Earlier this afternoon, the House adopted by a vote of 220 to 211 H. R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This is the version that was approved by the Senate last Saturday. The legislation, the highest priority of the new Administration, will now be sent to the White House for President Biden’s signature. The goal of the Biden Administration and the Democratic Congress alike was to get signed into law a new relief package before the enhanced federal unemployment benefits expire at the end of Sunday.
A summary of the provisions of most interest has been compiled by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and is available here.
President Biden has signed an Executive Order on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (March 8th, 2021).
The EO requires the Secretary of Education to review the Trump Administration rule “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance,” 85 Fed. Reg. 30026 (May 19, 2020).
Any efforts to repeal or significantly change the rule would likely need to go through the formal rulemaking process.
After a marathon session during which scores of amendments were considered and voted on, the Senate finally cleared its COVID relief bill on Saturday by a vote of 50 to 49. The Senate made a number of modifications to the House-passed measure, meaning that this version must now be sent back to the House for its approval before it can become law. With the current set of enhanced federal unemployment benefits running out next Monday, the goal of the Congressional Democrats and the Biden Administration is to have President Biden sign the final bill into law by Sunday.
Read more about the Senate changes and next steps in the process here, here, here, and here.