The Senate was back in session last week, and the House resumed committee work. Though the House was not in full session, there was a lot of movement around the infrastructure bill last week. On Thursday afternoon, a group of 10 bipartisan Senators announced an infrastructure deal that would invest $1.2 trillion over the next eight years. Lawmakers will continue negotiations in the coming weeks. Here are some other notes from last week:
- Senate Passes China Competitiveness Bill Without Short-Term Pell Provision: Last Tuesday, the Senate passed a sweeping proposal that would provide more than $200 billion to aid American manufacturing, technology, research and development, in an effort to quell China’s growing economic influence worldwide. The short-term Pell amendment was unfortunately not included in the bill, and there is no indication as of now if the House plans on trying to include it in their version of the legislation, or if the Senate will try to revive it in conference or pursue another vehicle. Read more on our full blog post.
- Surface Transportation Proposal Advances to Full House: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced the $547 billion surface transportation proposal, a bipartisan investment in the nation’s highways, roads and bridges. The bill passed largely on party lines and is likely to be taken to the House floor later this month.
- Department of Education Launches First Event in Education Equity Summit Series: The Department of Education will virtually launch the first event in the Educational Equity Summit Series on June 22, which will focus on how schools and communities can explore different ways to elevate students’ voices, particularly students in special populations. This announcement is part of the many actions the Department pledged to take in order to improve access and equity at all schools nationwide.
- Education Secretary Praises April NAEP Survey on School Reopening Progress: On Thursday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona released a statement on the latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) survey on school reopening. Secretary Cardona touted the success of achieving 96% of schools re-opening for in-person instruction as of April.
- Education and Labor Committee Holds Labor Department Budget and Priority Hearing: Also on Thursday, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Labor to discuss with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh the Department’s budget request for FY 2022 and the priorities to support workers, job seekers, retirees and their families. During Chairman Scott’s (D-VA) opening remarks, the Chairman asked the Secretary how the Department planned to use the budget to make more college degrees accessible and expand job training for high-quality careers for those impacted by the pandemic.
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