Author: McKinzie Strait

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is reading this week.

Rollback of ED Regs? – GOP lawmakers have been clear since November’s election about plans to dismantle several Obama administration higher education regulations, including two major rules aimed at the for-profit college sector. Read about it in Inside Higher Ed. 

Nukes Detonated – On Thursday, Senate Democrats voted to filibuster Gorsuch’s nomination, and Republicans couldn’t come up with the necessary 60 votes to overcome that filibuster. If Senate rules were adhered to, Gorsuch’s nomination would have been blocked. Senate Republicans responded simply by changing the rules so that 60 votes were no longer needed to advance a Supreme Court nomination. Read more in Vox.

Breach –  Personal information for up to 100,000 taxpayers may have been compromised in a security breach of a critical online tool used to fill out student loan applications, Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen said Thursday. The IRS is beginning to notify people potentially affected by the breach. Read more in The Wall Street Journal. 

Most Popular Domestic Program – Speaker Ryan on NIH budget “All I would say is perhaps the most popular domestic funding we have among Republicans is NIH.” Read more in Roll Call. 

Current CR Expires April 28 – Congressional Republicans are working aggressively to craft an agreement intended to keep the government open past April 28, but their bid to avert a shutdown hinges on courting Democrats wary of President Trump and skirting the wrath of hard-line conservatives and Trump himself. Read more from the Washington Post.

Financial Aid Tool Breach – Personal information for up to 100,000 taxpayers may have been compromised in a security breach of a critical online tool used to fill out student loan applications, Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen said Thursday. Read more in the Wall Street Journal.

6 Reasons You May Not – Graduating from a four-year college in four years may sound like a fairly straightforward venture, but only 41 percent of students manage to do it. That matters. The longer it takes, the less likely a student is to make it to graduation: A quarter of students drop out after four years, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, and most say it’s because of money. Cost, indeed, is a major issue for many families — in-state tuition and fees run $8,940 on average at public institutions, $28,308 at private ones. Many of those who finish in five or six years have either unnecessarily drained their parents’ bank accounts or end up in a lot more debt. Read more in The New York Times. 

Peanut Butter – The NBA is secretly addicted to eating peanut butter sandwiches pregame. Read more in ESPN.