Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Dear Colleagues,

With this week’s release of bill language from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), we are approaching the final stages of the reconciliation process in Congress. The White House is aggressively encouraging Congress to complete its negotiations by July 4, meaning we have just a few more weeks to make our case with our Members of Congress.

Yesterday, I sent an Action Alert highlighting the need for us to continue our advocacy as the Senate deliberates. I know I have asked much of you during the past several weeks, but we must keep the pressure on. 

Your efforts are making a difference and improving the trajectory of this legislation every day. As I noted in the Alert, The HELP Committee’s proposal reflects notable improvements over the House-passed legislation. Importantly, the bill does not advance the House’s institutional risk-sharing proposal, and some of the most sweeping structural changes to Title IV have been scaled back. However, the Senate proposal still contains several provisions of serious concern for private, nonprofit institutions.

To provide more analysis and to help with your advocacy efforts, we have created:

• A summary of the Senate HELP Committee bill.
• A side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate reconciliation proposals.
• Updated talking points that now reflect the actual Senate language to support engagement with your senators.

We are also hosting a member webinar today at 12:00 EDT [REGISTER] with our policy team to answer your questions and provide more details about the proposal and next steps.

Soundbites

• Travel Ban Goes into Effect. President Trump issued a proclamation banning immigrants and temporary visas for foreign nationals entering the U.S. from 12 countries and restricting entrance for an additional 7 countries. The ban, which went into effect on June 9, builds on the Trump Administration’s efforts to address national security threats in the U.S. The proclamation includes a full restriction of F, M and, J student visas from all 19 countries. According to the Institute for International Education and State Department data, the ban will affect over 24,000 students, with over 12,000 Iranian students being the most affected.

• NAICU Joins Letter on Student Visas. NAICU joined others in the higher education community in sending a letter to the State Department expressing concerns about the recently announced pause in student visa processing and the revocation of visas for Chinese students. The letter reiterates the community’s offer to work with the department to address any security concerns surrounding international students but also expressed strong concern with the impact this will have on the 2025-2026 enrollments at colleges and universities across the country.

• NAICU Signs Amicus Brief Supporting Havard. NAICU, along with other higher education associations, signed onto an amicus brief in support of Harvard University’s lawsuit challenging billions of dollars in funding freezes and terminations across multiple federal agencies due to allegations of antisemitism. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the Trump Administration’s demands regarding changes to the university’s governance, curriculum, and hiring practices and subsequent funding cuts violate the First Amendment and administrative procedure and unlawfully deviate from Title VI’s enforcement scheme.

• NAICU Sends Letter to Congress in Support of Pell. NAICU joined 170 signatories on the Double Pell Alliance letter in support of fully funding the Pell Grant program. The letter to congressional leadership asks that the $10 billion shortfall in the Pell Grant program be addressed in the reconciliation bill without imposing eligibility cuts to current Pell Grant students.

• New Appointees at ED. The Department of Education announced new political appointees, many of whom are familiar names in higher education policy, including: Lindsey Burke, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Programs; Jeff Andrade, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning, and Innovation, Office of Postsecondary Education; Chris McCaghren, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs, Office of Postsecondary Education; Nick Moore, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education; and Jason Delisle, Chief Economist and Senior Adviser, Office of the Under Secretary.

• Webinar on Indirect Costs. The Joint Associations Group (JAG) on Indirect Costs, which includes NAICU, will hold a town hall webinar on June 17, hosted by the Council on Government Relations, to unveil two provisional models for a new indirect costs framework for federal research grants and solicit feedback from community stakeholders. JAG is working toward a final model that it would present to Congress and the administration later this month.

• Sponsored Webinar. Sustaining Excellence and Building Stability in the Face of Uncertainty, sponsored by Pearl Meyer - The Leaders in Executive Compensation and Leadership Consulting. Thursday, June 26, 2025, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EDT [REGISTER]

I hope you have a pleasant weekend,

Regards

Barbara

Barbara K. Mistick, D.B.A.
President, NAICU

For more information, please contact:
Barbara K. Mistick, D.B.A.