Dear Colleagues:

The debt ceiling took center stage this week.  In an early evening vote on Wednesday, the House passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which will suspend the current debt ceiling limit until January 2025.  The bill passed with 314 votes, including 165 democrats and 149 republicans.  The Senate then passed the measure last night in a 63-36 bipartisan vote.  Most of the objections came from Senate Republicans, although five members of the Democratic caucus also voted against the measure.  President Biden is expected to quickly sign the bipartisan deal.  See our lede story below for more details.

Of concern to higher education is the pressure to reduce domestic spending, which would impact funding levels on critical federal financial aid programs.

In other news, we are still very engaged on the Department of Education’s massive new regulatory package. Yesterday, I sent an Action Alert asking you to consider submitting comments to the Department to provide your perspective on the new proposals. This set of proposals will impact every one of our college campuses and will have far-reaching – and long-lasting effects. The Alert included the summary we prepared of the key provisions, highlights of the top concerns we are hearing from our membership, and resources from the Department.

To gain a better understanding of the Department’s goals and expectations, we are hosting a webinar (Register) with Deputy Under Secretary Ben Miller and Deputy Under Secretary and Chief Economist Jordan Matsudaira, who will field questions from attendees. The webinar is June 7, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EDT. 

As the calendar turns to June, we’re looking ahead to the summer. In addition to next week’s webinar, we are also preparing for webinars related to the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action (a recent national poll showed that 63% of U.S. adults say the Court should not block colleges from considering race or ethnicity in their admissions processes) and a “back-to-school” edition focused on the academic year ahead. 

Soundbites

• The Senate followed the House in approving a resolution to overturn the Biden Administration’s action on student loan forgiveness. The Senate vote in favor of the resolution included two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin (WV) and Jon Tester (MT), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). Democrats Michael Bennet (CO) and John Warner (VA) did not cast votes. Neither chamber has the votes to override an expected veto from the president.

• NAICU joined 103 organizations, led by the Partnership to Protect Workforce Opportunity, in urging Julie Su, the Acting-Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL), to delay or abandon any proposal to increase the overtime pay threshold this year. While the DOL planned on announcing a proposed rule that would increase the overtime pay threshold amount for so-called white-collar employees in May, it has now indicated that it plans on issuing a rule before the end of the year.

• Two NAICU member Historically Black Colleges and Universities that experienced bomb threats last year have received Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) grants. The institutions are Claflin University and Howard University. Project SERV provides short-term funding for local educational agencies and higher education institutions that have experienced a violent or traumatic incident to assist in restoring a safe environment conducive to learning. Previous awardees among NAICU members include Tougaloo College, Fisk University, Philander Smith College, and Hampton University.

• As part of its new campaign to raise awareness about anti-Semitism, the Department of Education released guidance reiterating that institutions have a legal obligation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to provide an educational environment free from discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.

• The Department of Education has launched an initiative to raise awareness about affordable broadband access available under the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The program was created during the pandemic to lower the cost of internet for students and families, but enrollment remains low. The Department is asking stakeholders to raise awareness and host events to promote enrollment, and have created a toolkit with suggested activities will be made available for school and district leaders.

Today’s Washington Update also reports on yet another delay, this time to October, by the Department of Education in publishing its final Title IX rules and nearly $14 million in available grants to help colleges and universities provide campus-based child care services.