Author: hdooley

President Biden signed the FY23 appropriations bill right before the end of the year to fund the government and its agencies through the 2023 fiscal year.

The bill includes $772.5 billion in nondefense spending ($42.5 billion more than FY22) and $858 billion in defense spending ($76 billion more than last year). The bill also includes $1.8 billion in new funding to implement the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. In a previous blog (linked here) we highlight other final numbers including the Pell Grant increase, ARPA-H, etc.

The final FY23 numbers can be found on our appropriations tracker linked here. We will continue to update these numbers as final calculations come in.

The Office of Federal Relations is hosting a virtual Federal Relations Town Hall on November 17th from 10am-11am PT to discuss updates on appropriations, UW federal priorities, and other relevant federal activities. After the presentation there will be an opportunity for a Q&A.

Registration is open to all members of the UW community and can be filled out here. Once you register you will receive a confirmation email which has the Zoom link to be used the day of. We hope to see you there!

Ever since the announcement of the federal student loan relief program, the Biden administration has been facing a slew of legal challenges by conservative states. Six GOP-led states filed a complaint alleging that the program was an illegal use of authority, and that the policy would have negative economic impacts on their states. Last Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the states did not have the standing to sue as they failed to prove that the policy directly harms them, stating that the claims were too speculative. The states quickly appealed the decision and on Friday, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay that bars the administration from granting student loan relief until the court officially rules on the request to block the policy.  

The temporary stay does not stop eligible borrowers from applying for relief nor does it stop the administration from reviewing applications, however the administration cannot officially forgive the debt until the decision is made. The administration has expressed confidence that the program will survive the legal challenges and that they will be able to proceed with forgiving debt for the almost 22 million people who have already submitted the application. The court is expected to act quickly on this case but it is unclear how potential future legal challenges may impact the program – in the meantime borrowers are encouraged to keep submitting their applications. The office will continue to monitor and provide updates on the program and potential legal challenges as they unfold. More information can be found here and the application can be found here.