This is the last week of the congressional recess prior to the mid-term elections. Lawmakers will return for the final weeks of the 117th Congress around November 14. Priorities for Congress in the next few weeks include fiscal year 2023 appropriations bills, a vote on the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), tax credits, debt ceiling reform, marriage equality votes and pending nominees that have advanced out of committees. The 118th Congress will begin right after the new year, on January 3. Stay tuned during the coming weeks, as ACTE will share election results and resources relevant to CTE stakeholders. In the meantime, here are some updates from Washington.
- Election Watch: Reauthorization Bills Preview: The 118th Congress will have its work cut out for it next year, with several major reauthorizations overdue or on the horizon. Three of these reauthorizations fall under the purview of the education committees: the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), National Apprenticeship Act (NAA), and the Higher Education Act (HEA). On all these bills, the balance of power determined by this year’s midterm elections will have a significant impact on these major pieces of legislation. Read more about potential reauthorization bills here.
- Department of Education Releases Final Regulations to Improve Debt Relief Programs: The Department of Education has released final regulations that streamline and improve the rules for major targeted debt relief programs. The regulations expand eligibility, remove barriers to relief, and encourage automatic discharges for borrowers who are eligible for loan relief because their school closed, they have a total and permanent disability, or their loan was falsely certified. Read more about the regulations here.
- House CTE Caucus Chairs Introduce Bill to Support Cybersecurity Education: On October 31, Reps. Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI), co-chairs of the Congressional CTE Caucus, reintroduced the Cybersecurity Skills Integration Act to mark the end of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This bipartisan legislation seeks to create a $10 million pilot program within the Department of Education that will award competitive grants to CTE programs that integrate cybersecurity into their curricula. ACTE has endorsed this bill. Read more about the bill here, including a quote from ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Wilson.
- Department of Labor Announces New Nursing Funding Opportunities: The Department of Labor has announced $80 million in funding under the Nursing Expansion Funding Opportunity Announcement. This grant will fund programs that address bottlenecks in training the U.S. nursing workforce and expand and diversify the pipeline of qualified nursing professionals through the nurse education professional track and nursing career pathways track. Applications are due by January 6, 2023. Read more about the opportunity and apply here.
- Department of Commerce Unveils Strategy for CHIPS for America Fund: The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 will invest $50 billion through the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS for America Fund to revitalize the domestic semiconductor industry, protect American national and economic security, preserve U.S. leadership in the industries of the future, create good-paying jobs, and build strong communities in the United States. View the full text of the strategy here.
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