local school districts or states have obligated or how much CARES Act money is still available. In many cases, funds have already been allocated for contracts or other expenditures which are not reflected in the portal. Numerous groups have already pushed back on the accuracy of the information.
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