News in Washington this week continued to be dominated by the fallout from the attack on the Capitol. On Wednesday, the House voted to impeach President Trump for a second time for incitement of insurrection. It was a 232-197 vote with 10 House Republicans joining Democrats voting in favor of impeachment. The impeachment articles will now be sent to the Senate where Senators would need 67 votes to convict the president. In the meantime, the Presidential Inauguration will take place this Wednesday, January 20, with extremely heightened security throughout DC. Here are some other happenings from last week:
- President-elect Biden Reveals COVID-19 Relief Plan: On Thursday evening, President-elect Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion economic COVID-19 relief package proposal. Included in this relief package is $170 billion for K-12 schools and higher education, including $130 billion for schools to safely reopen. Also included is funding for a national vaccine program, increasing vaccine distribution and expanding COVID-19 testing, as well as funding for small businesses, state local governments and $1,400 individual stimulus checks.
- Additional College Scorecard Updates: The Department of Education announced additional updates to the College Scorecard. These updates include information on how well borrowers from postsecondary institutions are progressing in repaying their federal student loans, as well as how well student cohort borrowers are doing at certain intervals in the student loan repayment process.
- New COVID-19 Funding for Postsecondary Institutions: On Thursday, the Department of Education announced that more than $21.2 billion for COVID-19-related emergency relief funding is now available to support postsecondary institutions during COVID-19. These funds were initially provided by Congress in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, signed into law in late December. More details and in-depth analysis of the application process will be coming soon!
- New Strengthening Community College Training Grants: The Department of Labor announced the winners of $40 million in Strengthening Community College Training Grants, which are designed to help Community Colleges address the needs of the workforce. These grants aim to help displaced workers to gain skills to transition to new employment, thus also benefiting local employers. The grants will also help community colleges build capacity to address challenges due to the pandemic, such as online learning.
Comments