On March 19, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Memorandum M-20-17 to federal agencies granting them the authority to provide regulatory flexibility to entities conducting federal research as they struggle to response to the coronavirus. Earlier today, NSF issued guidance on its implementation of the OMB memo.
Along with the guidance, NSF Director France Cordova issued a notice to the science and engineering community with respect to NSF and COVID-19.
The legislation aimed at addressing problems in the GI Bill benefits process as a result of academic programs moving to on-line delivery, S. 3503, was signed into law on Saturday.
Today Senate Democrats defeated a procedural vote on a $1.6 trillion COVID-19 spending package. Democrats seek to include additional provisions whereas Senate Republicans call for a quick vote. Negotiations continue with Senate and the White House. Full story at Politico.
Countering the Republican efforts to assist students that were included in the “Phase 3” bill, Senate Democrats released a summary of their own proposal on the issue. The legislative text for the plan has not yet been released.
The summary of the plan, as prepared by the Democratic staff, is here and a press release about the proposal is here.
Again, while the legislative text is not yet available, the centerpiece of the plan is the federal repayment of student loans during the COVID-19 crisis.
Yesterday, the broader higher education community sent to Congress a series of recommendations and requests for assistance aimed at stabilizing the entire enterprise as it tries to cope with COVID-19. The requests fall into a number of distinct categories: