Last week, Capitol Hill was quiet as both the House and Senate took recess. When they return, the House plans to start bringing Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 spending bills to the floor. The Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee markup is still scheduled in late June, with the full Committee markup set to take place on July 10. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor has announced several new grants to help boost workforce opportunities, and the Department of Education has a FAFSA update. Keep reading for more!
- Cardona Remarks on FAFSA, ‘Going to Get Better’: On Thursday, Secretary Cardona was interviewed at the Education Writers Association’s national conference, where he announced a major overhaul of the agency that oversaw the ‘Better FAFSA’ launch. This was followed by a letter sent by Cardona to Department staff outlining steps to improve FAFSA.
- New Funding Opportunity: Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grants: The Department of Labor announced $35 million in additional funding for the second round of the Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs grants, part of the Biden-Harris administration's "Investing in America" agenda. This initiative aims to expand training access for high-quality infrastructure jobs.
- Expanding Opportunities for Underserved Youth: The Department of Labor announced up to $40 million in grants funded through WIOA designed to support out-of-school organizations in expanding work-based learning opportunities and career pathways for underserved youth.
- New EPA Job Training Grant Opportunity: The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization announced a new funding opportunity aimed to recruit, train and retain a local skilled workforce, prioritizing unemployed and under-employed residents for careers in hazardous and solid waste management and other environmental fields.
- New Resources for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) in Registered Apprenticeship: The Department of Education published new resources on DEIA specific to Registered Apprenticeship programs.
- Sens. Cantwell and Moran Introduce Bipartisan NSF AI Education Act of 2024: A bipartisan bill has been introduced to expand professional development opportunities for K-12 educators looking to expand their knowledge with artificial intelligence and to open new ‘AI Excellency’ centers in community colleges through the National Science Foundation.
- Department of Commerce Launches CHIPS Women in Construction Framework: The Department of Commerce announced the CHIPS Women in Construction Framework, a set of five best practices, as well as the first voluntary commitments to the Framework from Intel Corporation and Micron Technology. The Framework is part of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s ongoing Million Women in Construction initiative that aims to expand the American construction workforce by doubling the number of women in construction over the next decade.
- Senator Manchin Registers as Independent: Senator Joe Manchin, a member of the Senate CTE Caucus, changed his registration to an Independent after nearly fourteen years of serving as a Democrat. In his statement, Senator Manchin highlighted his commitment to bipartisanship and prioritizing his commitment to his country over his part. He still plans to Caucus as a Democrat, so this is not expected to have any immediate impact on committee assignments or leadership.
Comments