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Category: Student Aid

House Education and Workforce Chairman Kline To Retire

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House Committee on Education and Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) has announced he will not see re-election in 2016. Kline was first elected in 2002. Last election he won his district by 17 points, but the district was carried by Obama in the previous two presidential elections, making it a hotly contested area.

Kline has been chairman of the committee for the last five years and will serve the six year, House Republican Conference imposed maximum in the chair position. During his tenure, Kline has looked to revamp and reauthorize ESEA, HEA and countless other measures. It is unclear who the next committee chairperson will be.

Read more from Roll call. 

ED Secretary Duncan Outlines HEA Agenda

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At a speech today at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Education Secretary Arne Duncan outlined the Administration’s priorities for a higher education reauthorization.The bulk of the remarks focused on affordability, which has been a focus for the Obama Administration for nearly his whole tenure. Secretary Duncan reiterated the dual goals of paying for college and limiting college debt. He also focused on degree completion and the Administration’s goal that those that start college, finish college. Part of this formulation will be colleges and universities putting “skin in the game” and attaching federal student loan funding to the outputs of institutes of higher education, focusing on degree completion and graduates who get jobs. States will also have skin in the game and will be called upon to stop the disinvestment of higher education.

Read the remarks here. 

Senate Hearing on HEA

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The Senate will be holding a hearing on the HEA this Wednesday entitled Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: Exploring Barriers and Opportunities within Innovation. The hearing will be held at 10 am on Wednesday, July 22.

Watch the hearing here. 

Senate Appropriations Committee Passes FY16 Labor-H

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Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed it’s FY16 Labor-H bill by a vote of 16-14. The Senate draft would cut spending from the 2015 enacted level by almost $4 billion to $153 billion and is $14.5 billion below President Barack Obama’s request. The bill would eliminate funding for the Independent Payment Advisory Board, created by the 2010 health law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152) to recommend Medicare spending cuts under certain circumstances.

Both the House and Senate FY16 Labor-H proposals are now cleared to be considered by their respective bodies. There is no timeline on when the Senate would begin consideration of its draft.

House Committee Passes FY16 Labor-H

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The House Appropriations Committee passed it’s FY16 Labor-H bill by a vote of 30-21. The passage came after hours of debate during which Democrats bitterly criticized funding levels for domestic discretionary accounts and saw a series of their amendments defeated. The bill is $3.7 billion below fiscal 2015 enacted levels and $14.6 billion below President Barack Obama’s budget request. It contains increased funding for the National Institutes of Health but would block new discretionary spending to implement the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, the Administration has issued a letter of concern about the legislation. It is speculated that an official veto threat will not be far behind.

The legislation is expected to be considered on the House Floor after the Fourth of July Recess.