Here is a selection of articles we’ve read this week.
FY2019 PBR: On Feb. 12, the Trump administration released its 2019 budget proposal for changes to make to the federal government’s spending. Many of the cuts in the plan are unlikely to become reality: Congress just increased spending limits last week, and it rarely dares to change entitlement programs. Read more from Washington Post.
Attention Grad Students!: Graduate students don’t typically make news. But during the recent battle over tax reform, lawmakers looked into capping or eliminating financial benefits that enable most students to pursue graduate degrees. Though the urgent headlines have died down, lawmakers and higher-education leaders are still considering a number of proposals over the next several months that could affect students in graduate programs. More from the Wall Street Journal.
DACA Deadline Looms: A March 5 deadline is looming for Washington to come up with a resolution for nearly 700,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. as children and currently protected from deportation. The young people, their schools and employers are beginning to make contingency plans in case they have to leave the country, or face unemployment. More from the Wall Street Journal.
Campus Sexual Abuse Bill: A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced legislation to hold campus leaders accountable for sexual abuse that happens on their watch. The bill, the Accountability of Leaders in Education to Report Title IX Investigations Act, or the Alert Act for short, was introduced on Thursday. It would require college and university presidents to certify annually that they have reviewed all incidents of sexual misconduct reported to their campus Title IX coordinator, and that they have not interfered with investigations of those incidents. Read more from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Infrastructure!: The president’s long-awaited infrastructure plan pushes state and local governments to spend more but offers them a smoother path to getting federal regulatory approval. Read more from Governing.