The Office of Federal Relations will host a virtual town hall for the campus community on Thursday, March 24th from 12pm-1pm PT. Our staff will provide an update on the federal budget, infrastructure and competitiveness bills, and preview the UW’s 2022 federal agenda. This will be followed by an opportunity for Q&A. Register here (NetID restricted).
Category: General
Biden Signs EO on Federal Government Customer Service
Today President Biden signed an Executive Order, Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government. The Order will aim to improve fiscal stewardship and improve citizens’ interactions with the Federal Government. A fact sheet is available here.
Specifically, the Order calls for the below improvements in higher education. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s statement is available here.
“For the 1 in 6 Americans, or approximately 45 million people, who are managing their student loans:
- Direct Loan borrowers will need to navigate only a single repayment portal on StudentAid.gov, so that they can apply for, manage, and repay their loans without having to visit multiple websites and manage multiple sets of credentials for different aspects of their student loans.
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness candidates, including civil servants and active-duty service members, will be able to apply for the program with less paperwork than currently and without having to fill out forms with information they have already provided to the Federal government previously.
- Students and borrowers can receive relevant recommendations for other benefits and services they may qualify for, like health care subsidies, broadband support, and food assistance, in order to connect them with support to lower additional economic barriers to post-secondary education completion.”
Announcement: Federal Relations Autumn 2021 Town Hall
Please join us for the inaugural quarterly Federal Relations Town Hall.
Thursday, October 21st at 12:00pm PT
After a presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions or offer comments/concerns regarding the UW’s federal advocacy priorities.
If you would like to join in-person, please RSVP here. Space is limited.
If you would like to join via Zoom, please register here.
This event is restricted to members of the UW community. A valid Net-ID is required to participate.
UW Publishes 2021 Federal Agenda
The University of Washington has published our 2021 Federal Agenda outlining our top priorities for the coming year. Our agenda reflects a commitment to service, excellence, and innovation, taking into account the unique challenges of the past year.
We are proud of our longstanding partnership with the federal government and look forward to further collaboration in 2021.
Stimulus Bill Fails in Senate
The Senate today voted on a GOP-introduced $500 billion stimulus package, however the bill failed on a 51-44 vote.
Negotiations continue between House Democrats and the Administration. The two sides are potentially very close to reaching a deal on an almost $2 trillion package. Senate Majority leadership reportedly does not support such a large price tag. An agreement would need to be reached between the House, Senate, and Administration in the next few days in order to pass both chambers and be signed into law before the November 3rd elections.
Updates here.