Congress remained on recess this week so things in Washington were relatively quiet. However, there was a fair amount of conversation about the debt limit, with Republicans congressional leaders floating several ideas as part of ongoing negotiations. Several of those ideas could prove detrimental to education and workforce development funding, including across the board cuts to domestic discretionary spending, caps on non-defense spending and limits on spending growth for the next 10 years. As Congress returns on April 17, these debt limit conversations are expected to ramp up in the House in particular. In the meantime, here is some other news from the past week:
- 37 Senators Support Perkins Funding: The “Dear Colleague” letter led by Sens. Blumenthal (D-CT) and Kaine (D-VA) has been finalized and sent to the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee. A total of 37 senators signed the letter in support of robust funding for the Perkins Basic State Grant in the FY 24 appropriations bill. You can view the final letter and check for your senators here!
- Senators Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill on Early Postsecondary Opportunities: Peters (D-MI), Boozman (R-AR), Kaine (D-VA) and Braun (IN) have re-introduced legislation that would expand opportunities within the Higher Education Act to support dual and concurrent enrollment and early college high school programs. ACTE has endorsed this legislation.
- CTE Caucus Co-Chair Announces Re-election Bid: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), co-chair of the Senate CTE Caucus, has announced her intent to run for re-election in 2024.
- Department of Education Delays Third-party Servicer Guidance: In a blog post on April 11, Department of Education Under Secretary James Kvaal announced that initial guidance on transparency and accountability for contractors who work with institutions of higher education on program management and delivery would be delayed.The Department is reviewing feedback received on initial guidance and will be reissuing revisions to the guidance letter, which will then take effect at least six months later.
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